Like most British schoolkids, Charlie Grice started out playing football where he played at county level. A promising athlete, the young Grice also took to track and field – an arena where he later decided to focus his abilities.
Charlie’s breakthrough came in 2010, when he broke the English Schools' Athletics Association Championships record in the final of the 1500 metres while taking the title.
Grice represented Team GB at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, winning a bronze medal. Three years later, he won silver at the European U23 Championships, before competing at both the Commonwealth Games and senior European Championships in 2014. His Olympic Games debut came at Rio 2016, finishing 12th in the 1500m final.
For a runner, workouts on the Wattbike are a fitness foundation.
"I replicate workouts I would do on the track. For example, some days would be speed endurance (800m) type sessions. Another session in the week might be tempo mile rep efforts (5 min efforts) or 1km (3min efforts) reps off short rest."
In 2019, Grice set a PB of 3:30.62, overtaking legendary British middle-distance runner Steve Ovett on the all-time list, placing him behind Sebastian Coe, Steve Cram and Mo Farah – all titans of the metric mile.
"I like having diversity in my training. The high cadence, easy recovery rides improve my leg strength and fitness without thrashing my legs – so I’m ready to go hard again the next day."
Looking to the future, Charlie has his eyes firmly set on selection for Paris ‘24. But he already knows well that reaching defining goals like these aren’t just about big moments in a vacuum, it’s about how you prepare for them. Consistency, overcoming challenges, focus – the mindset and habits he’s built can benefit every athlete, whatever their goal.
"Cycling is a great tool that’s underutilised by runners. Whatever your level, you can benefit from cycling. Whether that's active recovery, a short, easy spin to flush out the lactic from a hard track workout, or if I have an injury I can progress my fitness without affecting the injured area. There’s also high intensity workouts which will improve your fast twitch muscle fibres – there are so many benefits to riding, I’m glad I have this trusted tool in my repertoire."
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