Fry’s running on the right track
Personal bests at 3,000m and 5,000m to end season
NEWBURY’S Izzy Fry is targeting success at December’s European Cross Country Championship following the conclusion of a successful track season in which she smashed both her 3,000m and 5,000m personal bests.
Fry, who holds Newbury Athletic Club’s records at both distances, improved her 5,000m personal best to 15:21.32 when she came fourth at an international meeting in Liege, Belgium, at the end of June.
“To be honest it was a bit unexpected. I knew that I was going into the race wanting the Commonwealth standard, which is 15:30,” Fry said.
“It was one of those races where I was so in the zone, I didn’t know how quick it was. I got to the last lap and felt good and ran the fastest lap I’ve ever run at the end of the race.
“I met the Commonwealth and European standard, so I was over the moon.”
Fresh from that stunning success, the 22-year-old then flew from Liege to St Moritz for a three-week altitude exposure camp.
She said: “Sometimes during the season, when you race week in, week out, you can’t get the training blocks as much as you’d like to, so we made the most of three weeks training and topping up that aerobic engine.
“It was nice to not have to think about training – sometimes it can be quite mentally draining – I think it worked really well.”
More good news followed for Fry, who set a new 3,000m personal best of 8:56.93 in Rovereto, Italy, in the last week of August.
“That was really cool. As athletes we always want more and looking back I would’ve liked to have been a little bit quicker,” she said.
“My grandad actually passed away two days before
the race, so that race, that PB was for him.”
Fry narrowly missed out on selection for the European senior Championships in Munich, but was included as a reserve to 10,000m Commonwealth champion Eilish McColgan.
She said: “I was disappointed not to be selected, but the fact that I was a reserve at 22 years old, the fact that I was even in the conversation, I was pretty pleased.
“It’s always gutting to just miss out, but I can’t complain about not being picked ahead of Eilish and Jess [Judd].
“Hopefully in the next few years I can be the one getting selected.”
Fry’s track season came to a conclusion on September 4 when she ran at Berlin’s Olympiastadion, finishing ahead of double Olympic gold medallist Caster Semenya.
“I couldn’t turn down the chance to race in the Olympic Stadium.
“I was tired, I’ve travelled and raced a lot but I couldn’t say no, and it was a great learning experience,” she said.
“I’d like to mention a company called Energy Saving Lighting, based in Bracknell.
“Their financial support has been huge for me and without them I wouldn’t have been able to train full-time and progress as I have.”
Fry, who was crowned World University Cross Country champion in March, now has her sights set on the European Under-23 Cross Country Championship. She was the fastest British athlete at last winter’s race in Dublin, finishing ninth overall.
She said: “I’ve got a couple of weeks break and then I’m focused on cross country.
“It’s like a totally different sport, you forget about times and it’s pure racing.
“I’d love to medal at the European Championships, we’ll see.”