Mum’s been with me every step of the way
Growing up, athlete Eilish McColgan’s Olympic medal-winning mum Liz wasn’t just her mother but her running coach too. Here she talks about what they’ve learned from each other
For many of us, spending time with our mum involves cups of tea and cosy chats. But for Olympic middle and long-distance runner Eilish McColgan, it means work too. Her mum, Liz McColgan, who won a silver medal for the
10,000m at the 1988 Olympics, is also her coach.
Eilish admits the pair have an unusual relationship.
“We’ve spent an awful lot of time together, as you’d imagine,” laughs Eilish, 31, a two-time European medalist after winning silver in the 5,000m in 2018, and bronze for the indoor 3,000m in 2017.
“We’ve had our ups and downs – especially when I was a youngster. You’re always going to butt heads working and living together. When I was a kid it was a pain having to do the dishes and then be bossed around on track by the same person.”
Eilish discovered her love of running as a child, growing up in Dundee. And at 12 she began to train competitively.
At first, mum Liz, 57, and dad Peter McColgan, 59, who holds the Northern Irish 3,000m indoor steeplechase record, were wary of her following in their footsteps.
“They were hesitant at first, they asked, ‘Is this really what you want to do?’, and, ‘Are you just doing it because we do it?’
“They were the opposite of pushy – I was the driving force, begging them to take me to the track,” says Eilish, who lives in Manchester with her partner Michael Rimmer, 36, a Team GB middle-distance runner.
Looking back, Eilish can see why they were unsure.
“My parents ran every single day. But I thought everyone’s parents did that,” she says.
“It wasn’t until I went to high school that I realised it was unusual.”
At 12, Liz took charge of her daughter’s training plan.
But Eilish says at first she felt like her mum was holding her back.
“I could see other girls making super-fast times and breaking records, and I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t doing that.
“I was only allowed to train two days a week at the club. Other girls were training like adults.
“It made me frustrated with my mum, I’d get upset and ask why she wasn’t letting me do more. But it was really sensible on her part – she knew if I did too much too young I could lose the enjoyment for it, or worse, get injured and burn out. “She was right.”
As a result, Eilish says her mum taught her the life lessons she would need time and again in her career. At 21, Eilish qualified for her first Olympic Games in London, 2012, and has since competed at the Games in Rio in 2016 and in Tokyo last year. “Mum has taught me patience. Success doesn’t happen overnight. It takes a long, long time to get to where you want to be,” she says.
“I started running aged 12, but I wasn’t in my first GB team until I was 21. Mum held my hand through it all. “‘Your time will come when it comes’, she’d tell me. And it was one of the best things I have learned.”
Liz and Peter separated in 2010, and divorced in 2013. Liz now lives in Qatar, and has her own running club, training children from all over the world.
“I feel very fortunate to have had a role model like her to follow,” says Eilish.
“Someone who is super strong, and super driven.
“There’s nobody I have met who is as driven as my mum. I think that’s why she’s been so successful.
“She still runs every single day and loves it, but now she’s coaching the next generation.”
As a young athlete, Eilish’s training program was devised by Liz. “She was a tough coach, but a fair one. There was no special treatment, preferential treatment, or overly harsh treatment. Mum simply set the training and I would follow it,” she says.
Now, however, there is a much more open dialogue between the pair.
“I drive the programme myself now, with input from her and Michael too.”
She likes to think she’s taught her mum a thing or two as well.
“Over the years I have taught her that everyone is different. Everybody is unique and responds differently,” says Eilish.
She explains a typical week: “I run every morning, anywhere from seven to 10 miles.
“Two days a week I’ll be on the track doing a hard, fast session. I do one long run and one rest day a week. Then two gym sessions, stretching, foam rolling, two spin bikes or cross trainer, and a swim.”
It’s hard work, but Eilish wouldn’t have it any other way.
She is currently training for the World Championships, Commonwealth Games and the European Championships, all taking place this summer.
She certainly has a busy schedule, and children aren’t on the agenda right now.
But, she says, she wouldn’t worry if her own child wanted to be a runner too one day.
“I’d lead by example, and do for them what my mum did for me.”
Running has given her everything, she says.
“I’ve travelled the world, met some of my best friends, my partner, and I’m thankful to my mum for being there every step of the way.”
She continues: “Mum is my biggest supporter – she knows how much it means to succeed because she’s seen the whole journey. The injuries, the self-doubt, the hard work.
“But, away from running, she’ll always be my mum first and foremost – that will come before everything else. For me and my three younger brothers and sister.”
With mum Liz many miles away this Mother’s Day, it’s set to be a low-key affair. But Eilish still plans to celebrate, despite the distance.
“I like to find funny pictures of us when I was little. My dad has a good stash of them. I send them to her to make her smile.”
■■Eilish is a brand ambassador for leading UK deodorant brand Bionsen. Visit bionsen.uk
She’s seen the whole journey – the injuries, the self-doubt, the hard work