Photo courtesy of Emily Cameron, Cameron Creative Co., cameroncreativeco.com
Callan Hasling isn’t just an outstanding social work student; he’s an outstanding runner.
The fourth-year social work major won the Classic City Marathon in his first road marathon, completing the course in 2 hours, 40 minutes – nearly 11 minutes ahead of the next closest finisher. The high school cross country athlete-turned-ultrarunner kicked off the final semester of his bachelor’s degree studies with a win in the hometown classic, where he received plenty of motivation from family, friends and the general public in attendance.
“The main reason I wanted to run the Classic City Marathon was because it was the local race in a community that I love dearly,” Hasling said. “To be able to race and be cheered on by the whole community was awesome. It was a really special day.”
Hasling used a different training regiment from his traditional ultrarunning, which consists of races from 50 kilometers to more than 100 miles. For the marathon, he ran with the Athens Road Runners, and he also completed tempo workouts on the Firefly Trail and the Athens Greenway to prepare.
“The training was certainly different,” said Hasling, who also has been a cyclist in the past. “For the first time since high school I think I actually did workouts on the track. And because I live in Athens, I was able to run a handful of workouts on certain sections of the race course, which was incredibly helpful come race day.”
Hasling is training just as much in the classroom as he is on the trail. After earning his bachelor’s degree this May, he’ll return to campus to pursue a Master of Social Work (MSW) in the summer as a Double Dawg. Hasling is also completing an internship with the Georgia Division of Family & Children Services (DCFS), where he’s putting to use the topics he’s learning and skills he’s honing in the classroom.
In his internship, Hasling works in the foster care unit, where he attends court hearings, checks in with clients, and visits daycares, schools and homes to ensure foster children are placed in healthy and safe homes. Outside of his internship, Hasling has volunteered with homeless shelters as well as hospice facilities.
“It’s a heavy field,” Hasling said. “It’s difficult work, but I was certainly prepared for it because of the amazing professors and students in the School of Social Work.”
While earning his master’s degree is Hasling’s more immediate goal, he sees himself working with older adults in the future. Hasling’s master’s track includes a certificate in gerontology, and he’s volunteered with aging populations in the past, making hospice or palliative care a perfect landing spot during his career.
“I knew going into college that I wanted to work with people, and I also knew that, if I could help people help themselves, then maybe they could help others too–just to be able to make a positive impact was the biggest motivating factor,” he said. “Social work addresses that quite clearly. I get to work with populations, people and groups, and help those who might not have the resources or the abilities to do the things that I am fortunate enough to be able to do.”
