We talk to the British international who is making good progress but isn’t about to get ahead of himself
After a whirlwind few months, Charlie Wheeler takes time to reflect. “I don’t want to say it’s a long time coming but I feel like I’m validating my position in the sport a little bit more,” he says.
Buoyed by his recent progress but aware of the work that still needs to be done, the 26-year-old is philosophical about his current standing.
At January’s Valencia 10km, he ran 27:42 and went under Mo Farah’s British record by one second, with Rory Leonard setting a national mark of 27:38.
Although placing himself second on the UK 10km all-time list, that run still saw him finish 19th in Valencia and almost a minute behind Sweden’s Andreas Almgren, who set a European 10km record with 26:53.
“It’s weird thinking: ‘Oh, you’re under the old British record’ but then still lose the race by around 50 seconds,” Wheeler says. “When you think that you’ve gone under a mark by Mo Farah but you were that far off the lead, I mean, how do you reflect on that? I’m sure that the Farah of today’s era, in these shoes, would be 30 or 40 seconds down the road.
“So I think you have to be careful comparing yourself to retired athletes because you’re not racing ghosts, you’re competing against the athletes of today. I’m getting closer to that level but there’s still a long way to go.”
Wheeler also competed for Great Britain over 10km – his first ever international vest – at last month’s European Running Championships in Leuven, Belgium. On a narrow and undulating course, he finished 21st in 28:40.
For the first three kilometres of the race, he was part of the leading pack, alongside eventual winner Yann Schrub, but dropped back down the field just before the half-way point. It was an invaluable experience.
“I hope this will be the first of many appearances for Great Britain,” adds Wheeler. “Let’s be realistic, though, this was one of the easier GB teams to make in recent years so it felt like a foot-in-the-door moment rather than a major milestone.
“I guess I’ve still got a little bit of imposter syndrome. I find it weird when people say to me: ‘You’re a really good runner’, and I’m like: ‘Well I’m not, I’m losing races by 30, 40 seconds’. I’d love to eventually get to a world-class standard and make Olympic and world teams.”
Wheeler, although not discounting the possibility, believes that the 2025 World Championships isn’t currently a realistic goal, with both next year’s Commonwealth Games and European Championships being the main targets.
Despite his recent progress over 10km, his preferred distance is still the 5000m, for which his personal best is 13:20.17 from Boston last February.
“If my summer went perfectly, I think I could get close to the world standard [13:01.00]’,” Wheeler says. “I’ve got a lot of progress to make before then, though.
“Last summer, I was at the Olympics and spent a lot of time hanging out with athletes after their races. I always thought that people at major global championships were different to me but a lot of my friends competed for Great Britain in Paris and you realise they’re just normal people.”
Wheeler’s twin brother George also competes at a high level and the pair run for the Milton Keynes Distance Project. Although the pair seek advice from coach Jim Bennett, they actually design their own training plan and Wheeler believes that is currently the right approach.
“We pretty much do everything ourselves,” he explains. “It’s currently working as I’m progressing quite nicely but I would like to be a bit quicker! We can’t rush these things, though, and I know exactly where I want to be.”
