Career comes second as Waite proves unable to resist the lure of the track
ENNIE WAITE doesn’t do walking away, at least not yet. Retirement from athletics seemed a clear possibility for the steeplechaser in the wake of last year’s Commonwealth Games when she returned to Texas to join her fiancé and throw herself fully into her career as a sports psychologist.
“I did start having a proper life,” Paisley-born Waite recounts. Late nights, lie-ins, a regression in the all-consuming after-care package that any serious sportsperson must endure.
Yet despite the romantic perks, the transatlantic switch has its drawbacks. “There are so many things I miss [about being in Britain]. Just the way people walk places and the way the city is set up, that you don’t have to be in a car all day.
“You can’t ask for much more in the lifestyle and the social aspect and public transport. In Austin, I spend far too much of my time in my car.”
With a PhD to her name and a varied list of published research, Waite has now opted for practical application over academia, seeking out a mix of high school and elite performers to offer her assistance in the art of winning mind games. Amid a running group in the Texan capital called Rogue, she found willing subjects but also an irresistible temptation. “I joined in a couple of times a week, just for some easy runs.
“But that soon changed to every day and then I started questioning why I wasn’t running properly. And then I went, ‘what the heck, let’s just do this for another year or two’.”
It is a span that, conveniently, would take Waite up to the Rio Olympics and perhaps beyond. Before that, however, is next month’s IAAF World Championships in Beijing with this weekend’s trials in Birmingham serving as the gateway.
Six weeks on from reducing her lifetime best in Los Angeles, the 29-year-old will be a clear favourite to land her second UK title this afternoon but it is the clock that is her greatest foe. She remains outside the qualifying standard. The case for selection remains far from proven.
It is a reality that the best of Britain’s long-distance runners are a level below the elite of Africa. “When you look at it, you’d wonder why I’d even go out there,” Waite laughs. “And I do think about that a lot. It’s probably because I have a passion for the sport.
“The friendships I’ve made and experiences I’ve had and the places I’ve travelled to through athletics are worth it. So I’m not just going out thinking one day, I’ll run 9:15 and get a world medal. For me to be able to run 9:40 and compete against some of the best in the world and continue to make friends on the circuit, that makes it worth it.”
The case for other Scots is a little more simplistic. Eilidh Child, Lynsey Sharp and Laura Muir will all automatically seal their spots in China with top-two finishes in their respective finals tomorrow. Others must shine here and hit the requisite marks before July 27. For the likes of hammer thrower Mark Dry and pole vaulter Jax Thoirs, a major championship debut is tantalisingly within reach.
Waite may end up in a race against time to land the qualifying standard. “I don’t know what I’m going to do,” she admitted.“I want to win but I’m a little unsure if I can run the pace alone.”