The European under-23 10,000m champion displays on his Valencia race and the journey that has led him to change into a British record-holder
Rory Leonard made historical past final weekend (January 12) in Valencia as he broke the British 10km report with a exceptional time of 27:38. The 23-year-old slashed six seconds off the earlier mark, which was held by each Mo Farah and Emile Cairess.
Farah’s time got here within the 2010 Vitality 10,000, whereas Cairess matched it in Valencia three years in the past.
Whereas Leonard’s victory was spectacular, working by way of 5km in 13:45, he admits it wasn’t totally surprising, explaining that breaking the report had been his aim all alongside – regardless of feeling some struggles across the 3km mark.
Leonard wasn’t the one Brit with a standout run in Valencia. Charlie Wheeler completed because the second-fastest Brit and likewise ran faster than the earlier nationwide report and Leonard’s coaching accomplice, Efrem Gidey, broke John Treacy’s 40-year-old Irish report by three seconds with 27:43.
Although Leonard hadn’t raced a 10km on the highway since 2022, his current performances confirmed him he was heading in the right direction.
Rory Leonard (David Hewitson)
On the European Cross Nation Championships in Antalya, Leonard positioned ninth total, ending as the highest Brit and successful workforce bronze. He additionally earned a spot on the British workforce for the European Championships in Rome final summer time, working the ten,000m.
The final 10km Leonard ran on highway was when he ran 29:03 in Bordeaux in 2023. The yr earlier than that he lived in America whereas learning on the College of Arkansas, the place each his dad and mom honed their working.
His father Tony was a former British worldwide, whereas his mom Sharon was a medallist in English Colleges and Nationwide Cross Nation championships. Nonetheless, Leonard displays on the transfer to Arkansas as one thing that wasn’t the best match for his improvement as an athlete.
Now, Leonard trains with Crew Makou, an expert group supported by Hoka and coached by Andy Hobdell. The workforce, which incorporates athletes similar to Callum Elson, Scott Beattie, Ellis Cross, Efrem Gidey and Sarah Astin, has been making waves with stellar outcomes.
Rory Leonard (Mark Hookway)
How did it really feel to run the British 10km report?
Coming throughout the end line, realizing that I’d truly performed it was fairly cool as a result of from 5km, you’re in slightly little bit of panic mode as a result of you’ve by no means run that quick earlier than on the highway.
I felt horrible at 3km. I used to be feeling fairly unhealthy and was pondering I’ve nonetheless bought 7km of this to go. I noticed my 3km cut up and knew I needed to choose it up slightly bit as a result of I wasn’t bang on tempo by that time. I instructed myself that the whole lot would determine itself out in just a few kilometres, simply sit in, keep out of the wind and to tuck in, overlook about the whole lot, get to 5km and you then’re on the best way house.
I used to be working with [Narve Gilje] Nordas for 99% of the race – he additionally runs for Hoka – and I tucked in behind him and he put me away within the final 200m massively. I used to be fairly fortunate with the group that I discovered myself in as a result of Nordas was attempting to interrupt the Norwegian report, so he couldn’t let the tempo drop. I used to be attempting to interrupt the British report, so I couldn’t let the tempo drop, and so it led to fairly a pleasant buying and selling off impact.
Within the final 50 metres the place I may see the time correctly, I knew that I used to be going to get it, supplied no Brit got here round my shoulder and beat me.
Do you know you had been able to breaking it?
That was the explanation why I went, I didn’t go for another purpose, actually. However I additionally suppose that there have been three or 4 guys who on their finest day, may have performed it. Tright here’s lots of people who can do it, but it surely’s nearly truly getting it performed.
There’s so many components of whether or not you do it otherwise you don’t do it and and it’s getting it proper on the day. I instructed individuals beforehand, you might be somebody who breaks the British report on this race and be the third Brit throughout the road if everybody has day.
For me, it was if you exit quick sufficient, go laborious sufficient, then the time will likely be there on the finish.
What did you make of the sturdy efficiency from the opposite Brits?
It says a lot in regards to the depth that we’ve bought within the UK in the intervening time within the distance scene, which is nice information. I imply, I’m very completely satisfied that Charlie [Wheeler] was 4 seconds behind, I didn’t know he was coming, however he was.
Charlie and I had been at Loughborough collectively in 2020 and on the time we had been like 14-minute 5km guys. We weren’t actually anyplace close to the highest at that time, we had been form of plugging the miles away collectively. So, it was fairly cool that we got here throughout the road shut collectively. Clearly he broke that earlier report too so it was fairly good to do this with Charlie.
What does it imply to take the British report from athletes like Mo Farah and Emile Cairess?
It’s a difficult one with Mo as a result of I’m positive that if he had actually given a 10km highway race a go, when he was in his prime, he would have run so much faster than 27.44. It’s cool that he didn’t as a result of I get to say that I’ve damaged his report. However I additionally acknowledge that he’s a special beast and double, double Olympic champion.
