As her sponsor since 2013, we’ve followed every running-spiked step of Eilish McColgan’s journey as an elite athlete.
We've watched Eilish grow from an athlete who, in her own words, was overwhelmed by her first big stadium events, to a self-assured elite athlete with impressive performances and race records over numerous distances.
In almost a decade of sponsorship, no year has been as exciting as 2022.
February
After a winter of training, Eilish felt in good shape for 2022 and made a strong start to her year. She set a new British record in the 5km road race (14:48 mins) to break Paula Radcliffe’s time by 3 seconds (just 4 seconds short of a European record) then beat Radcliffe's 21-year-old British half marathon record by 21 seconds (66:26 mins).
March
Off the track, Eilish launched her new passion project, a non-profit organisation called Giving Back to Track, with her partner Michael Rimmer. The aim is to encourage young people to get involved in athletics and lift the financial barriers for anyone to enjoy and compete in sport.
May
At the Great Manchester Run, Eilish broke Radcliffe's European 10 km record (30:19 mins), 2 seconds faster than Radcliffe ran in 2003.
June
At the FBK Games in Hengelo, Netherlands, Eilish beat the Scottish 10,000 metre record set by her mum Liz back in 1991 (30:19 mins).
August
After a few knockbacks involving illness and injury Eilish returned to form in time for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and the European Championships in Munich. At the first she took gold in the 10,000 metres with a new Games record (30:48:60 mins) and breaking her mum's 32-year record. This was closely followed by silver in the 5,000 metres. Tired but determined, Eilish headed to Munich and took silver in the 10,000 metres and bronze in the 5,000 metres. She became the first British distance runner to compete in six championship outdoor finals in the same season.
September
Eilish set a course record and the joint-fourth fastest women's half marathon in British history at London’s The Big Half (67:35 mins).
October
Eilish had to withdraw from the London Marathon due to refuelling issues from hypoglycemia. After a well-deserved holiday she’s back into training for next season. In 2023 she plans to run the London marathon and we can’t wait to watch.
To return to the main contents of lindsays life issue 23, please click here.