Commonwealth Games Experience

So I finally made my first major Championship this year after approx 10 years of hard graft and heartache along the way. I know I don’t have another Champs to compare it too but I must say that Glasgow and Scotland really did themselves proud and it was an amazing Games.

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The Athletes village was set up really well, the 24-hour canteen had a lovely selection of food and deserts, we had a salon, merchandise shop, recreational rooms with games consoles, coffee bars and chill-out areas, a gym which included ice baths and our favourite, I think, was the BBQ area were we could get yummy food and amazing freshly made smoothies. The village streets were made up of rows of houses for each country, the rooms were cosy and we had a wee living room with a tele where we could keep track of our team mates as they competed in the different arenas throughout Glasgow. My preparation into the race all went well, but it was always going to be very hard to maintain peak form into the major race after working so hard. My racing season had begun in California nearly 17 weeks earlier – I had needed to make the qualifying standard. The atmosphere in the stadium was crazy, I had never heard noise like it. My family and coaches were in the crowd on the back straight and I was able to give them a wave which settled me seeing familiar faces before the gun went.

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As we ran each lap the roars from the crowd were like a Mexican wave, it didn’t really feel like a race but I got stuck in and was feeling strong. With 600m to go I started to feel really tired, something I was hoping wasn’t going to happen, but I had committed early and gave it a real go. I must admit to feeling disappointment coming across the line 11th out of 11 in the final and also seeing 9:55 on the clock. My season’s best over 8 weeks prior on the 1st June had been 9:52 (a Northern Ireland Record) and I had also run 9:53 in very windy conditions in Estonia two weeks after that, so in not breaking that 9:50 mark that I knew I was in the shape to do felt like a bit of a kick in the stomach.

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Since the race I’ve had a yo yo of emotions; 9:55 was my third fastest time ever in the Chase; I had just competed in the final of a major Games so I should be very proud. The support on social media from friends and family cemented what I had just achieved. Two weeks on from the race and it’s still playing over in my head of how I could have run the race differently, but a race never leaves your head until the next one and unfortunately I came down with a yucky cold after the Games decided to end the track season there and then and take a week break to re-charge the batteries. So that’s my track season over for another year, my most successful year so far – making the Commonwealth Games and running the 3 fastest times I have ever run in the 3k steeplechase. I guess if I didn’t want more from myself then I wouldn’t still be in the sport.

Athletes can be very hard on themselves and my coaches keep telling me how I have achieved so much this year, especially after a winter of injury.  So what was my most memorable moment? I guess most athletes will say standing on the start line/competing in their own event, I did want to do better in my event and I will always remember it but the most inspirational moment to me was Jo Pavey’s (bronze) performance in the 5000m.

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Jo is 40 now (and 41 in September) and an amazing athlete (her Gold medal European 10,000m performance post CWG was amazing) She has certainly inspired me to go on to push for the Rio 2016 Olympics and another Commonwealth Games in 2018. Come on, it’s on the Gold Coast so who wouldn’t!!!!! If I can be as strong as Jo then why wouldn’t I go for Tokyo Olympics 2020 and the 2022 Commonwealth Games (I will then be Jo’s age so why not!!!???). Ok, my body may not hold out that long and by that stage I would have probably bankrupted my family twice over!!! But I haven’t reached my full potential yet so I must keep believing.

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There are so many people I need to thank, firstly my family and coaches (Richard and Geoff). My sponsors, Hydro Run UK, Naked Runner, my club Newcastle AC, Born2Run, Down District Council and SINI – without this team I would not have made the Games. My American surrogate mother, Judy, always tells me to finish on a positive, so I will finish with three!! This season I have run a Northern Ireland Record in the 3000m Steeplechase, a British Women’s League Record in the 2000m Steeplechase and competed in the 3000m Steeplechase Final at the Commonwealth Games against a world class field.

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