Emma is currently focusing towards the 2018 commonwealth games in Australia and aiming to compete for Great Britain in 2015 and 2016. She is studying is the LLB (Hons) Law at Strathclyde and so far she is thoroughly enjoying it. Emma works at her old school, coaching the junior school running club and taking a few classes. Where she is trying to teach the children there about athletics and the importance of staying fit and healthy. Aside from all this Emma coach’s for Glasgow Athletics Association which involves coaching disabled children, which she find’s incredibly inspiring and rewarding. Not only that Emma coach’s public schools around Glasgow at events put on by the Glasgow Athletics Association.
How did you get involved in athletics?
From a young age, I have always been incredibly competitive, which was recognised by my school PE teachers and my family. I started the school running club when I was in Primary 4, which was taken by one of the teacher’s sons who had competed for Great Britain. He recognised my potential and encouraged me to join the local running club, Kirkintilloch Olympians. I started there when I was about 10 years old, training for long distance and cross-country. I competed in the cross countries for my school and club, eventually leading to my first ever selection at U13 for the Inter-county XC International in Edinburgh. My dad always encouraged me to try lots of different events while I was still young and so although I did cross-country during winter, when the track season came around, I would compete in the sprints, long jump and high jump, which I found very enjoyable! I ended up being quite naturally good at these events, despite never training for them. I then discovered an event called the Pentathlon, which was 5 events – hurdles, long jump, shot put, high jump and 800m – all the events which I thoroughly enjoyed, so I decided I would give that a try. I ended up winning my first Scottish individual medal in 2010 at this event and decided from then on, instead of picking one event, I may as well do them all!
How long have you been involved in athletics?
When I won my first Scottish title in 2011 for the Pentathlon, I was approached by a man who I had noticed coaching the girl who had got silver to me. He asked who coached me and I simply replied, “Youtube”! This was true, as although my dad helped me on a Sunday morning at the ash track next to my house, I didn’t actually have a coach other than watching famous athletes on youtube, trying to replicate their technique. After this day, he became my coach and I have been with him ever since. So I suppose I have properly been involved in athletics with a full time coach, since March 2011.
How do you overcome “the wall”?
In athletics, there are many “walls” that ought to be overcome in order to succeed. You can get the “the wall” at training, when you’re half way through a session and you feel like you might just die there and then however, I have three really good training partners and it’s always easier to train alongside someone who pushes you, so if one of us hits that wall, we make sure they push through the session. I occasionally struggle with a mental wall and I doubt my ability. To overcome this I’ve been working on visualisation before events and what has really helped. I slowly go through each stage of the jump or run, it lets me feel the rhythm. This is my way of overcoming the wall at competitions.
How did it make you feel to be chosen to do multi-events for Scotland?
The feeling is unexplainable! People react to it in different ways, but for me, I always get super excited because I just love competing in Scotland kit. It always makes me compete really well and of course you get a stash of free kit too. I train really hard and that’s the bit people don’t see, so when I get picked it means I have something big to motivate me at training to ensure I keep working as hard as I can. It’s really exciting!
How do you find life at Strathclyde?
Strathclyde is ideal for me. It’s about 11 minutes away from where I stay by train which means I can get into univeristy and back home for training pretty easily. I’m enjoying being at Strathclyde and I feel it offers a lot of opportunities for the students who attend.
How do you balance sports, studies and your social life?
This has always been a strong point of mine, and one I regularly get praise off my coach for. I think the key is to plan ahead. During my Highers (earlier this year – I left school after S5), I had to plan a week in advance, so that I ensured I wouldn’t miss a training session but also got enough time to study for the exams approaching. Following a strict schedule meant that I could use my time effectively, balancing my training programme with the necessary studying needed to give me the best chance of meeting my conditional offers to university. Being disciplined is very important and I feel this has helped me adapt to university life. I still have a social life and I regularly meet-up with my close friends, but they understand that plans also have to be made in advance so that I can structure studying and training around them.