It may still be very early days in 2023, but Aberdeen middle-distance runner Hannah Cameron has made a start which will see her looking to the year ahead with real cause for optimism.
The 25-year-old physio set a superb personal best of 2:05.73sec in the 800m at the Scottish National Open on Saturday, having also run an impressive 600m two weeks previously.
The National Open, which is a popular event for athletes of all abilities, allows competitors to gauge their progress over the winter months heading into the indoor season.
Held at Glasgow’s Emirates Arena, it is also an opportunity for younger athletes to experience competing in a high-level competition arena – one which held the European Indoor Championships in 2019.
Cameron is no stranger to the venue, however, having competed at the track – which neighbours Celtic Park – dozens of times over the past decade. But her performance on Saturday was the best out of all of them, as the reigning Scottish champion took 1.38sec off her best to finish fourth in the third fastest heat of the competition.
As an open event, the races are seeded to ensure competitors are of a similar ability, meaning races can consist of males and females of all ages.
As it happens, Cameron was in a race with six males ranging from a Dunfermline athlete in his teens, to a Cumbernauld veteran in his 50s.
Not that this deterred Cameron, however; with much of her training over the years having taken place alongside both males and females.
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Focus on our superb @scotathletics Officials coming today – here's @Bobby_ThatOneMo photos from National Open
Huge thank you from athletes, coaches 👏@SALDevelopment @leslie_roy1 @RobDL2 @JKWighton @D400m @nsstone12 @SophieAllan20 pic.twitter.com/98xpNrXI7d— scottishathletics (@scotathletics) January 24, 2023
She said: “I’ve always predominantly trained with boys from when I was in fifth and sixth year of school, with the exception of the first couple of years at uni.
“It didn’t really faze me, because it’s just what I’ve done in training and I’ve done quite a few open-graded races where I’ve been the only girl in the race.”
Cameron’s time of 2:05.73sec backs up her 600m at a British Milers’ Club earlier this month, where she ran 1:30.35sec. Only the double Olympian, Lynsey Sharp, finished ahead of her.
It means that Cameron’s training is very much on track as she prepares for the main races of the indoor season – the Scottish Indoor Championships on the first weekend of February, and the British Championships the following week.
On her chances in Birmingham for the UK Indoors, Cameron explains she will be keen to pit her wits against some of the bigger names in the event.
“I really enjoy it,” she said. “It’s just a good opportunity to get a run-out against some fast people, but the way the heats pan out, they can often play into your favour.
“I’ve qualified a few times for the final of the British Championships off a tactical heat, so I never write myself off when it comes to the Championships and qualifying for the final.”
Hers is a level of ambition made all the more impressive by the fact Cameron also works full-time for the NHS, as a physio at the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
It means training sessions, set by her coach Aaron Odentz, need to be adapted when stress and workloads are particularly heavy.
She said: “The NHS is not in a great place at the moment, and work has been quite full on for the last three months. I’ve definitely found there have been weeks where I’ve just been so exhausted that training has had to be altered.
“That’s the same in any job, finding that work-life balance – finding that work-training balance is always going to be hard. But I think especially working at the NHS over winter has been something I’ve had to work through this year.”
Based on her opening set of results, however, Cameron is certainly thriving off the challenge.
Elsewhere at the National Open, Scottish national 100m H champion Jane Davidson gave a strong showing in three different events. The 20-year-old, who is also studying at Aberdeen University, ran 8.65sec in the 60m H, 0.06sec outside her PB. She also competed in the 60m, running 7.85sec, and the long jump, where her best effort was measured at 5.37m
Elgin’s Holly Whittaker, perhaps one of the brightest talents Scotland has seen in the sprint hurdles, also took on the 60m H. The under-15 athlete, who set a British record in the 70m hurdles as an under-13 two years ago, ran 9.23sec in the 60m hurdles to match her time set at an Aberdeen Open Graded meet from last week.
Kelsey Stewart, a former GB representative now based in Glasgow, ran 7.92sec in the 60m and 25.00sec in the 200m. The British University Championships, as well as the Scottish Championships, await her next month.
Irish international Roisin Harrison, who enjoyed an outstanding season in 2022, opened her indoor campaign with a solid run over 400m recording 53.92sec.
Middle-distance specialist Rhys Crawford, ranked sixth in Scotland last year for the Under-17 category, set an outright PB in an excellent run over 800m, finishing with a time of 1:58.03sec.
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