BUTCHART Andrew

General
US TRAINING STINT
In 2017 he relocated to San Diego, CA, United States of America, to train under coach Terrence Mahon before returning to Great Britain in early 2019 to train himself. "I don't do any of the training that I used to do in America so that just shows how much of it I believed in. I'm so confident in my own ability to get myself into good shape that I just do what I know works for me. It was a case of me not talking to the coach enough about what I enjoy doing, him not telling me what he was wanting me to be doing, it was all just a bit in the middle of nowhere. I think the downfall was the lack of communication between myself and Terrence but I don't regret going to America and I know Lynsey [partner, Sharp] is the same. If I was still here [without having gone] I would have been thinking, 'Should I be in San Diego? Should I be in America? Would I be the world champion?' You don't know these things so it was nice to give it a test and see what it's like. It went awfully badly and we're back here but that's just the way it is. We missed a year but that's not the end of the world." (thepowerof10.info, 11 Jan 2020; athleticsweekly.com, 06 Dec 2019)

RECORD WITH ONE SHOE
He broke the Scottish 5000m record at the 2016 FBK Games in Hengelo, Netherlands, despite running the final lap wearing only one shoe. "I had them tied properly, nice and tight, at the start, but it was wet and the rain seemed to loosen them as the race went on. It wasn't quite like running in flip-flops but it was getting to be a problem. With 400m to go I looked down and the right shoe was completely loose and my heel was in danger of coming free. I just had to kick that one off and away and get on with it. I was thinking, 'This isn't the best time for this to be happening'." (bbc.com, 23 May 2016)