Scotland international Stephen Mackay doesn’t know when, or if, his indoor season will get under way.
The Inverness middle distance runner recently returned from a month-long spell of altitude training with Edinburgh AC Olympian Jake Wightman in Flagstaff, Arizona.
He was fired up and looking forward to testing himself in next Monday’s Scottish indoor 3000m championship in Glasgow, but the event has now been cancelled because of new government restrictions imposed on indoor sport.
Adult track events longer than 200m indoors cannot be held as these are deemed to be potentially “contact sports” which are not permitted under the new restrictions which apply until at least January 15.
The same ruling applies to the national open meeting the following week, although athletes under the age of 17 will be able to compete in longer races while senior athletes can’t.”
Mackay said: “The training in Flagstaff went really well and everything was set up for the 3000m, but just after getting back to Scotland I was told it had been cancelled.
“Then I was planning to compete in the 1500m at the national open next weekend, but that race has been cancelled as well.
“It’s been tough for scottishathletics to try and sort things out as they weren’t given much notice about these new restrictions.”
And Mackay received more bad news after discovering he might not be able to compete in the Scottish indoor 1500m championships at the end of January.
He said: “I submitted my entry well before the closing date but by then all the places had been taken up. No qualifying standard was required so anyone could enter.
“I don’t know who all has a place, but it means that some of the faster 1500m runners might not be able to compete in the championships.
“There’s a waiting list in place, so I’m just hoping I might still get in. But it’s far from ideal not knowing whether I’ll be racing or not.
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“I feel it would have been better for there to have been a qualifying standard and, if not all the available places had been taken by athletes with that standard by a certain date, then it could have been opened up to others.
“If I don’t get a place, or if the event is cancelled, then I’ll probably not have had any races before the British championships in Birmingham at the end of February.
“And if that’s how it’s looking I might have to consider forgetting about the indoor season altogether.
“There’s not much point in training for just one race at the end of February so I’d be just as well just getting some winter work under my belt.
“It’s frustrating as I was keen to get some decent times to my name over the next few weeks.”
Arizona trip was an ‘eye-opener’
Stephen Mackay enjoyed his first training trip to Arizona so much that he wants to repeat the experience in April.
The Inverness athlete linked up with Edinburgh AC’s Jake Wightman for a four week training camp at an altitude of 7,000ft on the edge of the Colorado Plateau.
Wightman, who was 10th in the 1500m at the Tokyo Olympic Games, is one of the best middle distance specialists to have come out of Scotland.
He is the third fastest British 1500m runner in history behind fellow Scot Josh Kerr and top ranked Mo Farah. Wightman, who is coached by his dad, former marathon international Geoff, is also one of Scotland’s quickest 800m runners, only former world indoor champion Tom McKean having run faster.
Mackay said: “It was very hard but I enjoyed it and there were no problems. They have a different way of training to most others I know of. They do a lot of yoga and there’s a big emphasis on gym work – and that was an eye-opener to be honest.
“I’ve done some strength and conditioning work before, although not to any great degree. But they sold their ideas to me. It seemed well structured alongside the other stuff they do. There’s also a lot of emphasis on running movement and mobility work.
“I could feel the benefits after a few weeks and I’ll try to stick with it now that I’m back.
“Ideally I’d like to go over there again in April for four weeks then finish off by going down to San Francisco for a track meet.
“I know the set-up there now so I might go on my own, but if there was the chance to tag onto another training camp, I’d look at that too.”
Wild among the contenders
Finlay Wild (Lochaber AC) will face fellow top Scottish mountain runner Andy Douglas (Inverclyde AC) in the Aonach Mor uphill race at Torlundy near Fort William on New Year’s Day.
Over 100 runners will tackle the testing course which features a relentless climb of 610m over a distance of 4k.
Wild, a 10-time winner of the Ben Nevis race, is perhaps more used to longer distances but will be on familiar territory.
Douglas, from Caithness, has been a mainstay of the successful Great Britain mountain running team in recent years and was the World Mountain Running Cup champion a couple of years ago. He is,however, returning to competition after a spell on the sidelines.
Both men are capable of challenging the course record of 21min 13secs set by Deeside’s Robbie Simpson eight years ago
Scottish women’s hill running trace series champion Jill Stephen (Hunters Bog Trotters), who comes from Dufftown, is among the leading entrants in the women’s division of the race. THe women’s record of 26:28, set by Nicola Meekin, has stood since 2009.
Meanwhile, Francisco Javier Cabrera Valdes (Highland Hill Runners) won the Cruim Leacainn Hill Race at Tomacharich.
The Spanish athlete completed the 10.5k course, which included 250m of climbing, in 48:27. Lochaber’s Iain Foggo, 48:41, and Peter Wilson,49:10, were second and third respectively.
Isla Mackay (Lochaber AC) won the women’s race in 55:50, followed by her clubmates Edie, 57:00, and Eilidh Moynihan, 58:11.
