McColgan cancels her crack at America
EILISH McColgan has rowed back on plans to make her long-awaited half-marathon debut in Atlanta this weekend, claiming the idea carries too great a risk.
The 30-year-old Dundonian saw her plans to run the 21-kilometre distance in the United Arab Emirates fall through earlier this month due to Covid.
Instead, she jetted to California to make an early start to her track season, missing out on breaking her mother Liz’s Scottish 10,000 metres record by less than two seconds.
But with sub-zero weather hitting the southern states of the USA, McColgan fears a quick switch to the roads could end up harming her Olympic build-up.
“I wanted to do the 10,000 in California first before I made any final decisions,” she said.
“It’s been difficult because I had my heart set on doing the Rak half-marathon in the UAE with good weather and a fast pace. Atlanta was a new course on a racetrack and there were a few variables we weren’t sure about. I think with racing the other night and with the jet leg, it would be a bit risky to run a half right now with such a big year ahead.
“But it might depend on what
appears. If the right race came along, with a good course and good competition, maybe I might look to do one. But it can’t be any later than May because my priority is the Olympics on the track over 10,000. It’s probably more likely we wait until the Great North Run towards the end of the year.”
One of many to opt out of next week’s European Indoor Championships in Poland, McColgan is set to remain Stateside and continue to train at altitude while picking off the occasional race on the US circuit.
Five months out from the Tokyo Olympics, she feels in the right shape to advance and her new 10,000m personal best of 30:58.94 has her even more convinced that it will be her prime chance at the Games, rather than the 5000m.
“The 10,000 was always going to be the aim. It’s no different this year than last year. If I feel I’m running strong over 5000, I might do both but right now I’ve done more endurance work rather than speed.
“But that’s made me excited to run more 10,000s in the summer. I think there will be faster times to come. But it’s also been nice to consolidate my winter work with a good run, even if it’s so much earlier in the year than I’ve ever done.”