McColgan eyes Great North Run after marathon debut 'relief'
Eilish McColgan is targeting the Great North Run in September as the next stage in her switch to marathon running after "a real struggle walking down and up stairs" after her debut at 26.2 miles.The 34-year-old broke the Scottish record as she finished eighth - the first British woman across the line - in last month's London Marathon.A four-time Olympian at middle-distance, McColgan says it was "a bit of a relief" to put her first marathon behind her, beating Steph Twell's Scottish record, and the previous national best by mother Liz, by more than two minutes."It has taken me a good three weeks," she said on BBC Radio Scotland when asked about her recovery. "First week was a real struggle - walking down and up stairs, not the easiest."It definitely hit me a lot harder than I expected. But it feels good now to have done that first one, to get it out the way and I know what to expect now, which makes it easier for the next one."
Having crossed the line in two hours, 24 minutes and 25 seconds, McColgan wants to go under 2:20, a time she believes is needed to compete at world level."London was the main priority and I haven't scheduled anything after that because I wasn't sure how I would recover," she said. "It's given me a lot of confidence knowing that, okay, it wasn't great, my first one, it felt tough, I felt like I struggled, but I came eighth and held on to top Brit."The next one for me might be the Great North Run in September - a half marathon there."McColgan has yet to decide whether her next marathon proper will be one where male participants will help pace her to a faster time, or "do I go something more tactical like New York?".She found the London Marathon "quite nerve wracking" as it was "a baptism of fire" making her debut in a high-profile event full of women champions at the distance.However, she liked "that buzz you get" from having fans shouting her name all the way round the course - and feels suited to the distance as she targets the next Olympics."This is definitely a new chapter for me," McColgan added. "I always felt that one day I would get to the marathon and I'm coming at it a bit later than perhaps was originally planned."There's lots more space on the road as well. On the track, I'm very tall and gangly, so I would often get clipped and tripped - and on the road it is good to have my own space and rhythm."
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