Charles Chandler '25 Recruiting Profile

Hi, my name is Charlie. 

I am a keen 18 year-old distance runner based in Ballarat, Australia. I’m currently in Year 12 and will graduate November of 2024 aiming to commence university / college in 2025. 

I started running more seriously in 2019 and joined the Eureka Athletics club under coach, Rod Griffin. I compete in both cross-country and track and have represented Victoria at the Australian National Championships in both disciplines over the last few years. Currently, I am competing in u20 as of December of 2023. 

My best track event to date has been the 3000m; in 2022 I placed 8^th nationally in my age group and my current PB is 8:32 run at ZATOPEK in December 2023. I also finished 3rd in the Victorian u20 5km championships (14.57) in Nov 2023. As a strength-based runner, I have seen significant improvement in these events over the last few years and believe I have a great potential for improvement. Moreover, throughout the Winter I take part in the Victorian cross-country circuit. I have consistently medaled in both my age group and the age group above. For the 2023 cross country season my best performances were 18.30 in the 6km Regional Lap of the Lake Cross Country (3rd overall, 1st U18), 2nd U18 in the Albert Park VIC 10km road race where I ran 32:23, 31:44 for the road 10km on the Gold Coast AUS in July 2023, and finishing 11th u18 Australian at the National Cross Country championships in Canberra 2023. 

I believe my consistently improving training is as a result of my healthy relationship with my club whereby my coach gives me honest feedback regarding my running, and I enjoy spending time with my training partners both at training and at school. I’m disciplined in both my training and my regular strength and conditioning program which I utilise at least twice a week. I participated as a part of the high-performance WestVic program in 2022 and 2023 which has provided me with insight on how to improve my training and performance.

I have had a 5 month break from running in early 2024 addressing some knee issues and recommenced a full training program in late May 2024 with a graduated return to full competition and racing over the past couple of months and I am excited to see what the 2024/2025 track season holds. 

I attend Ballarat and Clarendon College and am a strong student, currently studying English language, General maths, accounting, PE and Visual communications and am planning to study Business management as well in my final year. I achieve consistently strong results within the top 5% of the state and am hoping to achieve an Australian Tertiary Entrance Ranking (ATAR) above 90 (top 10%). I’m an organised student who is able to manage school-training life comfortably. I’m currently in a school leadership position as Vice Captain at Ballarat Clarendon College. My other interests include photography, working on holiday camps as a camp councillor, and operating as a volunteer surf life saver at the beach. I’m interested in pursuing either a degree in business/ commerce or in design and other related areas upon completion of school and aligning this with my love for running by attending a college where I can pursue my long-term running goals.

I completed the SAT in October 2023 achieving a 1250 (600 in English and 650 in Math).