Sophie Dunnett, who has been coaching successfully for more than 30 years, has been astounded by the number of messages she received after being awarded a British Empire Medal in the New Year’s Honours list.
The North Highland Harriers club member, who lives at Reay, near Thurso, is to receive the distinction for her services to athletics.
She said: “When I got the email telling me about the award, I had a feeling of disbelief. It’s not something that I’d ever thought about at any time. It was totally unexpected, but it’s lovely to get it.
“What has really amazed me is the huge response there’s been to it. I’ve received wonderful messages from so many people I’ve met from throughout my involvement in the sport.
“I’ve had messages from some people I’d coached when they were youngsters and now they are all grown up and married. Some I hadn’t heard from in years.
“It was so good.”
Dunnett started coaching in 1987, soon after returning north after qualifying as an occupational therapist in Aberdeen.
She joined up with Caithness club-mate Moira Mcbeath, who represented Scotland in the 400m hurdles at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh.
Dunnett said: “Moira and I studied for our coaching badges at the same time. We did our Level One and Two qualifications and had a lot of fun going away for weekends to get them.
“I had been a junior athlete at the club before that, but the best I ever did in the national cross-country championships as a youngster was to finish seventh.
“I was 21 when I started coaching and I loved working with the youngsters. It was a case of making sure they were having fun and picking up some skills along the way.
“My interest grew from there. I had a couple of breaks when having my own children, but, once they were old enough, they’d come along to the club with me.
“My twins, Emma and Oonagh, were part of a large squad of young north district athletes that we took all around the country to races.
“We did a ridiculous amount of travelling. In Emma’s first season competing as an international I was on the road every weekend bar two between October and March.”
Dunnett now coaches 24 senior endurance athletes from GB international to club level. They come from far and wide to seek her advice and her roster includes runners from Orkney and Surrey.
She said: “I absolutely love being part of the journey they all make with their running. It’s great to see people achieve their goals, but it’s also important to be able to help them when things don’t go so well.
“I get so much satisfaction from seeing how the confidence people get from running cascades into every aspect of their lives.”
Journey with Andy Douglas has brought pride for Sophie
Sophie Dunnett has taken immense pride in helping North Highland Harrier Andy Douglas become one of the world’s top mountain runners.
Douglas has been a mainstay of the successful Great Britain team for many years, picking up a clutch of world and European team medals.
He has also enjoyed individual success, most recently winning the 2019 Mountain Running World Cup race series.
Dunnett, who has coached Douglas since 2011, says his move into mountain running was not something that was planned.
She said: “Andy wanted to try for a place in the marathon at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, but that didn’t work out.
“I was trying to pick up his spirits and suggested he should do the Scottish Trail Running Championships about three weeks after he ran in the London Marathon.
“He won and was selected for the British Hill Running Championships, where he finished second behind Robbie Simpson.
“He was then picked for the European Championships and it all progressed from there.
“His win in the World Cup is right up there, because it wasn’t about a one-off race.
“It was his ability to sustain a high level of performance over a long season that was impressive.”
Earlier in her coaching career, Dunnett also took pride in the achievements of her twin daughters – Emma and Oonagh – who finished first and third respectively in the under-17 women’s race at the 2012 Scottish Inter-District Cross-Country Championships.
She said: “It was great for them to be on the podium.
“Emma was outstanding as she finished so far ahead of everyone.
“She was also clipping the heels of some of the GB runners as there was an international race combined with the inter-district.”
