Josh Kerr went to Paris at Christmas to give his Olympic medal daydreams the right context.
The double World Champion, who added the Men’s 3000m gold at the World Indoors in Glasgow last month to his Budapest 2023 title in the Men’s 1500m, visited the Stade de France which will host the track and field action at the 2024 Olympics.
And it is abundantly clear that, for Josh and his support team led by coach Danney Mackey, the planning never stops.
"I spent a little time in Paris over Christmas," revealed the America-based Edinburgh Athletics Club athlete who is now a huge name in the sport globally.
"I wanted to go over there and see what the track was like for the Olympics. I wanted to see the stadium at Stade de France and just familiarise myself with the surroundings as much as I could.
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"Yes, that was the forward planning started. I am a planner by nature. I like to know where I am going to be; what the stadium and the track looks like; where I am going to race.
"It is nice to know all that when you are creating scenarios in your head – while training weeks and months earlier. It gives you more context for things. That is why I went at Christmas time. I enjoyed the city as well, of course. It was bouncing."
Josh of course won 1500m bronze at the last Olympics in Japan in 2021 when Laura Muir took silver over the same distance. Those were the first individual medals by Scots since 1988 (with Eilidh Doyle having won a relay medal in Rio in 2016).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdzxIFIt7fA
Eric Liddell won 400m gold in Paris a century ago in 1924 while it is now 44 years since Allan Wells won gold in the 100m in Moscow in 1980.
He continued: "It is the job of this current generation to try and get medals and write history for athletics in Scotland – that’s my job and the job of Jake Wightman, Neil Gourley, Laura Muir, Jemma Reekie, Eilish McColgan (and others). We take that very seriously.
"And, also, it is about showing young athletes in Scotland what is possible. There is a model there, a pathway, and it works.
"I like looking back at the history (of athletics in Scotland) and I would love to write a new chapter."
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Eilish McColgan, meanwhile, will be in Paris this weekend for a running festival organised by her shoe sponsor, Asics.
"Asics are hosting a Running Festival ahead of the Paris Marathon so it gives me the chance to visit," said the Scot, who has been recovering from injury and is yet to race in 2024.
"I am not racing – it is too soon for that - but I will be on pacing duties and I am getting stronger and training better every week."
* Josh spoke to Scottish Athletics for their magazine, PB, issued to 13,000 members this week. See www.scottishathletics.org.uk
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