IF Eloise Walker ever needs inspiration, she need look no further than the lanes next to her every day in training.
Walker joined Andy Young’s lauded training group, which also included Laura Muir and Jemma Reekie, in September and with Muir having long been a world-class runner, and Reekie more recently pushing herself into that bracket, there can be no better environment for the teenager to pursue her athletic career.
The 18-year-old may have only been a part of Young’s group for a few months, but already she is starting to reap the benefits.
Earlier this month, she set a new Scottish under-20 record in the 3000m of 9 minutes 21.30 seconds while at the weekend, at the British Indoor Championships in Glasgow, she set a new indoor personal best in the 1500m of 4 minutes 23.32 seconds, finishing in fifth place in the final.
That Walker ran so well yet still felt a tinge of disappointment says much about her ambition.
“You come to these Champs to win a medal and that didn’t happen unfortunately but I gave it my all and got a personal best so that’s as much as I could ask from myself,” she said of her performance on Sunday afternoon.
“I’m a bit disappointed with the final, it was a bit of a messy race from me but I’m in these races to learn so hopefully I can use that the next time.”
Walker has been impressive form since the turn of the year, and it is impossible not to attribute much of her improvement down to her decision to join Young’s training group.
The coach has masterminded the rise of both Muir and Reekie from a similar age to Walker and the teenager admits there is no other training group in the country that would give her what she is currently getting.
“It’s amazing,” she said about being part of Young’s group.
“Having Andy as my coach is great – he coaches world class athletes so he knows exactly what he’s talking about.
“And having Laura and Jemma on the start of each rep inspires me every time.”
Walking into a training group with the calibre of athletes of Muir and Reekie could be extremely daunting for a young athlete but as soon as she joined the group, any feelings of being star-struck by her training partners melted away. They could not, she says, have been more welcoming and it didn’t take long for the teenager to feel right at home. And in the space of just a few months, she has already learnt so much from the pair.
“They’re such down to earth, lovely people,” she said.
“They have this aura about them and I was thinking ‘oh my god, they’re amazing’. But when you speak to them, they’re just really normal people and you have the same conversations with them that you have with anyone. So it’s great having that.
“I’ve learnt so much from them. I’ve learnt how to train hard and also how to recover well. I wasn’t that good at doing that before but I’m getting PBs already so I’m really pleased to have seen improvements already having only been with the group for a few months so far.”
Reekie may have broken a fair few records this year but Walker’s Scottish record-breaking run earlier this month eclipsed her training partner’s time of a few years ago.
She broke Reekie’s record by a whopping seven seconds and that was, she says, a huge confidence boost, and she only hopes it is a sign of things to come. There have been no hard feelings from Reekie about her training partner bettering one of her records though.
“The Scottish record was a huge confidence boost because obviously Jemma has been running so well so I’m thinking if I can break her records, hopefully I can follow the same path she is,” she said.
“She’s only 21 and she’s got all of this international experience already. She messaged me before the final of the British wishing me good luck so that was lovely and it’s so inspiring having her in the group.”
Walker now heads into a block of training ahead of the outdoor season and having been a part of the GB team for the European Junior Championships last summer, finishing in eleventh in the 3000m, she has one eye on making the team for the World Juniors this summer.
However, she is putting no pressure on herself, and as long as she keeps getting faster, she will be content.
“If it comes, it comes,” she said of selection for the World Junior team.
“The qualifying standard are pretty high, they’re a lot higher than they were for the Euros last year. I’m still young, I’m still gaining experience so as long as I keep improving, I’ll be happy.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here