THE run-in to the European Indoor Athletics Championships in Glasgow is fast approaching the finishing straight. It is less than two months now until the continent’s great and good will alight at the Emirates Arena so every chance to compete at this venue in the East End of Glasgow is valuable.
That is why two Perthshire athletes at different ends of the age scale will be out there this weekend for the FPSG National Open, amongst no fewer than 795 total athletes competing on a mixed gender basis in anything from sprints to 1500m and indoor jumps and throws. While Eilidh Doyle, Scotland’s most decorated athlete, builds on last week’s 200m at the Glasgow Athletics Association Miler Meet by running her first 400m of the season, 20-year-old Sol Sweeney will look to build on the excellent early season form which saw him run a PB of 7.56 over 3000m last week with a run out at 1500m. While the latter is still chasing the 7.53 qualifying standard for the 3000m and all will have to rubber stamp their place in the top two at GB level at the British Indoor trials next month, the event is so close that both can almost reach out and touch it.
“I can definitely visualise it [the European indoors],” said Muir. “I came to the Emirates Arena and trained a couple of weeks ago and knowing this is where the champs is going to be is really exciting. I will make sure that I will race here and train here a couple of times before the champs.
“This indoor season is virtually the same race plan as last year so I can say this time last year I ran this, this time last year I ran that. It lets me know where I am, which is really useful. My indoor season was better than expected so hopefully I can keep going in the right direction.
“I have been pretty healthy, a couple of colds here and there,” she added. “I just needed to get going again. When it gets to Christmas time, you get pretty lax, then as soon as you get to that New Year, as soon as you get back on a start line, you are right back into it.
“Tokyo is always there, you think it is only a year until the Olympics,. But for me the motivation for me has been massive with the Glasgow Indoors.You don’t know how long you are going to be in good shape for. Last year with my injury really taught me that lesson. I thought ‘I have had a good winter so why not use it to race when you are in good shape’. That is the attitude I have got now. I have got my medals now, I can just go out and run for the love of running.”
“It would be a crazy experience if I could come and run in the European Indoors,” said Sweeney, who pulled out of the Stirling Cross Country this Saturday to get another track run in. I just need to work hard and drop my time a little bit more.”
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