One can relate well to race run poorly (9)
I believe the answer is:
raconteur
'one can relate well' is the definition.
(someone who relates stories)
'to race run poorly' is the wordplay.
'poorly' is an anagram indicator.
'to'+'race'+'run'='toracerun'
'toracerun' is an anagram of 'RACONTEUR'.
(Other definitions for raconteur that I've seen before include "source of anecdotes" , "A good teller of tales" , "anecdotalist" , "He's good at telling stories" , "A skilled story teller" .)