The British athlete broke her personal best in the half marathon and reflected on a successful year following the Olympics and European Championships.
Clara Evans-Graham set a Welsh half marathon record in Valencia on 27 October, crossing the finish line in 69:00.
The 30-year-old not only secured 14th place in the race, but also broke the previous record of 69:41, set by Charlotte Arter in 2019.
The achievement adds to Evans-Graham’s growing list of records, as she also holds the Welsh marathon record of 2:25:04, which she set in Valencia last December. He was also 9th in the half marathon at the European Championships in Rome, winning team gold.
With her sights set on further success, she now aims to break her marathon record again later this year (December 1) at the Valencia Marathon.
Evans-Graham’s journey has been anything but ordinary since she was called up to the Great Britain squad for this year’s Paris Olympics after Charlotte Perdew withdrew with an ankle injury.
Despite only getting the call a week ago, Evans-Graham had a strong Olympic debut, finishing the top British runner in 46th place in 2:33:01 on the tough hilly course.
However, even after the Olympic whirlwind, there was little time to rest, as just a week later she had to quickly focus on another major life event: her wedding.
Clara Evans (Getty)
Here’s our Q&A with Evans-Graham.
How did you feel after your PB in Valencia?
I was really happy, you always are when you get big PBs like that. I did the Berlin half marathon which was ridiculously hot and then I did the Europeans this year which I did a PB in two but in ridiculous conditions. I wanted to do a half marathon that was in normal temperatures and I knew I was in good shape for it.
I’m training for the Valencia Marathon so you’re not quite sure how the half will go, but I knew I wanted to get a low 69. Some of the other girls had a little more speed and I didn’t. it’s on the legs because I haven’t done any faster work since I’m marathon training. But that’s to be expected, and I didn’t slow down.
How was your preparation for the half marathon?
I was in Font Romeu for three weeks, so the preparations went really well. The goal was to run the race to see where I was in preparation for a full marathon in December. I was still training for the marathon a week ago and I wasn’t really down for it.
Have you had time to reflect on your Olympic experience?
It was a bit of a whirlwind, seven days of pure carnage. In:it was a great experience and i just jumped from one thing to another. But I think when I finish my season this year, I will be able to take more of it. I appreciate that now, but I can handle it because I went straight from the Olympics to my wedding, training camp, race.
It has been continuous. I’m looking forward to the break and being able to fully process everything that happened this year.
Clara Evans (Getty)
Obviously I was hoping I’d be called, but a week ago that hope was gone and I forgot About the Olympics, I didn’t even watch them. I didn’t watch the opening ceremony. I haven’t watched anything. I couldn’t even think about it, I was just trying to keep myself super busy.
At that point I didn’t really care until I was called. I found out on Saturday and flew out on Tuesday. I tried to take it slow, take it all in, and get out of there.
I had no expectations from the race, I just wanted it go have fun, take in the vibe, enjoy it and see what i can do because I did not do the study block specifically. I got everything I really wanted out of it.
What was it like going to your own wedding straight from the Olympics?
At first I was really organized when I knew I was meant to be. When I didn’t get the choice, I thought I didn’t need to be so organized anymore because I had a lot of time. So when I got the call, there were a lot of things I left to the last minute.
I got back on Monday and everything had to happen the next morning, so I literally had one day to do everything.
I didn’t see anyone for a whole week when I got home because I was really focused on getting all the wedding stuff sorted. It was a really weird time because everyone was congratulating me for two things.
What is the purpose of the Valencia Marathon?
I knew the process I was going to train for the marathon would keep me in shape if I was invited to the Olympics. My personal best is 2:25:01. so I’d obviously like to get down to 2:24.
The half went better than I expected, so I’m probably a little bit better way than I thought. I’m just going to go with the flow of the race and see how it feels and where the groups are. I’ll make decisions as I go.
Clara Evans (Getty)
How important is it to you to represent the Welsh community?
I think it’s massive because young athletes can see themselves in you. I think it’s good as an individual, but I also think it has a bigger impact on the wider community of South Wales. You often see posts online about ‘This and Paris’ and it means so much to them that someone from Wales is represented at the Olympics.
Breaking Welsh records is always fun and it’s very special to say you’re the fastest.
What does the future look like for you?
I’m not really someone who likes to set big goals. I’m probably pretty boring in that sense. I just follow the process and wherever it takes me is the goal.
I wouldn’t necessarily target building teams because I personally find it stressful because it’s really out of your control. You can only control what you can run, so I feel as long as I can control my controls and run to the best of my ability, whatever comes of that situation, I’ll take it as it comes.
As long as I’m still running personal bests, that’s all I really care about about because it will ultimately lead to such choices and those goals. I’ve already accomplished a lot this year, so if I ever had any goals, I’ve probably already accomplished them.
Sam Harrison, Callie Thackeray, Clara Evans, Abby Donnelly (British Athletics)
What have you learned from your career this year?
Just trust myself, trust the process and everything I do. Sometimes when things don’t go your way, you can still get a chance snap out of it and you can still come out of the situation positively.
Obviously not Getting an early pick for the Olympics hurt and you just have to use that fire yourself up and prove a point and see what you can do.
When I was doing Europeans I was not going to the Olympics. So I thought it was the Olympics of my year, and I ran as it was and did the best I could. Winning it gold and standing on that podium was probably a slightly higher achievement than the Olympics.
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