By Kelly Joy — February 2024

Photos provided by Callie Lang

It is not often I get to interview someone in the same state as me, so I was excited to know I would not mess up on the offset and get the time difference wrong; this has been known, as I am messy human, who is a little bit creative, but not creative enough to use this as an excuse. Callie lives in Denver, so it was an easy win for me, and I always love to meet a potential new local friend, who loves to geek out about running as much as I do.

I sat at the appointed time and the FaceTime rang, ‘click’ and Callie’s smiling face appeared on my screen. The thing I instantly saw / felt, even via a digital phone line, was Callies ease with herself and quiet confidence in who she was as a person. This was not a smack me in the face confidence, but a gentle self-assurance, comfort in knowing exactly who you are as a person and how you want to navigate life. An individual who knew without a doubt that the path she was on was the right one. I instantly felt at ease in her presence.

Who is Callie?

Callie is a 29 year old, born Connecticut, settled Denver, via NYC, former D1 Field Hockey player, who works in corporate finance for Danone (yes, the yoghurt people). She is married to Wes and has one dog, whom she adores, a Golden Doodle called Alfie. She has been working with Matt Hensley from Boulder Underground since 2018 and she is a marathoner. PHEW………… I think I have all the background down. Now let’s get into the juicy stuff, and for us runners, juicy stuff = running stuff.

What makes Callie, well Callie?

From our hour long conversation together the thing that was startingly obvious was Callies love of the process, where the ability to follow a process, outweighs the desired result, and this is not just in sport. Because to be honest, Callie is not just a runner, she is a sportswoman. She is a person whom no matter what she does in life, it will be with a commitment that will surpass anything else. Her dedication to following a system that will enable her to reach her goals, actually blew my mind, it was so strong that it was practically tangible.

Because to be honest this piece is not about Callie and her running, to me this is about a human, who applies the facets of becoming good at a sport to all areas of her world. She doesn’t train to get better at running, she trains to be a more improved individual, to obtain positive habits, that she can apply to all she does, as she navigates through a life that can, if allowed, drown you. This mindset, if you let it can be rigid and inhibit you from allowing yourself time to rest, be wild, make undesirable, yet fun choices, however Callie, is aware of this and allows herself time to be still, make choices.

Let’s Dig a little Deeper.

Callie started to play field hockey when she was in 6th Grade, and this progressed into high school, where she realized that this could be her ticket to getting into a good school for college. She loved playing hockey, but more than that she adored the things that were built around it, the training, nutrition, skill refining and the community she found herself in. This is where her knowledge of her own ability and success, not in an arrogant way, but as a quiet self-assured determination, allowed her to follow her desired path. Because, after visiting Georgetown in DC, Callie told her father that this is where she would go to school, and low and behold she did, to study International Economics. Senior year Callie met her husband Wes who is equally as driven and big into Cross Fit and cycling. When they graduate, Callie moves to NYC for a job in investment banking, and Wes to Boulder to go to Law School. They have a long distance relationship for two full years, until life in NYC starts to feel claustrophobic for the play hard, work hard Callie. So, she up sticks and moves to Colorado, to take advantage of the Colorado lifestyle, be with Wes and to be closer to family.

Callie’s Running Relationship

Our protagonist admits she is internally competitive, which never surprises me when you talk to anyone dedicated to and who actively loves to push themselves within a sporting realm.

So, how did Callie migrate from D1 field hockey to running a marathon? After moving to NYC our heroine was missing the training and regimen of playing hockey at school, she was working out in the gym, but the feeling and buzz, were just not the same. She wanted to “train,” rather than “just workout!” She welcomes the half marathon and marathon into her life. Callie runs her first marathon in 2017, the NYC marathon, no big deal and she runs a 3:57:47, just like that she breaks the 4 hour barrier. In her words she is fast enough to hang with the ”middle-aged men.” Callie has now gone on to run three full and multiple half marathons. Her time significantly improved to 3:43:30, which she runs at the California International Marathon in 2022.

