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Callum Elson- the refresh
The last time I spoke to Callum Elson, he sat in front of a webcam in Springfield, Massachusetts, the blue and yellow of a Leeds United flag a rare interruption from a beige vision of the usual furnishings of a college dorm. In early 2022, then a newly-minted sub-four miler, the American International College athlete had reached the point where his rate of improvement had hit an irrepressible upward spike. His next…
A voice found – Mateiko, Chepkwony and the Antrim Coast Half
I’m sat on a bench, tall pines providing some welcome respite from the midday sun and the man to my left is extolling the virtues of Northern Ireland. Larne has a fan in the Kenyan rift valley. In 2023, Daniel Mateiko got on three flights and found himself at George Best Belfast City Airport, the cold still one of the first things he remembers despite the August date. The red jacket and yellow…
The one-word diary of Eliud Kipchoge
Sponsors may vary. A Coros watch on his wrist, a glucose monitor glued to his arm but for Eliud Kipchoge simple pen and paper will always prevail. On 3 March 2024, the double Olympic champion passed the red bricks of one of the world’s most iconic train stations. Four minutes 34 seconds had elapsed since Benson Kipruto broke the tape at the 17th edition of the Tokyo marathon. Three other Kenyans had already…
Daniel Mateiko reminds Kenya, Kaptagat is king
For 20 years, the Global Sports Communication Camp in Kaptagat has gripped tightly the mantle of the world’s best distance group. From Eliud Kipchoge since his first world title in 2003, Olympic champion Brimin Kipruto and his assault on the 3000m Steeplechase world record, to Olympic and world champions Stephen Kiprotich, Geoffrey’s Kirui and Kamworor. Faith Kipyegon and her domination of the greatest set of female milers in history. Even Joshua Cheptegei has…
“Real history” beckons for Tokyo-bound Kipchoge
26.2 miles of answers. A long-awaited showdown between the marathon’s greatest exponent and an athlete already with a vice-like grip on his slipping crown. I spoke to Eliud Kipchoge in January, his modest 3 by 2m Kaptagat room the background, a prison for the ramping tension that followed his Paris Olympic pursuit. Constantly sipping at the clutch of his electrolyte drink, a glucose monitor stuck to his left arm, his mind at times…
Phil Sesemann – on the edge of the possible
Phil Sesemann is familiar to the roads, less so to the feeling. The sun shining down, he is making his way to Cutty Sark. The six mile drag from London Bridge, strong legs have long since departed. “Emile (Cairess) called it a zero out of ten performance, which I thought was a fairly fair assessment.” The former Blackheath and Bromley man remembers of a difficult day at the 2023 Big Half. 64:43 for…
Phily Bowden on embracing the emotion
Phily Bowden sat down and wrote out a poster. “I’m running for England” she eagerly scribed before wrapping it up to surprise her mum. Eight years after she first turned out for Bracknell AC, the 21-year-old was representing her nation at the Home Countries International. She would go on to finish fourth at Margam Park, nestled in the distant shadows of the gigantic Port Talbot steelworks. A glamorous debut perhaps it does not…
Alexandra Millard – when pressure becomes privilege
Alexandra Millard heads to an anonymous Belgian city, population just over 14,000. Green and brown flat fields would surround for mile on end, but everything is white. Snow falls steadily at the Cross Cup Hannut. Millard heads to the Wallonia as the European U23 bronze medallist over the discipline, a win which also helped her secure a pro contract with New Balance. That day in Turin, Millard had gone into the race with…
Jacob Allen repays the role model favour
It’s not a coach or a clubmate holding Jacob Allen to account. It’s 25 12-year-old boys. The England international spends his days as a PE teacher in a North London comprehensive, his mornings and nights seeking the next step on athletics’ endless ladder. Discipline, persistence, humility. Three traits he repeats to his students time and time again. “why the homework? Why school? ” they ask. Good habits, process, the mindset you pick up…
Alex Leprêtre – the power of the club
The year is 2014. A Saturday morning in September and 21-year-old Alex Leprêtre is emitting a radiant glow. Not from the sun beaming over his head but the funnel which he’s heading down. Another outing at Oak Hill parkrun, the number one barcode in his hand and a new personal best of 17:22. As he takes a moment to breath Leprêtre receives a tap on the shoulder from an unfamiliar face. John Clark…
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