On the Emile entrance, I have a look at him now and the best way that he’s performed issues. I do look as much as him and I feel ultimately I’d wish to be as profitable as he’s. I feel that’s all the way down to his laborious work too. So I’d wish to suppose that I’m on that trajectory for these future championships and stuff.
What does coaching seem like within the construct as much as this?
I haven’t performed a 10km on highway for fairly a very long time. We did the San Silvestre in Madrid final yr, effectively in 2023 on New 12 months’s Eve, which is 8km immediately downhill after which a 2km bounce, which is actually, actually laborious. It’s simply chaos.
Coaching sensible, I got here ninth at European Cross in mid-December and knew that I used to be in a fairly great place. We didn’t change a lot within the construct as much as this, it was very regular, the same old weekly schedule that we’d just do with slightly little bit of tune up work. However nothing loopy. It was simply sufficient that I may use the health that I had and tune up slightly bit for going by way of 5km comfortably.
Rory Leonard (British Athletics)
How did your coach and workforce react to the report?
Andy was buzzing and naturally, Efrem bought his Irish nationwide report, too so we got here throughout the road on the similar time, discovered Andy and it was nuts. We couldn’t have performed higher on the day for the group, particularly for me and Efrem.
All of us knew it was going to occur so greater than something, it was validating that that’s the place we’re at. It was such a good feeling that what we’re doing is working and we’ve bought an incredible environment across the workforce.
We’ve bought an incredible group. Everybody’s keen one another on after which while you get performances like that, it simply exhibits everybody that everybody else within the group goes to have these breakthrough performances as effectively.
Why does your coaching group work so effectively collectively?
I think about with different teams, the model pulls individuals in who probably don’t know one another. Truly, what we had was a bunch of 5 mates who conveniently had been attempting to show professional at the same time. We additionally had a really like-minded particular person in Chris Rainsford at Hoka who wished to tug this workforce collectively and with out Chris it doesn’t occur. It got here collectively so naturally that we didn’t rush it.
We didn’t announce the workforce till July of this yr and we’d been going about six or seven months earlier than that. What now we have is a real friendship, it’s a friendship group and I feel that it’s totally different to different groups the place they’re signing athletes.
They need the teams to work collectively and there’s no assure of chemistry. However what we had was chemistry earlier than it was a professional group and I feel that’s what’s particular about our group.
Andy Hobdell (Charlie McCarthy)
What has your transitional journey been like from a teen to now?
It’s unusual as a result of I haven’t missed a GB vest for yearly since I used to be 17 and I’m 23 now. However each single considered one of these years has seemed so totally different. It seems to be nice making GB vests, however I’ve had years the place issues had been going nice and issues had been going terribly.
I’ve managed to get right here by studying from big errors within the build-up and a type of was going to America and determining that it’s not the best match for me. However fortunately I had the health to come back again to Liverpool and make a workforce.
By way of like transitioning to the seniors, I feel I’ve all the time been instructed by my dad, who was an incredible runner as effectively that the beneath 23 age group exists and it’s good and useful to transition by way of. Should you come out of that age group proper, you then’ll be one of many seniors on the entrance and also you’ll be doing what you’re doing.
I feel I’ve bumped up properly yearly, coaching sensible, high quality sensible, quantity sensible and it takes that as effectively to not get injured. I do know some individuals get actually unfortunate with accidents.
How does your dad’s success in working allow you to together with your profession?
He went by way of the highs and lows of his profession additionally. He understands what it means to interrupt a British report or to get anyplace close to that, and to attain one thing like that. So for him, I feel it’s additionally fairly surreal.
I feel in his thoughts, I’m his son, proper? He all the time thought I’d do one thing like this. In order that’s pretty however I feel truly doing it’s fairly particular. To have a household who utterly perceive it and the work that’s gone into it, it’s nice.
What’s are your targets for 2025?
I’m not totally positive, as a result of I’d like to make the world champs, proper? However the time is 27 flat to get into that championships. The rating factors are going to be laborious to come back by so my absolute, nearly unrealistic, aim can be to make that world championships.
I’m going to go to Sound 10km [The Ten] on March 29 and that’s once I’ll take an enormous swing at getting the potential UKA normal and seeing if that’ll bump me into the rankings. However aside from that, I feel it’s a little bit of a free hit of the yr.
I’m going to go to Boston subsequent month, try to run a quick 5000m. My PB in the intervening time is 13:29 and I can run so much sooner than that and ideally I’ll do this subsequent month.
I feel with these occasions being set at one thing like 27 flat, you’re not going to do it in a yr. I’m fairly fortunate within the place that I’m at with the funding, with the ability to be full time with Hoka, that I can see myself getting there, but it surely would possibly take a few years. It’d take just a few years to run 27 flat. You’ve bought to do an terrible lot of coaching and you may’t cram all that into one coaching block.
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