Ellie Pashley

Fast Facts

Sport: Athletics
Event: Marathon
Olympic History: Tokyo 2020
Coach: Julian Spence
Club: Deakin Athletics Club
Year Born: 1988
State Born: Bendigo, VIC

About Ellie

From a very young age, Ellie Pashley knew she would be an athlete, but for the first 15 years, she only took running very casually, until in her mid-20s she decided to take the sport seriously. After a few years of progression, there was rapid improvement in the last three years as she soared into the Australian top-8 all-time in the 10,000m, half marathon and marathon events.

An energetic kid she always liked running. “Running races were my favourite game when I was young,” Pashley said.

In primary school, as the races got longer she performed better. It wasn’t until high school she did more with cross country and Little Athletics.

“I played netball and basketball, but I probably knew deep down I was going to be better at running than those sports. I really wanted to be good at team sports due to the social side.”

In later years she met some running groups and realised running could be social. She continued to play netball and run, even making the Australian team for the World Student Cross Country Championships while studying physio in her hometown of Albury. 

Post-university she backpacked overseas for near year-long trips. She grew tired of the hard work upon return to fitness and the marathon was also calling. “In the back of my head I'd always thought ‘one day I’ll have a proper crack at running’ - it just hadn’t eventuated.”

Finally, in 2015 she knuckled down and started preparing for a marathon under the coaching of Julian Spence. She built milage up to 100km/week before her first 26 miler.

Aged 27, she ran 2:46 in her debut marathon in late 2016 in Melbourne. A year later (2017) she ran the Berlin Marathon clocking a very promising 2:35.55. Her times in all distances were starting to really tumble.

In March 2018, she represented Australia at the World Half Marathon Championships placing 24th with a PB 71:43. She closed the year with a stunning series of performances, commencing with a four-minute marathon PB of 2:31.52 (Sept), then third at Zatopek in a 2:22 minute PB time of 32:17.81, then 10 days later a 69:20 half marathon in Japan (number-8 Australian all-time). 

The momentum continued in early 2019 with a 2:26.21 marathon in Nagoya, elevating her to eighth Australia all-time and nailing a Tokyo Olympic qualifier. A bathroom stop for Pashley during Nagoya, suggests there is a much faster time in her. Seven weeks after Nagoya (May 2019) she ran 31:43.51 for 10,000m in American, securing a 2019 World Championships qualifier. At the world championships in Doha in October she placed 13th – the second-highest ever by an Australian. Her time of 31:18.89 moved her to number four in Australian history. She closed the year in 2019 running New York where she placed an impressive eighth. 

Days after pacing the Nagoya marathon in March 2020, the World shut down with coronavirus. In October 2020 she battled travelling in a COVID-affected world to compete in the London Marathon. Shortly after returning from injury, she ran 2:31.31 for 12th place.

Selected for the Olympics Ellie’s debut in 2021 in Sapporo was superb. She placed 23rd in a terrific time of 2:33.39 in the stifling Japanese heat. She also had teammates Sinead Diver and Lisa Weightman alongside her.
“We’ve all got a huge amount of respect for each other. Lisa and Sinead have done amazing things in their careers and they are huge role models for me,” Ellie said.

During her recent running years, Pashley has combined full-time work as a physio, a flourishing coaching business and the demands of her own training.