Helen Clitheroe: my greatest race

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British middle-distance runner-turned-coach looks back on her European indoor 3000m victory in Paris in 2011

I was 32 when I started doing the steeplechase. I was pushed towards it by British Athletics, because 2008 was the first time it was going to be in the Olympics. I’d never even jumped over a barrier until I was in my 30s, so I didn’t have that natural hurdling ability. I practised, but I enjoyed running on the flat more and I just felt like I wanted to change.

In 2010 I’d run the Commonwealth 1500m and steeplechase and it was a turning point. I’d fallen out of love with the steeple a little bit. I’d gone for the 1500m, but ended up running both, because I’d done this qualifying time and there was a spot available in the steeplechase, but I ended up coming fourth in that.

I spoke to John Nuttall, my coach, and I said: “What do you think my best options are for 2012?” He went: “Let’s go for 5000m/10,000m and have a real good bash at that.” Going into the winter of 2010 and preparing for the 2011 season, we went to high altitude training in Kenya.

We had no intention of doing the indoors that season, but, as we got going in the camp, I was feeling in really good shape.

I discussed it with John and we thought: “Let’s just do a couple of indoor races”. I came back and I did the GB v USA match in Glasgow. I won that and broke Liz McColgan’s stadium record. I did the Grand Prix in Birmingham and ran a 3000m PB there of 8:39.

Going into the European Indoor Championships, on paper I was probably the fastest, but I’d previously come fourth twice over 1500m at those championships, so it was like: ‘Will it ever actually happen for me?’

We talked about the tactics. The Polish athlete Lidia Chojecka had won the champs twice previously and was probably the one to beat. There were a couple of Russian athletes who were good, too. It was about weighing up the best strategy, but I just felt nobody was really going to take it on as a fast race. As long as it was a good clip and I was up there at the front and ready to strike, we believed that I could win, because I had a good kick.

I’d never really trusted myself to sit and kick, though. Before, I probably would grind it out and then hang on. It was probably the first time I did exactly what John told me to do in a race. He said: “Make sure you’re in the front few, but if somebody goes past you, that’s a good thing. You tag on to them.” That’s pretty much what happened.

I never used to believe in my kick, but I did that day. I got into the lead, but the Russian girl Olesya Syreva was coming for me, so even when I crossed the line I knew it was pretty close. Had I actually won something for the first time ever? I had. It was a beautiful moment, because that was a long time coming.

I won a bronze medal in the Commonwealth Games in 2002 over 1500m at the beginning of my career. At that point, you’re like: “Hopefully I’ll have loads more days like this”. And then I made teams and I got in finals, but I’d often be fourth, or not be great in the final, or not make finals. You think your chance to get on top of a podium has gone, so it was a really nice moment, even more so because, from the moment I turned 30, I’d walk off the track and be asked: “When are you finishing?” not “What’s next?”

Jo Pavey’s a prime example of it, and there are many athletes, especially female athletes, who run well in their 30s. I was 37. I was the oldest person to ever win a European indoor title. I remember being told at the time it was rare to run that well on the track – that it was more likely you’d become a good marathon runner in your late thirties. It was just so nice to go: “We can still do this.”

I did change my training a little bit as I got older. I probably was careful on hard sessions and recovered before I did the next one. More thought went into that, just because I was respectful that it might take me a bit longer to recover. As long as you’re looking after yourself and you’re looking after your body, you can still run fast. I felt like so many people had wondered when I was finishing, rather than thinking that I could actually get on top of a podium.

As athletes, you can get a little bit blasé about making a team or going to a championships. There are some athletes that you know are regular medal winners, but the vast majority don’t get that many medals. That’s the actual truth of it.

READ MORE: My greatest race archives

I’ve had these conversations with loads of athletes I know, or have even worked with as a coach over the years. They might wonder whether to bother running at the Commonwealth Games or indoor championships but I say: “Trust me, getting a medal will be the thing you’re remembered for.”

Not that many people get to stand on an Olympic podium. As an athlete, you should look at the opportunities to represent your country and look at the opportunities that will give you the best chance to get as high up as possible in the competition.

The European Indoors, European Champs outdoors and Commonwealth Games are the competitions that offer that. For some athletes, it’s a stepping stone to better things, but, for others, it’s the absolute highlight of their lives.

As told to Mark Woods

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