by Stuart Weir
Crowd at Hercules Monaco, July 21, 2017, photo by Stuart Weir
A great crowd at Hercules Monaco, July 21, 2017, photo by Stuart Weir
Part of the reason I ask Stuart Weir to write for @runblogrunn is to cover the British performances at various meets. Here is Stuart’s second piece on the actual meet, for Monaco DL.
Brits in Monaco
Laura Muir, photo by British Athletics
With the home World Championships just two weeks away, there were several GB athletes putting the final touches to their preparation in the Herculis Diamond League in Monaco. Laura Muir who will run the 1500m and 5000m in London compromised in Monaco with the 3000m. Hellen Obiri (Kenya) won in a World Lead of 8.23.14 with Laura third in a PR of 8:30.64. Laura said afterwards: “It was OK. It was tough out there. I don’t know what to say about it. I would like to have run faster but it was a good run out. I have run 3000 indoors but this is the first time I have run it outdoors for a couple of years”.
Eilish McColgan, 10,000m, Stanford Invite (April 2017), photo by Chuck Aragon
Eilish McColgan, who is coached by her mother the 1988 Olympic 10.000m silver medallist, Liz McColgan, was fourth in the 3000 in 8:31.39, also a PR. She could not stop smiling when I spoke to her afterwards: “I am so happy with that. I know today that I am in the best shape of my life. My mum said “Be confident and if you are on your own just grind” and that is what I did today. I have never had the confidence before to think, “You know what, I am just as good as those girls, so just push a little bit more”. So honestly I could not be any happier. You can see I am smiling. It means a lot and I think I beat my mum’s PB as well – that’s even better.
Chris O’Hare, British Trials 1,500m, photo by David Wearn
Chris O’Hare also ran a PR in 1500m, finishing 7th in 3:33.61 but was far from satisfied when I spoke to him afterwards: “Very disappointed. The third lap was where I wanted to push it and I kept having to push and shove just to be able to run where I wanted to run. There were too many bodies – too many guys with the same race plan but it happens – but I am happy for the opportunity to run. It was a PB so you can’t argue with that. I just wish I had done better”.
Eilidh Doyle, Doha 2016, photo by PhotoRun.net
Eilidh Doyle delivered another solid performance finishing 4th in 54.75, saying: “It was good. It felt it was a bit like London. I thought I went off very well but then struggled a bit in the home straight. Perhaps I went off too hard but was happy to be in amongst it again”. Doyle, also explained why, while some athletes were training and not racing, she had had a very busy recent race programme: “It is partly the way the races fitted in. There were hardly any 400H races at the beginning of the year and now they have all come together. Looking at the races, I wanted to do Lausanne and Rabat because they were counting Diamond races. I wanted to do London to run in the stadium before the World Champs. Last year in Monaco I ran a PB so I wanted to do Monaco. So it is just the way it worked out. It would have been better if the races had been more spread out but it is OK because I wanted to have 2 weeks from my last race to the World Champs I have time for a solid block of training”.
Lynsey Sharp was another who had a solid performance in that amazing 800m race but wanted more. She summed up her season’s best, sixth place 1:58:01 as: “Still loads of mistakes. Stuck in a few positions on the second lap and they cost me – even though it was 1:58. It is a better reflection of where I am but still way off the shape I am in”.
They all have two weeks to get it right
