The Secret Running Obsession of Elite Golfer Charley Hull

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UNTAPPED with Spencer Matthews 2 speakers 7 chapters transcribed 2 months ago
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How did Charley Hull's running journey begin?

Spencer Matthews 0:00
You're one of the most recognizable faces in the game of golf, but you're also a very keen runner. You use running for all elements of your life. Tell me a bit about your journey with running.
Charley Hull 0:16
So I actually started with my trainer, Kate Davey, who was madly into... She was one of the best in high rocks. And I started training with her like three years ago, two years ago. And I really got into my running kind of through that, trying to, you know, it helps with high rocks, obviously, because it's mainly running. And I fell absolutely in love with running. And I went and got, you know, when they can... test you for like for your threshold runs and everything I got obsessed with threshold runs I was loving them it was really helping me beat my time because naturally I'm not a good runner so I was obsessed with trying to break 20 for my 5k and I was literally just about to do it got an illness at a tournament where I fainted so
Charley Hull 0:57
And I didn't run for like a week, just tried to recover because I had the AIG Women's Open the week after and I wanted to be fresh for that. So after that, I was going to do my sub 20 run. And then I tore the ligament in my ankle. So I was gutted and I haven't really been able to run properly since. I've only just been getting back into it, doing all my rehab.
Spencer Matthews 1:15
There's kind of nothing worse than wanting to progress and running and getting a setback like that.
Charley Hull 1:21
Yeah, it just used to make me feel so good. Like I used to get up, if I had a tea time at eight o'clock in the morning, I used to get up at like 4.30. If it was a threshold day for my threshold runs, I'll do my threshold run, have a shower, get to the golf club. And I just feel like I'm one step ahead of everybody. Like I just loved it. And my mind felt so clear.
Spencer Matthews 1:38
So I was about to say, is it for the mental side of things or just the physical fitness as well?
Charley Hull 1:45
I felt like it was obviously for my physical fitness, but it felt like it just gave me so many endorphins that I would then carry out throughout the day. And it just made me feel so good. And I could think more clearer, got way more fitter, toned, and it helped me with my endurance on the golf course. Because if we're playing three or four week stretches... And you're walking seven or eight miles a day for, you know, four days on the trot and then prams and practice rounds and all the traveling as well. Yeah, I just become way fitter. And I wanted to become an athlete, not just a golfer. And it's really good. It helped me with jet lag. The more my fitness got better, the less jet lag I got. Like, I'm more recovered from it quicker.
Spencer Matthews 2:28
It sounds like you love running almost as much as you love golf.
Charley Hull 2:31
Yeah, there was a point where I actually was more focused on running than I was golf.
Spencer Matthews 2:35
Do you feel that it helps your golf game?
Charley Hull 2:37
Yeah, massively. Golf's an explosive movement, and I felt like running is a bit kind of explosive. So I did feel when I was running loads, my swing speed and ball speed increased considerably.
Spencer Matthews 2:54
it does have a very beautiful knock-on effect into the rest of your life.
Charley Hull 2:58
Yeah, definitely.
Spencer Matthews 2:59
Just that kind of chipping away at a goal, that having the structure in your life, the discipline of the sessions really helps me with all kinds of stuff, with family life, with work, with other sports. You know, what is it specifically about threshold training that you like? You've mentioned that a couple of times.
Charley Hull 3:16
So because Kate, because I was so obsessed with like my time of running. Like I used to do 5, 10, 15K runs like all the time. But then I was like running with my trainer Kate and I was sometimes a bit behind her because... She was obviously way faster, like she's an unbelievable athlete. And I was like, how do I speed this up? And she was like, well, we need to go get you tested, see where your threshold is. And then she'll send me over like a weekly program of like two threshold runs a week. And obviously loads of other different runs.
Spencer Matthews 3:49
Like an LT1 and an LT2.
Charley Hull 3:50
Yeah. And that then would help me beat my time. Because at the beginning of last year, I was at a golf tournament and they asked me, what's your goal for this year?

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