Beth Potter’s achievement in becoming an Olympian last year was an inspirational one, but for no-one more than the school-teacher herself it seems.
For all the excitement inevitably generated among the youngsters at the London school at which she taught, far from feeling satisfied with her accomplishment the 25-year-old Glaswegian clearly came back from Rio with a great deal of food for thought.
That was partly because she was disappointed with how she ran in that Olympic 10,000 metres, but has more to do with a determination to fully examine her potential.
She revealed that she had taken the first step in that process immediately after competing in the Great Edinburgh Cross Country early in January when announcing that she had quit her job as a physics teacher to become a full-time athlete. Another couple of weeks after that when she further explained her plans, it became evident that there simply would not be time for anything other than training. Running 10,000 metres to Olympic level on a perfectly smooth track was not enough in itself, it seems.
Instead she decided to make it that bit more challenging by taking on the additional challenges of training to be able to swim competitively for 1.5 kilometres, then cycle another 40 kilometres, immediately before covering her Olympic athletics distance over the less certain terrain of running on roads.
With that switch to triathlon she has meanwhile demonstrated that the work she has done on improving her mental strength in recent years has not been wasted since only someone who is ready to test themselves to the limit could possibly have joined the camp she has entered, by moving to Leeds to join Olympic gold and silver medallists Alistair and Jonny Brownlee, a world devoted to physical endeavour.
“I knew at the Edinburgh Cross Country that I was probably going to do this, I just wasn’t ready to announce it yet. It was in my head that this was what I was going to do,” she explained.
“I know what it takes to get to the top of a sport. I’m not expecting it to be easy.
“There’s nothing to prevent me. There’s only eating, training and sleeping. I thought I would miss teaching more than I am. I miss my colleagues, but I’ve been looking forward to doing this so the novelty hasn’t worn off yet. It’s nice to set my alarm knowing that it’s just going to be training.
“I’d achieved what I set out to in becoming an Olympian in athletics and it’s not that I’m bored with that, but I don’t want to leave any stone unturned so I’m going to give this my all. If it’s not for me after next year then I’ll have found out, but I’m loving it at the moment.”
The foundations are there, not only with her obvious running ability, but having been a swimmer who was good enough to pick up medals at Scottish Schools competitions.
“Cycling’s the one that is new for me,” Potter noted.
“It’s a bit tricky with the switch from swimming to cycling. The muscles you use play against one another a bit.
“Obviously running is what triathlon comes down to. You don’t have to be the best at the other two. You just have to make sure you’re in touch.”
Just five or six weeks into the process she feels it is too early to have a real idea of how it is going, but for all that she admires the way the men who are arguably the world’s most complete athletes go about their business, she seems undaunted.
“Seeing how they’re training is impressive, but I’m not worried about it,” said Potter.
“I can’t do as much as them yet. I would just injure myself, but I’m on quite a demanding training schedule at the moment.”
In terms of the potential impact on her athletics there could arguably be no better examination than at Falkirk’s Callendar Park this weekend as she defends the National Cross Country title that she won for a second time last season.
There is, after all, no terrain on which her expectations should be higher since she has also twice been Scottish under-15 champion, twice Scottish under-17 champion and won the under-20 title at this venue.
“I just quite like the course. It’s a good mix of flat, uphill and downhill that seems to suit me,” she explained.
A minor injury shaken off she is looking forward to a first competitive outing since the Great Edinburgh Cross Country at the turn of the year.
“I haven’t run for the last week because I strained a ligament in my foot, but I had my first session back on Wednesday and it went well,” she reported.
The participation of Potter’s fellow Olympians Callum Hawkins and Andrew Butchart has not yet been confirmed but a record entry has been attracted for the day’s events, the timetable for which is:
11am under-13 boys
11.16am under-13 girls
11.32am under-15 girls
11.53 under-15 boys
12.15pm under 20 and under-17 women
12.50pm under-17 men
1.20pm senior women
2.20pm under-20 men
2.50pm senior men
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