Laura Muir encouraged by consistency in tough 2020
In February, Laura Muir ran two indoor races and settled back into training for the Olympics. Then came Covid-19, lockdown and eventually the postponement of the Games.
"Lockdown was okay," she reflects. "Running was one of the few things you were still allowed to do! I had some gym equipment in the house from previous years so was still able to do some gym work. We just made do with what we were able to do.
"We were very grateful that we could get out and run because some people in other sports couldn’t do anything at all."
Keen to have a season, the European 1500m champion was unsure of what to expect.
"It was really tricky and week-by-week things were changing. At one stage, we didn’t know if we would be able to compete at all.
"So I didn’t really have any big targets – just to be able to race, even though it was later than normal. I was really thankful to Andy [coach Andy Young] and my agent for organising for us to get to some events."
The positive in the season was that without the pressure of a major championships there was an opportunity just to enjoy it and try various tactics in different races.
"Rather than concentrating everything towards one race, you could run and see how it went," she explains.
"You could try different things, try to run a fast time, try to run differently. It was all just good fun, just to go out and run without any pressure or expectations."
Her season, starting in August, was nine races in seven countries in just over six weeks – five 800s, three 1500s and one 1000m race in which she broke the British record, resulting in five wins, two second places and two third places.
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Not only was her 1500m season's best of 3:57.40 the world-leading time, but her two other marks of 3:57.86 and 3:58.24 placed second and third on this summer's global rankings.
"I was really happy, particularly that the 1500m was so consistent," she assess. "And running so strongly was nice.
"It gave me back a lot of confidence after last year when I missed a lot of racing with injury. It was nice to get back out and think, ‘yes, I can do this, I can run sub-four multiple times and be strong and win races’.
"It was also nice to run the 800m more, because normally I would only run 800m once or twice a season.
"It was good to have a bit more experience in that event and have fun with that too. It was just good to mix it up a bit, race and enjoy it."
To describe her three 1500m wins in 3:57 or 3:58 as 'consistent' seems something of an understatement.
When pressed, she admits: "A few years ago running 3:57 would have been my max and 4:00 my normal. So to run consistently at that pace and on my own, as I didn’t really have anyone pushing me in the final stages of the races, was pleasing.
"It’s good to know that I can run 3:57, strongly. And if I had had a few athletes around me and had more focus on a particular race, how fast could I go?
"I still think there was more work to be done and I’m still catching up from my injury last year so after another winter, hopefully I’ll be faster and stronger for next year."
"It’s good to know that I can run 3:57, strongly. And if I had had a few athletes around me and had more focus on a particular race, how fast could I go?"
What was strange was competing in empty stadiums and coping with all the other Covid protocols.
"Not having the crowds there took away from the atmosphere quite a bit," she says. "But at the same time, we were very thankful to have the races.
"I barely spoke to anyone throughout the whole year. There were restrictions in place, understandably because you want to minimise contact between people as much as possible. It was a strange year, like when you finish a race and you’re on a high and you look around and there is nobody there!"
Just as 2020 has been strange, so will 2021 be. Her programme for the coming months is uncertain.
"The plan is just to train," she says. "I’m now into winter training. We are building up training over the winter and hopefully getting away some time to a training camp but everything is up in the air at the moment.
"I’m just looking for consistency and a good endurance block over the winter.
"I’m not sure if I’m going to race indoors as yet. Perhaps a few indoor races but we need to wait and see how things are – and if there are races. But everything is focused towards the Olympics. That’s the big target."
Click here for more in a series of 2020 reflection interviews.
(Lead photo by Chris Cooper)
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