There aren’t too many Brits living abroad who say that one of the things they miss most about this country is the weather.

Mind you, there aren’t too many Brits living abroad who are in a with a chance of representing their country at their chosen sport.

And that is certainly the case with middle-distance runner George Watson, who is nearing the end of a two-year sports scholarship at Bradley University in Illinois.

Watson, who has just turned 24, is a serious athlete who last year broke 14 minutes for 5K and this year has already run four minutes, four seconds for the mile.

“Winning an England vest is the ultimate,” said Watson, a long-time member of Cheltenham Harriers. “Everyone wants to represent their country.”

And while that is undoubtedly true, very few go on to realise their dream.

Watson, a former St Edward’s School pupil, is due back in this country around June, so will have plenty of time to press his claims over the summer.

His family live in Prestbury but the ex-Loughborough University student is uncertain where he will live once he returns to England.

He enrolled on a business studies course while at Bradley University, which is a two-hour drive from Chicago, and said: “I’m lucky, I get all the perks of being an elite athlete and I’m doing a degree as well. I’m applying for jobs now.”

Cheltenham Harriers will be hoping that he can find work close to home, of course, with Andrew Kaighin, senior endurance team manager and coach at the club, saying: “He’s a fantastic guy, massively talented. He’s progressed really well in the US and is reaping the rewards of training hard.

“I think he’s a 5,000-metre runner but he will progress into a good 10,000-metre runner. He’s got a good turn of speed and he’s got a great future.

“If he was based in the UK he’d have an England vest by now, but when he comes back he’ll be on the verge of getting one.”

And while everything is looking rosy for Watson, as you’d expect, he wants to keep on improving.

“I run anything from one mile to 10K,” he said. “I back myself mainly as a 5K or 10K runner, probably my best is 5K.

“Last year I ran 13.56 for the 5K, I want to better that, and I’m trying to run inside eight minutes for the 3K. I’ve just run 8.02 in Boston. And then there’s the elusive four-minute mile.”

All those goals look attainable for a runner who has certainly come on in leaps and bounds over the past decade or so.

“I caught the running bug when I started doing school races,” he said. “I remember doing cross-country at St Edward’s. To start with I was really bad, my knees really hurt!

“But I liked running and when I started to grow I started to get better. I’d always had the love for the sport and as I improved I remember thinking, ‘I might be semi-decent at this’.”

He ran in the English Schools’ Cross-Country, finishing in the top 100, and is very grateful to St Edward’s for the support they gave him in his formative years.

He’s also very grateful to Cheltenham Harriers, the club he joined as a 12-year-old.

“They taught me so much,” he said. “They taught me about humility, to think professionally and to manage myself competitively. It did me so much good to be involved, I owe the club a lot. I wouldn’t be so competitive if it weren’t for them.

“They’re very supportive even now, even though I’m in the US.”

Watson has obviously enjoyed his time in the States – he’s a big fan of the Americans’ positive attitude – but what is it about the English weather that he has missed?

“I’ve missed the warmth,” he laughed. “It’s not too bad out here today, it’s about five degrees, but normally it’s negative six! Last year it was a very cold winter.”

It should certainly be nice and warm(ish) when he returns to these shores in a few months, of course, and wherever he ends up living he will certainly retain a strong attachment to Cheltenham, a place he moved to when he was nine or 10.

“I consider myself a Cheltenham boy,” he said. “One of the things I’m going to do at some stage is have another shot at the Cheltenham Half Marathon. I want to try to win it in a Cheltenham Harriers vest.”