We had the pleasure of interviewing Jessica Hull – Olympic Silver medallist and now a COROS Global and COROS ANZ Athlete – about her training, plans for 2026 and the lessons she’s learned on and off track.

Jess, congratulations on signing with Coros Global – the off-season is around the corner and looking back, you had an amazing year. What were the highlights for you and the biggest lessons learned on and off track?

Thank you very much! I don’t know that the little athlete that started at Albion Park Little A’s would believe where she got to. Looking back on the year, it’s been a really special one. 

One of the biggest highlights for me was learning how much my body can handle through the consistency of training. The philosophy Dad and I work off is built around being fit enough to sustain three rounds of the 1500m in a global championship, and that balance between intensity and volume has been something we’ve refined over the years. I’ve also learned a lot about recovery and how important it is to be mindful of the 1%ers — everything from sleep to nutrition to managing travel and downtime.

Off the track, the biggest lesson has been to really enjoy the process. I truly love training and trying to get a little bit better every day. It’s easy to get caught up chasing times or results, but I’ve found the real progress comes from staying present and consistent.

We heard you’re a big fan of training logs and writing down your workouts. How does that practice help with your training? 

I’ve always loved keeping a record of my training. The COROS App does a lot of that for me now, and it’s so detailed and thorough when it comes to monitoring recovery and progress. There’s so much data to take in, but I try to keep it simple, I mainly use the sleep data and resting heart rate to make adjustments. The recovery score calculated from my Base Fitness and Training Load is also really helpful.

Knowing that the data is influenced by the way I’m training over time, not just from a one-off session, helps me understand the effects of cumulative load. Having those metrics available keeps me mindful of building good recovery routines and staying dialled into the 1%ers.

You’ve competed in a variety of distances and events this year. What are your best tips to prepare mentally and physically for each race?

This changes a little depending on the time of year and what distance I’m targeting. Right now, in base training, we’re a little more focused on heart rate and effort levels rather than specific paces. As we move closer to the racing season, we shift to more pace-specific work. That transition from effort-based to pace-based training really helps me prepare both mentally and physically.

Physically, we make sure I’ve built a strong aerobic base so that when I’m racing, I can handle multiple rounds and different tactical scenarios. For the 1500m, especially, race pace is so fast on the global stage, so we run fast often to work on running economy and to be ready for the demands of championship racing.
Mentally, I try to keep it simple and trust the process.

What are you looking forward the most in 2026 from a personal and professional point of view?

I’m really excited for what’s ahead in 2026. Professionally, I’m looking forward to building on the foundation we’ve put down this year and continuing to evolve as an athlete with COROS on my team through this Olympic cycle. We’ve got lots of goals along the way, and it’s going to be really fun to share some of the training and racing insights and humanise the workload a little bit.

Next year we’re incorporating altitude training into the base phase for the first time with a trip to Flagstaff in December, which I’m really looking forward to. We’re still fine-tuning what works best for me in terms of timing altitude blocks around key championships, but looking ahead to 2026 it’ll probably be two stints — one before July and one after the Commonwealth Games, building up towards the Ultimate Championships and World Road Running Championships.