Jake Wightman loves taking part in parkrun (Pictured: @WightmanGeoff via x)
Parkrun is great. There’s probably one within 10 miles of wherever you live in this country. And I love that an Olympian can stand on the same startline as someone pushing a buggy.
You wouldn’t get Lionel Messi turning up at Goals in Bexleyheath to have a kickabout, would you? But it’s cool when people see you in the same race as them.
I’m proud to say I’ve done one a year since I was 16. It’s class. I’ve helped out at Bushy Park as well as done the race itself. They’re pretty supportive there as they see me as ‘one of their own’.
At the same time, people don’t bother me too much and just let me get on with running. I still want a hard race after all.
Wightman is hoping to head to the Olympic Games this summer (Pictured: @WightmanGeoff via x)
The thing with parkrun is it’s not a massive demand on your weekend. It starts at 9am and you still have everything else waiting for you after you cross the finish line.
There is also such a great sense of community. Everybody is on their own journey, nobody’s judging anyone, and of course don’t forget the social element to it.
You also don’t have to just do your local parkrun. There are so many great places you can see by doing different ones around the country.
My advice to anyone, whether you are going along for the first time or have done parkrun before, would be not to just get out of the car and run.
You need to do a warm-up, do some stretches and move around, jogging a little bit before you start. It is so, so important.
Trials and tribulations will all be worth it if spot at Olympic Games is sealed
The British Olympic trials take place next weekend and it is safe to say it is going to be as competitive – or almost as competitive – in Manchester as it will be in Paris for the Games themselves.
The 1500metres field will be so strong as we race for the three places on offer, the likes of my fellow Scots, current world champion Josh Kerr and Neil Gourley, lining up alongside me, all of us with gold-medal ambitions this summer.
There is a lot of uncertainty for everybody. You can’t make plans to go to the Olympics until you’re picked. The first three go, it’s as simple as that.
You have to bring yourself up to the standard of the race. A lot of people have shown the potential to run fast but all I can do is race.
Jake Wightman races for the line at a 1500metres race in New York in June (Picture: Getty Images)
Josh and the European champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen have been known to share some trash talk but that’s not for me. I believe the Olympic title will not be fought out just between them when it comes down to it. However, the main thing for me is to focus on qualifying next weekend. I can’t look beyond that.
The 1500m has a lot of attention on it right now and rightly so. It is a spotlight we are enjoying. My belief is there are eight athletes who are in the mix for Olympic medals.
Fitness-wise, I am as good as I would have hoped to be at this point. Like Josh, I chose not to compete at the European Championships earlier this month. But I have probably not given the best account of myself yet so I am looking forward to the trials.
I can’t get complacent and miss out on an Olympic Games but I feel I’m on the right track. It is about being as adaptable as possible and keeping an open mind on multiple scenarios in Manchester. It’s often pretty rainy there and windy too, so you don’t want to be the one who comes and takes the race out fast.
Trials is stressful. It’s not an enjoyable weekend because of what is at stake and there will a sense of relief for sure when it’s done and hopefully you’ve made it through.
Then, and only then, can you allow yourself to focus on the main one in Paris. I see trials as more of an obstacle than somewhere to peak for. There’s no doubt Manchester will be racing in its purest form and I hope to come through to the other side.
Britain’s former 1500m world champion writes for Metro ahead of the Olympic Games. Jake receives funding from The National Lottery, which raises more than £30m a week for good causes including vital funding into sport, from grassroots to elite level. This enables him to train full-time, have access to the world’s best coaches and benefit from pioneering medical support, essential to helping him on his pathway to Paris – http://www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk
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