Charles R. Lawrence

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Charles R. Lawrence
Personal information
Birth nameCharles R. Lawrence
Born (1995-03-24) March 24, 1995 (age 29)
USA
Sport
Country United States
SportTrack and field
Event(s)Marathon and ultramarathon
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)Marathon: 2:16:10
50K: 3:09:11
50 Miles: 4:48:21

Charles R. "Charlie" Lawrence (born March 4 1989) is an American ultramarathon and marathon runner.[1][2] He set a 50-mile IAU World Record time of 4:48:21 at the 2023 Tunnel Hill 50 in Vienna, Illinois.[3][4]

Early life

Charlie Lawrence is the son of two cross country coaches. He was confident in his running potential from a young age. He said in an interview "I knew I was a runner in first grade. I watched a state cross-country meet and told my mom and dad, 'I want to win that, and I’m going to win that.'"[5][6]

At Foley High School, he was a state champion in the 3,200-meter race and he set school records in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200.[7]

Lawrence graduated from high school in 2013 and attended the University of Minnesota, where he got undergraduate degrees in Business and Sports Management and a Master's degree in Sports Management. He competed on the school's Cross Country and Track teams for five years.[6]

Distance running career

Seven months after graduating from the University of Minnesota, in December 2018, Lawrence finished 20th at the U.S. Championships. In January 2019, he signed a professional deal with Hansons-Brooks Running Club, and he trained for a year for the 2020 Olympic marathon trials. While training, he worked as a ticket sales and development coordinator at Oakland University in Southeast Michigan. He finished the 2020 marathon trials 61st, and he believes he had overtrained for the race. He left Hansons-Brooks Running Club and moved to Boulder, Colorado to train with a coach named Tom Schwartz. At the time, his only sponsor was a supplement company called Live Momentous.[6]

Charlie Lawrence finished 61st in the United States Olympic Marathon Trials in February 2020. Lawrence became upset interested in setting the 50-mile race record in the fall of 2021. Earlier in 2021, he paced Des Linden in a 50K, where she broke the world record by more than seven minutes.[8] He got a stress fracture in 2022, and he paused his training until February 2023.[8]

On October 14, 2023, he set a personal best marathon time of 2:16:10 at the McKirdy Micro Marathon in New York, achieving a spot at the 2024 Olympic marathon trials.[8]

The Tunnel Hill 50 was his first 50-mile race; previously, his longest race had been in the low 30s in terms of mileage.[8] He planned to run in the 5:40 to 5:45 range for as long as he could hold on. During the race, he ran the first 24 miles at a faster pace than anticipated, below a 5:40 per mile pace. He slowed down before the 40-mile mark, with a mile pace between 5:50 and 6:00 per mile. Then, after passing through a 200-meter tunnel, the final ten miles had a slight decline. He paused for about ten seconds near mile 47 to stretch his legs, and he ran miles 48 and 49 at approximately a 6:30 pace.[8] He finished the race with a final time of 4:48:21, average pace of 5:46 per mile.[9]

His 50-mile ultramarathon record was ratified on January 16, 2024.[8] He beat the previous record of 4:50:08, which was set by Jim Walmsley at the HOKA One Project Carbon X event in California, by almost two minutes.[8]

Personal life

Charlie Lawrence moved to in Boulder, Colorado in 2020 for the altitude and the competitive athletic environment.[8]

References

  1. ^ "Charlie LAWRENCE | Profile | World Athletics". worldathletics.org. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  2. ^ "DUV Ultra Marathon Statistics". statistik.d-u-v.org. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  3. ^ Bedkowski, Jacek. "IAU Records". IAU – International Association of Ultrarunners. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  4. ^ "Charlie Lawrence Sets World Record at the 50-Mile Distance". Runner's World. November 13, 2023. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  5. ^ "Charlie Lawrence Breaks 50-Mile World Record Averaging 3:35 Per Kilometer". November 13, 2023. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c Mozey, Brian. "Charlie Lawrence prepares for Marathon Project run to wrap up 2020". St. Cloud Times. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  7. ^ Elliott, Tom. "Where are they now? Charlie Lawrence looks to 2020 Olympics". St. Cloud Times. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h "'I'm gonna get this thing': Boulder runner breaks 50-mile world record at Illinois race". Denver 7 Colorado News (KMGH). November 16, 2023. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  9. ^ "Running down a record". Benton County News. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
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