The past few years have seen a select, but sizeable, band of Scottish athletes force themselves into GB teams. There is now a new name who is set on joining that group in the near future.
Over the past few months, Carys McAulay has proved she has what it takes to be a world-class 400m runner, and she has started to allow herself to ponder the possibility of joining some of Scotland’s biggest names at the biggest championships.
It is a prospect that just a year ago, would have seemed unimaginable to the 25-year-old, who is originally from Rutherglen but is now based in Loughborough.
After a blistering start to the season which, in three appearances outdoors over the past few weeks have seen her run the three fastest times of her career, she is setting her sights higher than she ever have imagined.
McAulay knew she was in the best shape going into the 2023 season but, with her fastest time of 52.12 seconds slicing over half a second off her previous best, it is an improvement that has surprised even herself.
“I knew I’d put in a hard training block so I was hoping for times like I’ve run but not so soon. I was thinking they’d come at the back end of the season so it was a really nice surprise to run so quickly, so early,” she says. “There’s a lot of hard work and self-loathing in the 400m but I’ve got a great set-up and so it’s brilliant it’s translated into fast times on the track.”
McAulay’s blistering form outdoors is being supported by the foundations she built in the indoor season. Having won her first GB vest at the European Indoor Championships in March, McAulay felt her self-belief grow almost immediately knowing she was now a GB internationalist.
And having worked on the mental issues that were holding her back, that progress is translating into extremely quick times, with McAulay now officially one of Scotland’s fastest women over the distance of all time.
“I struggled last year with my confidence and I was using up so much energy with negative thoughts. But now that I’ve run those times and got a GB vest, it’s given me a lot more confidence and in turn, I’ve been running so much better.
“I went to a psychology coach who helped me rationalise what I was feeling and why I was feeling it and so now, every time I’m on the start line, I just say to myself to stay curious and see what happens and having the phrase in my head has helped me a lot.”
McAulay’s progress is in stark contrast to the disappointment she was forced to deal with a year ago. Just days away from making her Commonwealth Games debut – she is a former Commonwealth Youth Games medallist – she suffered a serious injury in training which forced her out of Birmingham 2022 and meant she was left to watch her 4x400m relay team-mates win bronze from the sidelines.
The experience was one of the most testing of her life.
“It was heartbreaking,” she says. “It was hard watching the medal ceremony but it was also amazing because it was so incredible for the girls, who I’m really close to, and it was brilliant for them.
“There were a good few weeks after coming home from Birmingham which were very hard – it was 12 weeks of rehab – but when I started training properly again and could feel things coming on, I knew there was a good chance for me to really improve and I knew I had to give it a real go.”
With her Commonwealth Games blow now well in the past, McAulay has her sights set on far bigger things.
Her early season form has seen her force herself into the conversation for a GB relay place in at the World Championships, which will take place in Budapest this August.
McAulay’s next outing is today, in Geneva, where she will aim to continue her upwards trajectory, before picking up her second GB vest, this time at the European Team Championships in Poland, at the end of this month.
With GB boasting a number of world-class 400m runners, more impressive times will be required to make the British team for the World Championships. However, when you are in the form of your life, motivation is never an issue.
“I’d like to go into the 51s and I definitely think that’s possible. That would be big because it would see more doors open for me,” she says.
“I’m in the Scottish all-time top 10 now which is amazing. I’d like to make top five which will be more difficult but if I can keep improving, the chance is there.
“Considering everything I’ve been through and seeing where I am now, it’s amazing and once you get here, you don’t want to give it up so the mission now is to keep this going.”
