As a world record holder and Olympic medallist Jess is a woman on the move—literally, running 130km a week as she chases her next goal: Olympic gold. Fresh from this shoot with her partners at True Protein, we caught up with the track star to talk about her medal-winning routine, why “thinner” doesn’t mean “faster,” and the simple self-care strategies that keep her grounded.
STATUS UPDATE:
FULL NAME: Jessica Hull
HOMETOWN: Newcastle, NSW
BORN: 22 October 1996
INSTAGRAM: @jessicaahull
Let’s start at the beginning: Walk us through your morning. Do you have a set routine you swear by?
I train in the morning most of the time so for me it’s a pretty quick start to the day before heading out to my training location, especially in the summer months when we train at 8am. I always start the day with coffee! Coffee, toast, hydrate, running clothes, ready to go! As soon as I finish training, I’ll have a True Protein WPI Shake (the banana and honey is my favourite flavour). I’ll then kind of have a second start to the day after training where I’ll shower, get ready properly and have another breakfast/brunch which is eggs and avocado or a smoothie bowl.
Was health and fitness important to you growing up, and how has your fitness philosophy changed over the years?
It’s always been an important part of my life. I remember being maybe 6 years old and getting a bike for Christmas and heading out on the local cycle way with dad for a bike ride before the Christmas festivities. I think I have always just been quite an active person and it’s integrated into my lifestyle pretty seamlessly from a young age. My brother and I were always in the backyard on the trampoline or running races or hitting the tennis ball against our back wall. That was all just unstructured activity that helped me learn to love being outside and active. It’s morphed into a much more of a programmed approach over the years as my running took off but I think the foundation of health and fitness being important to me started at a young age just from the lifestyle we lived growing up.
Talk us through your weekly training split.
At the moment I’m in my base training phase to set up the 2026 season. This is when my training is at it’s highest volume both running wise and in the gym. I’m running 130km / week at the moment, most days I run morning and evening and it’s broken down into hard sessions and easy recovery running. I’m in the gym for 60 – 90 minutes too most days, building the foundational strength I need to have when we start to integrate the race preparation sessions in the New Year.
Monday:
Am – Endurance session (15-16km total).
Pm – Gym and Easy run (7km).
Tuesday:
Am – Easy run (14km)
Pm – Gym and Easy run (7km).
Wednesday:
Am – Tempo session (17km total).
Pm – Gym and Easy run (7km).
Thursday:
Am – Easy run (8km) and gym.
Pm – Easy run (8km).
Friday:
Am – Shorter Interval session (12-13km total) and gym.
Pm – Gym and Easy run (7km).
Saturday:
Am – Long Run (20km).
Pm – Gym
Sunday:
Am – OFF.
Pm – Short easy run, plyometrics and short sprints (7-8km total). Core work.
How do you stay motivated on days when you don’t feel like working out?
When we plan the year ahead, I’m always very clear on what my goals are and what I’m working towards. On days when it’s a little harder to get out the door, I remind myself of my goals and why I need to get the training done to work towards them. I have truly learnt to love the process of training and working towards getting better each day so it’s not too often I don’t feel motivated. If I notice a trend over a couple of sessions, it usually means I need to recruit some company and have some training partners for a few sessions to bring back the enjoyment!
If you’re not in activewear at the gym, where can we find you and what are you most likely to be doing?
Brunching or having coffee somewhere with my husband! My favourite spot at the moment is Autumn Rooms in Cooks Hill, Newcastle. They have the best coffee and we can sit outside and enjoy the sun!
We live in an age of social media where people have more access than ever to our lives and are quick to judge. How do you handle negative comments or criticism online and in real life?
I’ve just learnt not to engage with anything that takes away from my own peace of mind and headspace. Usually if someone has an opinion with a negative tone, there is no changing their mind or reasoning with them to come around to a different viewpoint so it’s a waste of energy worrying about it. It’s not easy to disassociate from negativity, and sometimes the one negative voice feels a lot louder than the hundreds of positive and supportive messages, but I just try to remember at the end of the day I do this because I love it and I want to see how far I can go with it. I’m very lucky that my social media network is a very friendly and supportive community!
What self-care strategies do you use to maintain positive mental health?
I travel a lot to compete and train around the world so I have tried to simplify my self-care down to things I can do wherever I am. For me it’s the little luxuries like getting enough sleep, looking after my skin, journalling, fuelling properly that all add up to feeling my best!
What’s a fitness myth that you wish would go away, and why?
In the running world I wish the idea of thinner = faster would completely phase away. I think we are seeing a new generation of athletes embrace their strength and realise that being stronger allows consistency over a greater period of time which leads to running faster in the long term anyway! There are no shortcuts when it comes to fitness, the best habits and patterns are the ones you can sustain over a long period of time to cultivate consistency.
What is your approach to nutrition? How do you maintain balance and still enjoy your favourite foods?
I’m quite intuitive now when it comes to nutrition. I’ve learnt this over time and through my own experiences and it takes time to learn what works for your body. I listen to my body and if it’s craving something in the middle of a training block, I’ll lean into that. I would say I error on the side of being over fuelled rather than risking being under fuelled. I run twice a day most days so I have to stay ahead of being depleted at any point in time because it sets my whole week back. I’m pretty routine when it comes to my breakfast, lunch and fuel during and after training, but I’ll mix things up across my dinners to get in more variety. The biggest change I’ve made over the last 12 – 18 months has been taking in nutrition during my training session. I always have a bottle with True Protein’s Endurance to sip on across my session in the rest intervals.
What’s your go-to treat?
Ice cream.
Who inspires you?
Faith Kipyegon, Sally Pearson, Ash Barty.
You’re working out in the gym – what are you listening to?
Usually a podcast to get me through core work or prehab exercises – The Howie Games Show is always a reliable one for inspiration from all different areas of the sporting world. If I’m lifting heavier I’m more likely to have music on and that can really vary. At the moment it’s The Life of a Showgirl or if I’m running on a treadmill I’ll put on the Run Swift playlist on Spotify.
Reflecting on your whole journey to date, what are you most proud of – personally or professionally?
Personally and professionally it’s my Olympic Medal. It was everything I could’ve ever dreamed of and it felt like I had really come full circle from the young girl with a dream. Every decision I make each day adds up to how I perform on the track and that night in Paris felt like it represented every step of the last 20 years. It also awoke a dream for Gold that is driving the journey I’m on for the next few years.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
My college coach, Maurica Powell used to say “the only thing you can control is your attitude and your effort”. No matter the circumstances or external factors at play, you can control the way you show up and compete or show up and train on that day. It’s applicable across all aspects of life!
What’s next for you?
2026 is centred around the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow for me. That’s the big goal for the season and the one that I’m thinking about daily when I show up to training. I’ll build towards that with the World Cross Country Championships in January and the World Indoor Championships in March.
