The Training Secrets of the New 50-Mile KingCharlie Lawrence is a professional marathon and ultramarathon runner. The son of two cross-country coaches, he won state championships in high school before moving to Boulder, Colorado to train his endurance at altitude and pursue his Olympic dream. (He competed in his first Olympic Trials in 2020.) At the same time, like many athletes in the ultrarunning era, Lawrence has looked for offbeat ways to make his mark on the world of running. On November 11, Lawrence set a new 50-mile world record, running the distance in a time of 4:48:21 and besting the previous record by nearly two minutes. This was just a month after qualifying for the 2024 Olympic Trials at Bakline’s McKirdy Micro Marathon, with a time of 2:16:10. Lawrence spoke to us about the world-record effort, strategies for pushing past his body’s limits and what’s next on his running horizon. |