Due to a very busy work schedule, some days Callie can only manage a 30 minute run, especially in the winter months, she has learnt not to be hard on herself. She has allowed herself some grace, if she can get out there then that is a win for her, as between a demanding job, coaching field hockey once a week to K-12 kids, and until recently also finishing her MBA, there is not much time left in her day. When her days were her working all day, going to school at night and having 10 – 20 hours of homework to complete in the week, that fact she has time for anything else is mind blowing. Let alone, run, spend time with her partner and walk her dog Alfie, plus Callie loves to cook all her meals from scratch and is a huge advocate of the “Run Fast, Eat Slow.” cookbooks by Shalane Flanagan and Elyse Kopecky.

I run because I want to improve in all areas of my life. If I cannot run enough, it is all about the process, it creates the building blocks to everything I want to achieve across sport and living.
I have become good at saying “no.” Being efficient with my work, and prioritizing exercise for 1 hour a day is essential, as it is just as important to care for my mental and physical wellbeing.

This is pretty amazing, as it can take most people years to figure this out, I personally did not start doing this until my forties, so I am very impressed.

The Deuteragonist (the sidekick) – Matt Hensley, Boulder Underground

Callie met Matt in 2018, on a track in Boulder, CO, and this was after she ran her first marathon in NYC. Like all good Matt Hensley stories, it started with …. “They met on the track and started chatting!”

As with all my interviewees I ask, “what is it about Matt’s coaching style that you love?” For Callie, Matt helped her to transition her mindset from a D1 hockey player to a runner. Where in hockey everything was done with 150% commitment, discipline, and effort. In running not every run has to be ‘all out,’ ‘easy’ runs are just that ‘easy.’ To run easy is to save your energy for key workouts while building you into a sustainable and strong runner. As Callie states

I want to be a lifelong athlete, driven by goals.

Matt really showed Callie how ‘the magic’ is the process. When Callie first started out with Boulder Underground, she was very goal focused, it was all about pace, and time.

I am a naturally competitive person. Matt taught me to let go of that, he truly changed my mindset, and for the better.

What I loved.

What I love about Callie is her clarity when she looks at her life. She truly knows what she wants to take out of it, yes at times the path may not always be clear, yet she has a sixth sense that it will take her to a place or point in time that she needs to be in. She is not scared to push for her goals, but there is a tentative respect for her boundaries that will enable her to be able to pursue all she desires without failure or burning out. She is strong but not hard, she is driven, but not narcissistic, she is single minded, but flexible to others, she is competitive, yet still a cheerleader. She is her own ying and yang, a perfect balance of opposites within the same human being, which creates the sustainable total package. Her philosophy is that her running is her own investment into her life, and her wellbeing, both mentally and physically. Whether she achieves her goals in sport is actually of no real importance, as the noteworthiness goes to the journey she takes to get there, and there my friends is the lesson Callie can teach us all whether we be runners or not. I am excited to see where Callie goes from here and to watch her soar in her life.

Cool things about Callie.

Fuel – Real, whole foods (Run Fast, Eat Slow), Superhero Muffins. Races – Stinger Chews
Hydrate – Nuun Tablets – Callie and Wes even had these for guests at their wedding.
Sneakers – Training – Saucony Triumph, Racing – Still searching for her perfect shoe.
1Year/5Year plan – I have actually checked a lot of goals recently, like school, work, moving, running a marathon. I am excited now to take a step back and be more present, for friends, family, running, I am excited to lean into what I have become from my achievements.
Who drives you? – my husband, we are naturally quite competitive with each other, and my mother who actually started me running when I was younger.
Who Inspires you? – Mikaela Shiffrin – she is an amazing downhill skier, with the most world cup wins, and she is only twenty-eight. Her work ethic is beyond, she says that if she focuses on the other opponent in a race she will lose, if she focuses on the building blocks that got her there, she can win.”
Secret skill, obsession, or superpower – I am obsessed with my Golden Doodle Alfie, so much so that I will prepare her fresh cooked meals like Greek chicken with lemon dill tzatziki, brown rice, and tahini. Ok Alfie, eats better than I do 😉

"The building blocks to becoming a healthy, sustainable runner are the tools needed to be a better person in all other areas of life." - Callie Lang