Cambridge & Coleridge Athletic Club’s Callum Elson sets sights on more glory in 2023 following Great Britain breakthrough
Growing up, Callum Elson dreamed of running out at Elland Road in the famous crisp all-white kit of his beloved Leeds United.
And he got closer than most to realising that ambition, spending his school years as part of the club’s academy set-up before eventually being released.
Yet although his pursuit of a career in football ultimately reached an early conclusion, Elson is now making great strides in another sport, so much so that he has already earned international recognition.
While the now Cambridge resident had shown glimpses of talent in a number of running races, he spent a large majority of his time at Durham University playing football.
But when Covid-19 lockdowns ground ‘the beautiful game’ at all levels to a halt, Elson swapped his football boots for running spikes. And although it was tough to give up what he loved most, he has gone from strength to strength.
“It was only when Covid hit in 2020 and the football season got cancelled that I didn’t have anything to do so I just decided to run,” he said.
“I’d run a bit to that point and done a little bit of training and a few races, but I’d never had the time to fully commit to it.
“You know what it’s like with football – you spend half the week limping around after a match and then the other half of the week getting ready to limp around again!
“(Quitting football) was really difficult to start with. Because I had some natural talent for running, people were telling me to stop playing football a lot earlier than I did.
“A lot of athletes did that and they’ve had a lot of success as a result, but for me running is such an individual sport and a pretty introverted sport to be honest.
“The connotations that come with it like not going on nights out, being quite individual, whereas my personality and my best friends were all from football. I love the camaraderie of it, I love the team event and I loved being on the team bus.
“I kept playing because I loved doing it and it made my uni experience.
“I knew when I was ready to stop and when it felt right for me, but it was tough to stop playing – it still is.”
Upon graduating from Durham, Elson was offered the opportunity to develop his running ability in the USA. His times had captured the attention of American International College coach Lee Mayo, who felt that if Elson knuckled down, he could have a bright future.
The progress he made on the other side of the Atlantic was pleasing, but it was in 2022 – having moved to central Cambridge to live with his girlfriend – that people within the sport started to take him very seriously.
Upon joining up with Cambridge & Coleridge Athletic Club alongside being coached by the Miami-based Nick Aguila, Elson’s stock rose, thanks in part to him becoming just the 217th Brit to run a sub-four-minute mile, stopping the clock in 3.59.71 at the BU Valentine meeting in Boston, Massachusetts.
And with that his country also came calling, first to represent Great Britain in Turin, Italy, and more recently England at the Elgoibar International in Spain.
The recently-turned 24-year-old said: “Last year was everything to me. I went from 2021 and being pretty average, running times that a lot of people could run, to getting some great results.
“I’d never really done much middle-distance running because as a kid when you do those types of distances I was playing football.
“My coach in America wanted me to try some shorter distances indoors last January and that’s when I ran a sub four-minute (mile), which changed everything. That’s such a big thing in the UK and it kind of timestamps you as one to watch.
“It meant the rest of the year I had a few more eyeballs on me and I managed to run some more good times and won a few things in America.
“When I came back to the UK I had a really good platform and I’ve kicked on. I’ve gone from being a pretty average runner where I might win the local parkrun but I’m not amazing, to representing Great Britain.”
Aguila’s guidance has proven to be priceless in Elson’s development.
A lot of the work the pair do together is done remotely, although Elson does travel to the States when times allows or for certain meetings, allowing the pair to go through face-to-face sessions.
But Elson is also keen to highlight the role that Cambridge & Coleridge have played in his recent rise.
“It was more luck than judgment because my girlfriend just happened to get a job in Cambridge so that’s why we moved, but the group is fantastic,” he added.
“I think we’ve got the best training group in the UK, I 100 per cent believe that. If I had to choose – even removing my bias – there is nowhere else in the UK I’d want to base myself.
“Access to facilities, we’ve got everything we could possibly need, whether it be private or through the university.
“And the club itself, pretty much at every distance from the track all the way up to the marathon we’ve got some of the best athletes in the UK. We’re medalling nationally as a club and it’s only getting stronger.”
The challenge now is to continue the upward trajectory, with 2023 set to provide a different set of obstacles to overcome.
But Elson is hopeful that it could be a year in which he moves closer to the professional ranks.
“A lot of it is time focused. A lot of it is racing against the clock in the sense that winning races would be great, but times are what really help your career progression,” he said.
“If you ever want to qualify for a major championship then you need ultimately to get good times.
“I’ll be chasing some times on the track in the summer and while I work with some brands and sponsors now I’m not signed to anyone on a professional contract so I want to explore some more commercial opportunities and make it more of a career for myself.
“That’s one of my biggest goals, to see if I can make this my career and what that could potentially look like.
“And then ultimately I want to run for Great Britain and England as many times as I can.
“I raced for GB for the first time last year having never even run in a county vest before. I went straight to GB, I’m making my England debut and then hopefully I can gain more experience in other international races throughout the year.”
And while those targets, along with the added expectation, bring with it a greater level of pressure, it will be very much business as usual.
Elson said: “I’m actually almost in the opposite mindset (to feeling pressure) of trying to enjoy the rewards of where I’ve got to.
“I’m getting myself up to a level where it does now come with what I would call nicer things. You can get into better races, you have the opportunity to travel and get a little bit of financial support with racing as well.
“I’ve worked hard to get myself up to what I would call a sub-elite level so I feel like I should enjoy that.
“Of course I do want to chase times and if this time next year I’ve not run any faster than I have now I would definitely be disappointed.
“But how I have got to this point is by enjoying it, getting my head down, doing what is sensible and listening to people who know a lot more than me. All of a sudden I’ve got to this point so I’m looking to do the same in 2023. I don’t want to overthink anything.”
To chart Elson’s continued journey, follow @the.distanceproject on Instagram.