Victory and defeat in the shot putt can be separated by the slightest scuff in the ground.
In the quest to make her mark, and to find just one centimetre more, Kirsty Yates makes no apologies for seeking out an extra impetus.
With barely two months until the athletics competition begins at Hampden Park, the 20-year-old is among those whose place in Scotland's team is written in pencil rather than inscribed in indelible ink. She is, however, planning to go the distance when stepping into the circle at the Games.
Yates, from Kirkcudbrightshire, is among a crop of domestic throwers whose Commonwealth stop will not be the end of the journey, merely a staging post. Like Rachel Hunter and Kimberley Reed in the hammer and Kirsty Law in the discus, these are early days with promising portents.
Since the first time she laid hand on a shot, Yates - who turns 21 this week - has been nurtured and encouraged by Dumfries-based Joyce Rammell, still a doughty competitor on the veterans circuit at the age of 67.
Knowledge has been transferred and assimilated en route. "But she'll admit she's never coached someone who's gone as far as I have," her pupil confirms.
Searching for fresh insight, Yates - currently supported by the Bank of Scotland Local Heroes scheme - was steered towards London-based mentor John Hillier, who nursed Lawrence Okoye to the 2012 Olympic final before the promise of fame and fortune in the NFL saw him lured away by the San Francisco 49ers.
It is a non-exclusive arrangement with Rammell remaining involved. "I go down there one week a month which isn't so bad," the Scot says. "You learn so much and because I have no distractions, I can eat sleep and train. I don't do anything else, I'm just focused. I do the right things. It seems that every time I come away from that, I've improved. There are just so many positives."
Such sacrifices come with the territory. Fully recovered from a shoulder injury, Yates is consumed by the opportunity to test herself at Hampden. Yet her schedule will not end in Glasgow. A regular on the Highland Games circuit, she intends to pick up the stone putt and the caber once her track and field commitments are on seasonal hiatus.
"It's more relaxed," she claims. "You can go into it and chill and have a laugh and I enjoy doing different things. It adds a bit of variety. This year, my focus is the shot putt but as soon as the Commonwealth Games are done, probably two weeks later, I'll be in there."
First things first. Team Scotland has to date confirmed the selection of 127 athletes across all sports. The final head count is expected to be around 270, with athletics the biggest contributor. And the countdown to Hampden begins in earnest next weekend when a big posse of Scots assemble for the annual Loughborough International Match. It will be a test, Yates concedes, of the labours already expended. Expectations are high.
"I'm really happy with the work I'm doing," she declares. "Every aspect right now seems to be on the up and I'm really looking forward to seeing how I go."
With rivals watching, what better time to lay down a marker?
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article