Eilish McColgan starts her Commonwealth Games campaign with the toughest of tests at this weekend’s Eugene Diamond League in Oregon.
Hawhill Harrier runner McColgan lines up in her number one event, the 3,000m steeplechase, against a world-class field at the Prefontaine Classic.
They include Moscow World champion Milcah Chemos, who boasts a personal best of 9 minutes 07.14, and American Emma Coburn, who last week set a 2014 world lead of 9:19.80 in winning the Diamond League race in Shanghai.
McColgan’s Scottish record stands at 9:35.82 and she will be looking for a good early season marker in her build up to Glasgow at the end of July.
Earlier this year she moved on from her training camp in Kenya via Loughborough to Brigham Young University in Utah and is already feeling the benefits.
“Things are going really well out here. Unfortunately I had been carrying a virus since Kenya and so had really struggled with training for a few months,” she said.
“Thankfully things have improved massively since coming out to Utah. Eugene will be my first race of the season I don’t have any major expectations other than to just get a run out and see how I feel. The Commonwealths is still my main aim and my focus is to get in the best shape for those.”
The two-day meeting billed as the best non-championship meet in the world features a host of track and field stars, including the return of 800m world record holder, Kenyan David Rudisha.