The Physiology of Endurance Running Podcast · Dan Nash and Owain Zerilli

The Athlete Series: Callum Hawkins

·1 hr 11 min·4 clips

Callum Hawkins tore his hamstring three weeks out from Doha and still finished fourth.

1. The Physiology of Endurance Running Podcast episode centers on Callum Hawkins and his marathon career. 2. The hosts introduce Callum Hawkins as a British distance runner, and his results matter because he ran 2:08 in London, 60:00 for the half marathon, and twice finished fourth at the World Championships. 3. The episode asks why Hawkins moved from the 5,000m and 10,000m to the marathon and how he has kept racing at a high level. 4. Hawkins says the move felt natural because he was always a "big old diesel engine" who thrived in cross country and longer races. 5. He links the decision to the Olympic standard changing from 2:12 to 2:14, which made the marathon look achievable. 6. He says there was not much depth on the British marathon scene at that point, so the road offered a real chance. 7. His debut marathon came in Frankfurt, where he ran 2:12 and learned that the event suited him. 8. He explains that the original plan had been to chase the 10,000m route first, but the British selection timetable changed the direction. 9. He says he ended up doing three marathons in ten months, which made the opening phase of his marathon career a trial by fire. 10. Hawkins describes pre-super-shoe fueling as 40g drinks, a gel on every bottle, and marathon sessions with just water. 11. He says later training shifted toward more fueling, including efforts to reach 90g per hour and to practice with soft flasks and bottles. 12. He gives a detailed example of marathon training with 11 sets of in-and-out kilometers at percentages of marathon pace. 13. He also describes a Sunday "Daniels" session that mixed marathon pace and half-marathon pace within the same long run. 14. Hawkins says the in-and-out work and later threshold sessions gave him the best fitness response. 15. He talks about lab testing, saying a treadmill test predicted 2:10 two weeks before London even though he later ran 2:08. 16. He says testing is useful for checking whether training is moving LT1 or LT2, but not for predicting a marathon result on one day. 17. The tone is conversational and technical, with the hosts asking detailed questions about pacing, fueling, heart rate, and injury management. 18. Hawkins comes across as direct and reflective, especially when he explains why he runs aggressively from the front and why he trusts race feel. 19. Listeners who like marathon training details and elite race tactics will get the most from this episode. 20. Listeners wanting a short celebrity-style interview without training talk may skip it.

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