The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Mccolgan just shy of record after win
Eilish Mccolgan claimed she had underestimated herself after just missing out on another British record, despite claiming victory at the Vitality 10,000 in London yesterday.
The 31-year-old Dundonian, who lowered the road 5km mark last month, won in 30 minutes and 23 seconds but was a mere two seconds shy of Paula Radcliffe’s UK best.
The three-time Olympian’s time was still good enough to finish 68 secs clear of Jess Piasecki and wrestle away her mother’s Liz’s Scottish best, set in Orlando in 1989.
But Mccolgan claimed she had not been aggressive enough in hunting Radcliffe’s chart-topper.
“I’m disappointed to just miss it,” she said.
“But hopefully I’ll have another couple of opportunities this year. For me this is one of the hardest records.
“To be honest, part of me probably didn’t believe I could do it today. I was thinking that if I can run a PB of 30:35, I’ll be happy with that.
“It wasn’t until I turned the last corner that I saw the clock and thought ‘I’m not going to make it’.
“I finished really strongly. But it’s given me a lot of confidence. It’s been a pretty challenging couple of months. Coming back from Covid and some really tough weather at our last training camp, it’s been difficult to know where the fitness is at.
“But I’ve been working so hard. It’s coming back now and at the right time.”
Fellow Scot Steph Twell, twice a winner of the race, was just outside the top three in 33:45 in her return from a foot injury but Mccolgan signalled her twin targets of impressing at this summer’s World Championships and Commonwealth Games.
“It’s going to be a challenging year in terms of championships and picking which ones you want to aim for,” she said.
“Of course, worlds is a priority. It’s the next thing to Olympic Games.
“But Commonwealth Games is special too, to compete for Scotland and be in the UK.
“Birmingham is a track where I’ve been competing at the British Championship every single year so it will be really cool to be part of that. And those are the two goals for this summer.”
Meanwhile Sir Mo Farah was non-committal about his plans for the future after being beaten by club runner Ellis Cross on his return to action.
Farah was racing for the first time since failing to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics last June while battling a foot injury and he was unable to outkick 25-year-old Cross over the final stages.
Farah, 39, finished a minute outside his best time on the road set over the same course in 2010, and declined to say whether he will target the World Championships in Eugene in July.
Speaking to the BBC, the four-time Olympic champion said: “Your body has to be ready. You have to be in the right frame of mind. You have to be able to compete with the guys.
“Today was a tough day. Ellis did really well to win here. But you’ve got to see where you are.
“At the minute I don’t even know. You’ve got to take it race by race and let the body see what it can do. I’m not getting any younger, am I?”
A leading group that also included Chris Thompson was whittled down to two, with the unfancied Cross emerging victorious in a time of 28 minutes 40 seconds, with Farah second in 28 mins 44 secs.