Marathon legend took 25 years to convince his daughter to follow in the business
For Liz, who is also Eilish's coach, her daughter agreeing to run FM (42.195km) at the London Marathon is like the result of nearly 20 years of trying to convince her daughter that she is a marathon runner.
"Mother is always right," Liz told the Telegraph (UK) and smiled. Eilish also responded to her mother with a smile, and admitted: "She knows me better than anyone."
Over the past 12 months, Eilish has developed a habit of breaking records. After years of injuries and failure to hit her big goals, she finally reached her peak in the summer of 2022 when she won the 10,000 meter gold at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. This achievement is even more memorable when Ms. Liz won gold medals in similar events at Edinburgh 1986 and Auckland 1990.
Last year, Eilish also set a European record in the 10km race and a series of individual awards. The 32-year-old runner fully enjoys these accolades as he pops up at glitzy awards events around the country during the often bleak winter training months.
"I win things that I've never even been nominated for," she said with surprise. "I'm busier than usual, but it will never happen again. It only happens once in a lifetime."
Liz, 58, joked that she was "tired" of seeing her daughter constantly appearing all over social media receiving "award after award". However, Liz also tells Eilish to embrace and enjoy success. "I won many awards and won many titles, but never really took the time to enjoy them," admitted Liz. "When you succeed, take time to enjoy the moment. The moment passes and you can't relive it."
However, Eilish did not let the celebration distract her from her profession. On Sunday, after five weeks of high-altitude training in Colorado, USA, the Scottish athlete started 2023 in top form, breaking the UK record of 10,000m set by Paula Radcliffe 21 years ago, with a time 30 minutes 0.86 seconds at Sound Running The TEN in San Juan Capistrano, California. In Europe, only Dutch athlete Sifan Hassan ran faster.
On April 23, Eilish will run her first marathon in London, where her mother won 27 years ago. When Eilish was still a teenager, Liz saw her daughter's potential as a long-distance runner, but the thought frightened Eilish. "Even when I was 17 years old and ran 3 kilometers for the first time," she said, before Liz interrupted, "5 kilometers was my first run. I remember because you asked how many laps it would take?".
"I thought I would never run long," Eilish continued. "But it's important to grow up. Over the years, I've gradually become more confident in my own abilities and also stronger mentally. Now I run a distance of 10 km. However, FM remains a mystery".
Eilish's reluctance to practice long distances at the beginning of her career can be traced back to her fear of the overwhelming shadow of her mother, who had achieved excellent results in longer distances. Ms. Liz has won an Olympic silver medal, is a world champion in the 10,000m and has won marathons in London, Tokyo and New York.
"It's hard to make a career of your own with the surname McColgan. To do that in the sport and the distance her mother excelled at seemed like a tough challenge for Eilish as a child," the Telegraph said. comment. But as his career progressed, the Scottish runner began to challenge himself in longer distances with great success under his mother's guidance. Now, Eilish hopes to replicate Liz's success on the FM track.
Although she moved to Qatar to settle in 2014, Ms. Liz continues to train her daughter from a distance, with the additional help of her boyfriend Eilish and former British athlete Michael Rimmer.
Eilish admitted her mother's guidance was "priceless" and she was "so lucky" to have a coach like Ms. Liz. The 32-year-old runner understands that not all legendary athletes can coach the next generation as well as Liz, and has founded a non-profit initiative with Rimmer called Giving Back To Track, to support athletes. 16 to 22 year old women at the Dundee Hawkhill Harriers track and field club at their own expense, and provide advice and support.
Eilish has never lacked such support from Liz, who has guided her daughter to marathons since Eilish was just a teenager. "It's always been clear to me that running long distances is not a problem for Eilish," emphasized Liz. "I always said that the farther the better for Eilish, even though he told me many times that it would never happen. So I had to convince Eilish to take small steps forward. But in all situations I've always thought of running a marathon as a race with a pace and timing that suits Eilish."
Eilish registered for the London Marathon in October 2022, but withdrew at the last minute due to unexpected blood sugar problems. This time, the 10,000 meter champion of the Commonwealth Games 2022 feels more ready than ever. She also learned about the race herself when she accepted the job as a pacer at the London Marathon 2020. "I work as a pacer to know exactly what will happen when I run a marathon. I feel quite comfortable because I have experienced and completed the distance. this road before actually participating in running," Eilish explained.
Although not competing officially, Eilish still feels the exciting atmosphere 3 years ago. However, Ms Liz stressed the experience for her daughter next month would be "unique". Having shocked the world when winning the 1991 New York City Marathon major on her first long run, Liz said reducing expectations when attending the 2023 London Marathon will be the key to Eilish.
"I've finished third, runner-up twice and won the London Marathon. I've been to this tournament many times, and as a British athlete, the experience has been amazing," Liz said. "Eilish wants to perform well, but it takes time to learn how to run a marathon. You can't go out on the track for the first time and give a blast. It's a tough test. Eilish has a couple of exciting years ahead of him. learn to run and enjoy marathons, and hopefully my daughter will have a great time."
