Liz McColgan was once known as one of the fastest women on the Earth. Today she is breaking barriers in the sport in Doha and beyond.

LIZ McCOLGAN is a Scottish former middle-distance and long-distance track and road-running Olympian. She was once hailed as one of the fastest women on the planet.

In this exclusive interview Liz talks about some of the highlights of her illustrious career as well as her work in Doha with some of the nation’s most enthusiastic young runners.

Looking back at your track and road-running careers what stand out to you as your greatest achievements?

I have several performances that stand out for me, running was all about being the best so my world title in Tokyo is right up  there as to state you were a world champion is one thing but it was such a tough race to win due to the conditions. My first marathon win in New York was pretty amazing as I only trained six weeks for it and everyone was saying I would never be a good marathoner. Then there are the world records I set as they stood testament to me being one of the fastest women in the world 

Is there anything you would change about your career or do differently if you could turn back time?

The only thing I would change is taking the time to enjoy my wins. I was always in the roller coaster to the next race and never took my foot of the pedal. And looking back I now realise I should have celebrated my moments more as you can never relive them.

How long have you been involved in the Doha Athletic Club and what is your role there?

I have been in Doha for nearly five years now ,and am founder of DAC which is a club to develop athletic skills for everyone no matter what their ability is. We try to get kids active, which is difficult due to the climate in Qatar, but we have also discovered some great talent along the way. Our coaching programmes are about delivery and development of athletic skills .

Who are some of the young athletes on the world scene today whom you are most excited about?

I feel Athletics is definitely getting strong again, lots of young athletes are coming through but the main thing is the depth of competition is getting better which can only raise the overall standard. 

How else do you currently mostly spend your time and do you have any other sporting or non-sporting projects lined up for the months and years ahead?

I honestly do not spend any time doing other things as I organise training camps, coach GB athletes and still compete on the world level. I am fully committed to the day to day running of DAC plus adults club rundoharun, so my life is still athletics