Ahead of the European Cross Country Champs in Portugal, we speak to one of Britain’s leading contenders.
If ever there was a season that highlighted Meghan Keith’s love of domestic competition and ability to mix it with the world’s elite, this was it.
A fantastic 10th place at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in September was the highlight of a summer season that included personal best times in the mile (4:26.85), also a Scottish record, and the 3000m (8:38.37). Just over a month later, he anchored Inverness Harriers to a historic victory at the Scottish National Cross Country Relay Championships in Cumbernauld.
Incredibly, those performances came from “scratch” in January, a period her coach Ross Cairns called after an injury-enforced time-out from the 2024 Olympics.
“I think this time a year ago I was probably just getting into rehab, but I was living a very normal life that I really enjoyed,” says Keith, who is currently studying part-time for a Masters in Public Health at the University of Edinburgh.
“I had never taken a vacation and rebuilt like this before, so I had no expectations. I bought myself a new bike and would go out with my friends or my dad when I wanted to get some fresh air, but I was really taking a big step back from that, which in retrospect was great.
“Ross had incredible faith in me, which I definitely didn’t have in myself. When I started training properly again (in mid-January), I was convinced I would never get close (to Worlds) because the paces I used to run seemed so unattainable. It was a very humbling experience.
in an interview with AW: Cairns spoke in November of the importance of patience as they recover early in the summer before focusing on progress in the weeks leading up to Tokyo. Keith’s stunning mile performance at the Monument Mile Classic in Stirling in August was a great indicator of his fitness ahead of Tokyo.
In contrast, he “thought it was a fun little shot.”
“I don’t get the chance often but I really enjoy supporting one of these types of races in Scotland, where there is a great display of age and ability levels,” said the European 10,000m bronze medallist, who trained at altitude for the first time this year.
Keith remembers giving his spikes to a little boy after a Stirling race. A few days later, the boy’s father texted to say the spikes were framed on his son’s bedroom wall. A young athlete in Cumbernauld commented on how inspired and amazed he was that the athlete he had watched competing on TV was actually there in person and willing to stop for a picture.
Tokyo could hardly have been further from Stirling or Cumbernauld, but Keith’s 31:33.85 earned him the top British finish, second European and automatic selection for next summer’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
“I went into Tokyo really confident,” reflected the 23-year-old, who is now preparing for this month’s European Championships. “It was exciting to be on the starting line knowing I could handle anything they threw at me. I had better speed than the last two seasons and had done a lot of warm-up training at the Physiology Lab at Edinburgh University, so I knew I was ready for it.
“I don’t want to say I was happy to be there because I always like to come in and race my best, but I haven’t had the easiest sailing year so it put it a bit in perspective for me. Maybe I wasn’t at my smartest race, but I was pretty happy considering where I started, and I was just as proud of the job.”
