New documentary highlights former European champion's journey into a life beyond athletics

Eilidh Doyle didn’t know it at the time but a European Indoor Championships final in front of a packed Emirates Arena in 2019 was to deliver the last race of her career.

The most decorated Scot in track and field was on the anchor leg for Great Britain and Northern Ireland that night and duly guided the women’s 4x400m team home to silver.

Six years later and she is still passing the baton, only in a different way. Helping the next generation in athletics was on her mind even before she hung up her spikes, Doyle having joined the Board of Scottish Athletics in September 2018.

Her post-competition life is detailed in a new documentary, called Eilidh Doyle – Passing the Baton, created for the governing body by Urbane Media. In the film, the now 38-year-old talks about the end of her athletics career, motherhood and giving something back to the sport she loves.

Keynote speaking engagements with the Scottish Athletics Young People’s Forum, Awards Dinner and Club Conference have shone a light on the hurdler’s career change and she feels passionately that top athletes should be utilised more to help educate and guide those now on the same pathway.

“I was a PE teacher before I was a full-time athlete and, even when I was still competing, I was exploring different avenues to see what was out there,” says Doyle.

"In my career as an athlete, I think I learned a lot and I experienced a lot. And it was trying to work out: ‘What did I learn and where would that be useful? I think that's where I'm useful in all my roles, because it’s somebody who's been there and done that, [someone] who can give an athlete's perspective on it.

“I'm a member of the Board of Scottish Athletics. I also work with various coaches across the country. As an athlete, you're very much in your own bubble. Now that I'm out of that world, it's nice to understand what's going on in the rest of athletics.

“There are lots of us out there, athletes who have been to so many championships and had success or not had success, but equally have really important life skills and lessons and experiences.

‘They can share that with others. We can use our athletes that are coming to retirement or are retired and try to tell their stories and learn about their journeys. We have some great people who can pass on what they have experienced and share for the next generation as well.”

Further roles – Doyle now also works with Edinburgh University as a mentor and the Youth Sports Trust as an ambassador – give her other opportunities, too.

None of these were on her mind, presumably, as she took a lap of honour at Hampden after Commonwealth Games silver at Glasgow 2014 and then celebrated becoming European 400m hurdles champion in Zurich a couple of weeks later.

“It's a great life, being able to travel around and do what you love is great – particularly when you're in shape and you're running well,” she says. “The highs come when you're running really well and you're just full of confidence.

"For me, there was no better feeling than crossing the line knowing I’d left it out there; like you've nothing left, you’ve crossed the line and you know it has been a really good performance. Regardless of times or positions.

"Sometimes you can train really, really, really hard and not get the result you think you deserve. But the highs always did outweigh the lows in my opinion."

The documentary features Doyle at Grangemouth Stadium – where the Hampden track that was used at during Glasgow 2014 was laid after those Games. The event fell between the Olympics in London and Rio. Competing at a third, in Tokyo, was very much part of Doyle’s original plan.

“In 2019, I competed in the indoor season, and then I took a year off to have a baby. In 2020, my plan was to come back after having [my son] Campbell and compete at the Olympics. If I was being realistic, that was going to be probably my last hurrah. It would have been a third Olympics. And then Covid hit and everybody stopped.

“Nobody really knew what was happening and it felt like I had another chance and more time to get back to full fitness. But during that time, and I think probably a lot of people were the same, my motivation was just up and down and up and down.

“One day I was training at Grangemouth and I turned to Brian, who is my husband, but was my coach as well at the time. I said to Brian: 'I think I'm done'. I think I've had enough now. His response was: 'Oh, thank goodness you've got there, thank goodness you’ve realised”.

“Brian could see my motivation was not quite there. The determination, the drive to train wasn't quite there. But he couldn't tell me to quit; that had to come from me.”