A New Adventure: Innes FitzGerald’s Indoor Season

Ahead of her senior Great Britain debut, Innes FitzGerald spoke to James Rhodes about her season to date and goals for the European Indoor Championships. 

“I’m quite excited but nervous at the same time”.

At the start of the year, Innes FitzGerald’s plan for the season did not include a trip to the Netherlands. A trip to the National Cross Country Championships, perhaps. Parliament Hill, a terrain and event she knows all too well.

Yet, there was to be no outing in the glorious North London mud last weekend – or at all this year. Instead, an adventure into something new. Laps, laps and more laps of a 200m oval.

It is thanks to that venture that, in a few days, the Netherlands is exactly where the 18-year-old will find herself. Guided by Gavin and Jo Pavey, and now in possession of a British Indoor Championships medal, Innes will soon be getting ready for her senior Great Britain debut. The European Indoor Championships await.

Season Beginnings

At the start of the year, Innes took to the track at an unassuming indoor meeting in Cardiff. Fifteen laps of the track, where the goal was to run low 8:50. That was easily ticked off – 8:48.30, almost half a minute ahead of the rest of the field. Notably, it was less than one second shy of the European Indoor qualifying time. As Innes says, “I shocked myself”.

Fast forward a fortnight, and an invite to compete at the Czech Indoor Gala. It was a race of firsts; first World Indoor Tour appearance, first indoor race abroad. Another fifteen laps, this time with a considerably larger spotlight.

8:40.05. The European Indoor standard secured, the European U20 Record shattered. Another surprise, but not for all.

“Going into Ostrava, I thought I’d been so close to the qualifying time, let’s just try and get under it. I was aiming for 8:45, so I surprised myself again! Coming out with 8:40 was completely unexpected, but my coach knew it was in me; training had been leaning towards that. Jo had said maybe low 8:40s, but Gavin had said ‘well, we’ll see’.

He knew I was in that shape, but he didn’t want to put too much pressure on me. He let me go out and run without feeling the expectation in that way. I think that’s the reason I ran so well”.

Birmingham Bound

Last weekend’s British Indoor Championships was just her fifth indoor race. Not that you would have guessed. After leading for much of the race she was rewarded with bronze, joined on the podium by Hannah Nuttall and Laura Muir.  It could easily have been a daunting experience, but Innes took it in her stride – literally.

“In some ways, I had things on my side as I was a bit of an underdog going into it. I hadn’t done it before, there was no expectation on me.

Sometimes I run really well when there’s a bit of pressure, but also it’s good to have those times when there isn’t any pressure on you. You can go and completely relax. If it goes well, it goes well, but no one’s really expecting anything.

That was the main thing going into it. No one’s expecting anything from me, if it goes well that’s great, but it’s not the end of the world if it doesn’t. I’ve got so many more years to run indoors and do well at the British Championships”.

Race Tactics

Four in the field had the European Indoor standard, and others had got close to it. There were a number of ways in which the race could have played out.

“We weren’t really sure how it was going to go. To be honest, I didn’t really want to be at the front! I always hear on the commentary, ‘Innes is at the front, that’s where she likes to be’. Sometimes I do like to be at the front, but I didn’t really want to be there on Sunday!

I knew I was working a bit harder than everyone else by being at the front. I wasn’t expecting to be there, but once I got there I knew I needed to relax and keep it moving at a decent pace so I’d be left in contention at the end.

If I’d sat back, it could have turned out differently and maybe the result would have been different. I can’t complain really!”.

That feels like an understatement. Not many people enter their first championships and come away with a medal, least of all in a field of such quality. “A medal at a British Championships – I wouldn’t have dreamed of that happening!”.

Nervous Wait, Or Not

With only the top-two guaranteed selection for the European Indoors, selection was not a certainty. Particularly when coupled with a medical exemption from the trials granted to Melissa Courtney-Bryant, the European Leader.

“I came away thinking I’m probably not going to get selected, I didn’t want to get my hopes up. I was thinking I wouldn’t be selected, but I got a call on the way home. It was a surprise, but I was really excited”.

As it later transpired, Laura Muir had torn her soleus muscle in the latter stages of the race. She ruled herself out of selection contention immediately afterwards, noting on Instagram to allow the next placed athlete to immediately begin preparing. A notable gesture by someone with so much experience of these championships, and it is pleasing to see that message was quickly passed on.

The Goal

Innes will toe the line in Apeldoorn ranked sixth fastest on season best. She has clear goals, but at the same time recognises the relative infancy of her career. Running is a long journey, and this is an early stop.

“The main thing for me is just to go there and enjoy it and do my best. Getting some more experience on an international stage will be really useful, I can’t wait.

It would be silly to say I don’t have any expectations of myself, I want to do as best I can, I want to get into that final. I know people looking in aren’t expecting me to go out there and win or anything like that. It’s just about going in and doing the best I can on the day. Hopefully I will get into the final, it’s where I want to be and I believe I can be in that final”.

A Surprise Season

Innes is the first to say this winter has not been what was originally envisaged. The primary focus was the European Cross Country Championships as the main aim. With her U20 title successfully retained, a short break before Christmas followed. What came next was not entirely fixed.

“I didn’t really have the enthusiasm for the cross country post-Christmas! I thought we’d do a couple of indoor races, and maybe then a couple of cross country races. This whole indoor season has come as a bit of a shock! It’s been good fun, I’m really grateful.

It feels I’ve been competing for quite a while, but I’m excited to see what comes this weekend”.

Innes will be joined by Hannah Nuttall and Melissa Courtney-Bryant in the women’s 3000m at the European Indoor Championships. The heats take place at 09:20 (UK time) on Saturday 8 March and the final at 16:36 (UK time) on Sunday 9 March.