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…
Author: anitenianchallenge
Athlete Interviews
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…
Athlete Interviews
“We can be competitive” – Samantha Harrison eyes Seville springboard to Olympic contention
Nearly 40 minutes on the clock in Riga, Samantha Harrison hits the front once more. On her right, the familiar beat of a rival turned friend, both in pursuit of World Championship glory. Calli Thackery and Harrison head an eight strong pack. Four Kenyans, two Ethiopians, two Brits have separated…
Athlete Interviews
Ivybridge to Ivy League – the rise of Will Battershill to steeplechase contender
Will Battershill chose to spend his end of season break getting a humbling from the best in Japan. Representing the Ivy League, the 2023 British 3000m Steeplechase champion took part in the annual Izumo Ekiden. “They have unbelievable depth. In Japan I think everyone’s a 13:40 guy and they’re so…
Athlete Interviews
Matt Stonier – Man of the mud no longer
There was a long-time where consensus had it Matt Stonier was a man for the mud not the track. It was here that the Kent man had enjoyed his greatest moments. Inter-County U20 champion in 2020, he won the English Schools title that year too. Each time he outlasted his…
Athlete Interviews
Phil Norman seeks Paris tonic for Commonwealth pain
It’s been another busy day for 2021 Olympian Phil Norman. As a pole tester for Openreach, the Barnstaple resident spends his days climbing wooden poles checking for sign of rot and decay. A physically demanding role, as his profession ends so another starts. Returning home, Norman heads out for his…
Athlete Interviews
Peres Jepchirchir – New York footsteps to an Olympic defense
The 2023 women’s World Half Marathon race at the inaugural World Road Running Championships reaches its crescendo. Margaret Chelimo Kipkemboi leads as they enter the final kilometres. Her stride imperceptibly opening, it is a face of struggle that appears to stalk her. Peres Jepchirchir has won this title two times…
Athlete Interviews
Adam Fogg hopes to be the metric mile’s forgotten man
Adam Fogg is his country’s 40th fastest 1500m runner of all-time. 68th in the current world rankings. Unfortunately for the 24-year-old he is also from Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Seven British men have run faster 1500m times this year than the 3:35.70 Fogg clocked in winning the Merck Laufgala…
Athlete Interviews
Jake Smith – “I’m just trying to fight my own back”
There was a time where everything Jake Smith touched turned to gold. 18th in the World Half Marathon Champs in 2020. A 2:11:00 marathon as part of a pacing effort. The 2021 Big Half title. “When I first went to university and followed a really good program, I felt like…
Athlete Interviews
Two years of hurt, Tom Mortimer seeks Olympic solution
Tom Mortimer breaks the news that once more his achilles has let him down. For two years now the Stroud AC athlete has battled against inflammation. Ten days out from the World Road Running Championships, it has afflicted him again. It’s been a testing couple of years for Mortimer. The…
