Her legs feel tired but the bright smile has still to be worn out.

A 1500 metres race in Hengelo a day earlier would lead Laura Muir to a personal best and then also the national stadium in Glasgow, her journey extended by a few metres and the opportunity to walk a section of the new track.

Months of labour have allowed Hampden to imitate an athletics arena successfully, albeit the differences appear more subtle. "I think this is the second time I've been here . . . the Scottish athletics team got invited to a Scotland game once," she said.

They will return this summer as Hampden becomes a stage for the Commonwealth Games. Muir might consider that she has had to wait longer than most for that official introduction since the Kinross-born runner was one of 23 athletes selected in September for the Scotland team, a reward for her relative success at 1500m during the previous season.

Her anticipation has quickened of late alongside her times: a run of 4.02.91 her best over the distance so far. "I felt nice and relaxed, stayed at the front and just went with a couple of hundred [metres] to go. There was a bit of elbowing and pushing in the home straight but I managed to get past it," said the 21-year-old, who finished in second place behind Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands.

This casual account also requires one to get beyond the perception of Muir as an unassuming, softly-spoken wee lassie, whose spare time has been spent learning how to care for poorly animals.

She has arranged a schedule to complete her third year of veterinary studies at Glasgow University over two years as a result of her selection for the Games, and has become learned too in the robust aspects of middle-distance running.

"I remember my first high-standard race, [a British Milers Club meeting] in Manchester: I got spiked and pushed and I just got off the track thinking, 'what have been doing for the past seven years? This isn't what I've been doing'. It's been a steep learning curve in the past couple of years," said Muir, a runner with Dundee Hawkhill and Glasgow University. "Now I know just to shrug it off and get my elbows out."

It would perhaps be useful too if she could work enough room to fit in the 800m at the Glasgow Games, the distance she will compete at when Hampden hosts the Sainsbury's Glasgow Grand Prix next month. "I would like to double up at the Commonwealth Games; the team is announced this week and I would like to be in both," she added. "I feel I'm very strong in both events."

The prospect seems exhausting but will simply give Muir something else to smile about.