Before he packed his bags, Callum Hawkins claimed that being selected to represent Team GB at the European Youth Olympic Festival in Tampere, Finland last month was the high-point in his fledgling career.

The 16-year-old 3,000m runner was one of only two Scots to make the British cut for the event, the other being teen-tennis player Morven McCulloch. 

Hawkins had been training hard, performing well and felt he had earned his call-up to the national squad.  But even though he had improved his PB by an incredible 21 seconds this year, the Renfrewshire athlete was modest in his predictions for the Games. 

“I’ve never represented GB before, so I’m just very excited to be going,” he told In The Winning Zone the week before he left for Finland.  “I’ll be going for a medal but if I don’t get it I’ll just be happy to be running for Britain.”

Well, Callum did get a medal.  A gold one, as it turns out.  Before the race he was worried about one other boy who had been running better times than him this year.  But he needn’t have worried, because in the end Hawkins destroyed the field, winning by a whopping seven seconds, in a time of 8.23.62.

“I'm so pleased and so proud, this is the biggest achievement of my life,” he said.  “Being on the podium when that flag went up was just great.”

Not a bad result for a young man who had previously never even competed outside of the UK.  The fact that Callum showed so much humility before he left for the Games is certainly a testament to his character.  He may have been privately confident of a win, (or he may not), but outwardly he was simply focused on making the most of his opportunity. 

In many ways, this is a mantra all athletes should go by, because what is a race, match or contest but a chance to showcase what you can do?  You can put in a world record performance and still finish second to the person who puts in an even better one.  The best an athlete can do is just that, their best.

Callum took up running at eight-years-old, initially in cross-country, largely thanks to the influence of his Dad.  Robert Hawkins was himself a Scottish champion runner, and is the current president of Callum’s athletics club, Kilbarchan AAC. 

“I first got into running around P5, and I won the Scottish Schools cross-country in P7.  When I was at under-13 level, I was starting to medal at some of the more major championships.  I thought to myself, ‘I might be quite good at this.’

Callum continued to work hard and not long after this he achieved the biggest result of his career, until Finland of course, winning the under-15 Inter-Counties championship.  When he got the call-up for the European Youth Olympic Festival, he was understandably delighted, and got to work on his preparations for the big event.

“I’ve been doing a lot of race specific training for it.  Stuff like surging in the middle of reps and trying to pick up the pace over the last 200 metres.  It’s probably the most intense training I’ve ever done, as it’s the biggest stage I’ve ever raced on.”

Before his selection, Callum had taken the decision himself to pick up the level of his training anyway.  He had spent the winter doing weights in the gym, and competed in several open races south of the border against much more experienced opposition.

“I’ve been going down to England a lot this year to get into good races and bring my time down.  I was competing in open races against men but I was still getting good times.”

Callum attends Gryffe High School in Houston, but despite his busy study schedule, he still managed to pack in a similar level of training to many professional sportsmen and women.

“On big weeks I would be training nine times, but it wouldn’t always be tough training, it might just be light running.  But I am a lot stronger now.  I’m not as ‘rocky and rolly’ in a race as I used to be and I’m not losing energy towards the end. 

And of course, having his Dad and the older members of his club around to coach him and pass on their expertise also provided him with a little extra assistance.

“They really help, especially when it comes to training.  Sometimes you can’t find people of your own age to train with and it really helps that those guys are around.  It’s hard to train on your own. 

“They pass on lots of wee tips here and there, and you don’t really notice them helping until you’re actually in a race.”

Their guidance, and Callum’s extra commitment, paid off perfectly in the end at the Youth Olympic final.  Just as he had practised dozens of times, Callum used his improved strength and stamina to keep pace during the race, and then he kicked for home with a couple of hundred yards to go, just like in training, and his opposition was left virtually standing.

There is no doubt however that Callum will retain his modesty.  Despite the magnitude of his victory, he knows there is a long way to go before he reaches the very top level.

“I’m aiming to get to the Junior World Cross-Country Championships next year, that’s my short term goal. 

“Of course, I’d love to be able to compete at the very highest level, but it’s quite tough to get there.  I think I’ll be at the right age for stepping up by the 2014 Games in Glasgow and the 2016 Olympics.”

RO
© Copyright In The Winning Zone, MMIX, All Rights Reserved