Eilish McColgan is a 20 year old athlete from Scotland, studying for a degree in maths and accountancy at Dundee University. She has been coached since she was 13 by her mother, former 10,000m world champion, Liz McColgan.
She entered her first ever race in year six at primary school, purely because of who her parents were. After finishing 3rd, Eilish was keen to get involved and start training. After growing up around her athlete parents travelling the world, she believed that everyone’s folks were the same.
It wasn’t until she joined her mother’s old athletics club Dundee Hawkhill Harriers aged 12 that things began to take off. She won the UK Cross-Country Challenge Series for the under 13 age-group and won several Scottish Schools and Celtic Games from the ages 14-17 over 800m and 1500m. Eilish was selected to compete in the Commonwealth Youth Games in India (2008), but suffered a major knee injury.
After a year and a half resting, Eilish was allowed on the cross trainer twice a day every day to try and regain her fitness. She returned to running at the start of 2010 but struggled with fitness and severe anaemia.
In 2011, Eilish decided to give herself a serious chance in athletics, by changing her lifestyle completely. Instead of living like a student, she started living like an athlete and soon found training and racing getting better every month.
Before 2011, Eilish had only ever completed one 3000m steeplechase before, but managed to knock nearly a minute off a previous PB, gaining selection to run for GB senior in the European Team Championships in Sweden, her first ever GB vest. She also represented GB at the U23 European Championships in Ostrava, finishing 6th.
Eilish is looking forward to the next coming months and is aiming to make the Olympic 2012 team. But looking further ahead, she is targeting to medal in her home country at Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2014.
