Honour Roll
Abdullahi Hassan
During the 800m finals at the 2017 ofsaa Track Championships, Abdullahi Hassan remembers telling himself, “just try and stick with them until the last 200 m.” While this mantra might seem like Hassan just wanted to hang on to the leaders until the end, anyone in the stands that day would have observed just the opposite – that he was waiting until the last 200 m to unleash a devastating kick. Canadian Running’s post-race video interview with Hassan is aptly named “Abdullahi Hassan on video-game-like acceleration.” That same weekend, Hassan took home the silver medal in the 400m. While attending Birchmount Park Collegiate, Hassan runs for the school and also belongs to the Phoenix Athletics Club, the same school/club combination that produced Canadian Olympic sprinter Aaron Brown.
How did you get into running?
My gym teacher convinced me to join the cross-country team at school. I really wasn’t that good, but the team was good [they took home the midget boys championship], so I decided to stick with it and run indoor and outdoor track. That’s when I discovered the 400m and 800m, which definitely suits me more than cross-country. That led to me joining a club outside of school, which allows me to get a little bit more one-onone attention from a coach.
What advice would you give to someone just starting out in the world of track?
I’d tell them to try out all the different events because you never know what you’re going to be really good at. I ran everything from the 100m to the 1,000m when I first started out. I thought that the 400m was my best event, but then as I kept running the 800m, it became clearer each time I raced that this was my event.
What are your goals for this year?
For the track season, I want to break 50 in the 400m and try and break 1:53 for the 800m. I’m only in Grade 10, so I’m not really thinking university, or anything beyond ofsaa at this point.
What’s a typical training week like for you?
I run every day. I usually workout on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday are mileage days and Sunday is a long run. On mileage days I’m usually running about 6k. In terms of workouts, I feel like 4 x 400m at a pace that is faster than 800m pace and slower than 400m pace, with two- to three-minutes rest in between, is a workout that has really helped me track my improvement.
Are there any runners that you look up to or admire?
I’d say David Rudisha, the 2012 and 2016 Olympic champion and world record holder in the 800m.— CF