It’s been a golden year for Eilish McColgan.
Her performance hit new highs and there’s a sense she’s finally found her groove.
The Dundee hero’s journey to success has not been easy but her life on and off the running track has found a good balance lately.
And having a partner who is an athlete too helps, says Eilish.
Yet she didn’t plan on being a runner – not a professional one, anyway.
“I didn’t come into the sport to be an Olympic athlete,” says the 32-year-old, recently named BT Sport Action Woman of the Year 2022 after that 10,000m gold medal win at this summer’s Commonwealth Games.
“I have just always loved running,” Eilish adds.
Growing up, she says, she was aware parents Peter and Liz McColgan were runners, “but I just thought everyone’s parents were like that!”
She continues: “I was around 15 when I started taking the sport more seriously. When I started competing, I realised how huge it is to be the fastest woman in the world over 10,000m like my mum.”
‘It looks like you’re off galivanting’
But achieving this level of success isn’t easy.
“It is a lot of time away from family and friends,” Eilish admits, noting the impact on relationships is one thing – especially when it comes to going away to compete.
“In previous relationships, someone who isn’t in the sport, it looks like you are off seeing the world galivanting and it is actually just hotel rooms and work.
“If they aren’t in the sport, it is harder to be apart and rely on communication via WhatsApp.
“I feel like I haven’t seen some of my friends in about six years.
“Now my partner Michael [Rimmer, fellow middle-distance runner] can travel with me, it makes a huge difference to be able to do it together.
‘We are a team’
“Because he is a pro-athlete, he gets it. Having a partner also in the sport has made it so much easier.
“It was very lonely before, and I am a lot happier.
“It felt like life was going on without me before, now we are a team.
“Doing it together keeps me on the right track for the goals I want to achieve.”
There have been shifts for Eilish on the self-care front, too, and she’s made taking care and understanding herself more a priority.
‘I don’t need to drink’
She does not drink alcohol at all.
“I drank enough at university to put me off for the rest of my life! I don’t feel the need to drink to impress anyone anymore,” she explains.
“You want to fit in and it’s a way of socialising. I never enjoyed the taste, I just did it to have a social life. It built up my confidence.
“As an adult, I realised I don’t need to drink if I don’t like it.”
Along with fellow pro athletes like Dina Asher-Smith, Eilish has joined in calls for greater awareness around how menstrual cycles can impact sporting performance.
“It’s great we are talking more about periods and the menstrual cycle, and how that impacts performance, but there is still a lag in how men’s and women’s performances are reported,” she says.
‘More difficult to find a woman’s story’
“If you pick up a newspaper and look at the sports pages, you will find it more difficult to find a woman’s story or feature.
“There needs to be better reporting of performances and successes, like there have been for the Lionesses.”
One thing Eilish is grateful for is the supportive community female athletes have created for one another.
“There is a lot of respect for other female athletes on the circuit, because we all know what the others are going through,” says McColgan.
“There is mutual respect in the fact we are all going though similar things. You know what it took for them to get there.”
Conversation