Blocked toilets, no hot water and regular power cuts. It hardly sounds like the kind of place where elite runners are turned into world beaters.

But that is exactly what the sign says as you enter the High Altitude Training Camp in Kenya - the 'University of Champions'.

It is not an idle boast either. The town of Iten where the HATC is based high in the Rift Valley has produced a list of world and Olympic gold medallists as long as your arm.

David Rudisha, the 800m world record holder and star of London 2012, is based there while Mo Farah is also a regular visitor to benefit from training in the rarified air at 8,000 feet.

So too is Charlie Grice, the 21-year-old rising middle distance star from Brighton.

Grice has been spending large parts of the winter in Kenya for the last four years as he attempts to make the step up from teenage prodigy to genuine medal contender on the world stage.

The Phoenix runner returned from a month in Iten last week having already spent a similar period in Kenya before Christmas.

Grice admits the facilities are nothing to write home about but is prepared to go without the creatures comforts if it helps him achieve his goals.

And his goals for the next 18 months are pretty ambitious as he looks to build on his achievements last summer when he made the final of the 1,500m at both the Commonwealth Games and European Championships.

Grice wants to challenge for his first senior medal at the European Indoor Championships next month and make the final at the World Championship later in the summer.

Then there are the Olympics next year with Grice determined to be on the plane to Rio.

Grice said: “I've been out to Kenya seven times now. In 2011 I was one of the youngest there but now I am one of the most experienced.

“The first time I found it really hard but I've worked out what suits me now. I can adapt pretty quickly now although you still need to take the first few days lightly.

“As well as the benefits of training at altitude it gives me added motivation and inspiration seeing how the Kenyans train and how little they have.

“It is a simple life and there are certainly no mod-cons. The toilet gets blocked quite a lot and sometimes there is no hot water.

“We share rooms which are quite small (Grice roomed with fellow Sussex athlete Robbie Fitzgibbon) and you have to do hand washing in a bucket as your clothes get quite smelly.

“About once a week there is a power cut and the food is pretty basic. I doubt the sprinters would last very long out there!

“It is quite monotonous but I quite like it. It is good as it forces you to recover as there are no distractions.

“We'll watch TV and there is a ping pong table in the gym but apart from that there is not much to do in the evenings “There are hard days when you wake up and can't really be bothered but you tell yourself why you are doing it. There are places you want to be and medals you want to win.”

It is that kind of attitude which has got Grice to where he is now.

The former Cardinal Newman pupil announced his potential five years ago when he won a bronze medal at the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore.

In 2012 he eclipsed his hero Steve Ovett's Sussex record for the mile and a year later won bronze at the European Under-23 Championships at the age of 19.

Last summer he won gold at the British Championships for the first time and gained valuable experience at the Commonwealth Games and European Championships.

“My progression has gone really well,” added Grice, who is currently studying sport science at St Mary's University. “I have improved year on year and that is down to the fact that Jon (Bigg, coach) and myself have not got ahead of ourselves.

“The next 18 months are going to be really big. I'd like to think I can challenge for medals at the European Indoors and I want to make the final at the World Championships for sure.

“Then it is the Olympics next year so there is a lot at stake.”