Consistency, Speed, and Ambition: The Making of Alex Lennon
At seventeen, Alex Lennon has already raced for Great Britain twice and is heading to the United States on a full athletics scholarship. He talks training around A Levels, letting go of a bad race within a day, and why the long game matters more than winning young.
Alex Lennon, a middle-distance runner and a fixture at the front of the cross-country field, has dominated over the last five years. National victories, England vests, and most recently representing GB at the Under-21 World Championships in America. At only 17, he's one to watch, and remember, for the future.
Finding the sport
It may come as no surprise that Lennon found his passion for running young. He started with local school races and junior parkruns from the age of 10, and quickly discovered his talent for endurance sport. At 12, he joined Sutton and District AC to fuel his training and ambitions.
The weekly grind
Seven years on, Lennon is still training relentlessly while balancing his A Levels. Asked how he manages both, he's direct about it: "For me personally I have a daily time where I guarantee to myself time to chill, regardless of any work that is due. It really helps me stay sane."
A snapshot of his training week:
- Monday: 10km easy, S&C: lower body
- Tuesday: Track session, e.g. 2×(4×400), his favourite session
- Wednesday: 10km easy, cross training
- Thursday: Track session
- Friday: 10km easy, cross training, S&C: upper body
- Saturday: Tempo run
- Sunday: Slow long run
Proudest moments
From the mud to the road to the track, Lennon has become one of the most accomplished athletes in British junior distance running. But his proudest moment wasn't the biggest stage. "Competing at the European U18 Championships, as it took the most work, and I had the most unlikely-looking build-up to qualifying for that race. And of course, representing GB for the first time was an insane experience."
He speaks most enthusiastically about racing internationally, and how it shifted his belief in the process. "Racing internationally helped give me the confidence that I do what I do for a good reason. There were times when I was younger and I would be in a period of hard training and start to question why, or what the point was. Representing your country gives you such a sense of purpose that it propels you to work so much harder in training."
What sets him apart
Asked what he thinks gives him an edge, Lennon points to consistency over any single physical gift. "I think my biggest advantage is my ability to go non-stop for a very long period of time. There were times in my life where I would get up extremely early to run, then do school, then after school go to work, then after work hit the gym, and then go home afterwards. My brain is wired to constantly work, and that means I never really run into the problem of burnout, and I haven't really had a rest week in years. I can keep going for as long as is required without a problem. That's my biggest strength over others."
On the start line of a championship race, I'm usually visualising how I'm going to take the race, and visualising success at the finish. I find it helps to motivate me and keep me calm. Alex Lennon
Setbacks
Like every athlete, Lennon has had to work through setbacks. "The biggest challenge of my journey so far has been when I don't know what to do to improve. Last track season I did not PR in the 1500m the entire season, and I had no clue why. That was the most challenging, as I had no clue what steps I had to take to get better."
His way through it is fast and practical. "I deal with disappointment very quickly. Whenever I have a poor race, I will just train perfectly for the week after, and it removes all feelings of disappointment. I don't hold onto the feeling of dissatisfaction for more than maybe a day, as I don't find it useful to."
Beyond running
Outside athletics, Lennon has a keen eye for business. "I find fashion and photography interesting. I used to run an athletic clothing brand (Boltrunning) which helped me to expand on both fashion and photography. I used to work as a photographer before I was taking running as seriously."
What's next
Lennon is heading to the University of Georgia in the USA on a full athletics scholarship. His ambitions there are stated plainly, in his own words rather than anyone else's prediction:
My greatest ambition for the future is to be the Seb Coe of British middle-distance running. I want to represent my country on the Olympic and World stage, and be the fastest Brit to do so. I want to have the pride of the country resting on my shoulders. Alex Lennon
Advice to his younger self
"I would tell my younger self to embrace the fact that when racing in youth, it's about the long game, not the short-term wins. I could name so many people that won races at U13/U15, even U17, and now either don't run at all due to injuries, or are nowhere near where they were back then. It's very easy to overtrain yourself when you're young, and it's tempting, as you think it will help you win. But you have to remember the overall goal."
His advice to other young runners
Asked for the one piece of guidance he'd pass on, Lennon comes back to visualisation. "My biggest advice to young runners is to spend some time every day thinking about the success you want to achieve. By thinking about and visualising your success every day, it goes from a vague desire to a strong vision. This will give you the motivation to put the work in."