Can burgeoning race toolkit take Keith to Glasgow glory?

Four years ago, Megan Keith watched in awe as Eilish McColgan stormed to Commonwealth Games gold in Birmingham, having made a "half-hearted" attempt at qualifying.

Soon the pair could line up together for Scotland in front of a home crowd.

At this summer's Glasgow Games, McColgan will - fitness permittinhg - attempt to defend the title she won 36 years after her mum Liz's triumph in Edinburgh, while Keith is simply pledging to give her "absolute best".

"It it was incredible moment for all of Scottish athletics," said Keith recalling McColgan's 2022 achievement. "She's so inspiring for all of us.

"The Birmingham crowd loved her and I think the Scottish crowd will be even more excited. Hopefully between the Scottish team, we can put on a good show."

Keith, 24, may well turn out to be one of the high performers as she sets out to add to the pantheon of great Scottish distance success stories.

She won't be favourite for gold - or even to make it onto the podium - but the Inverness Harrier's rise has been a slow burn from orienteering star to a recent Scottish 3,000m record.

In February, she set a European 10km road record - taking one second off the previous best set by McColgan.

"Four years ago I was making a half-hearted attempt to qualify with no real ambitions of running at the Commonwealths," she said. "It's incredibly exciting that just one cycle on I'm confirmed to be there.

"I'm hoping to be in my best form yet, so all signs are looking positive. I run every race to place as highly as I possibly can, and you don't know who's going to turn up from which nations, but I always try my absolute best.

"If I could get on the podium that would be a wonderful thing to do for the Scottish crowd.

"It's a good level, for sure. There's so many heavy-hitters on the global stage. We'll definitely have our work cut out, but we'll give it our all."

After getting a taste of the podium with a bronze medal from the 2024 European championships, Keith is keen to build on that success in an event that is just as much a mental battle as a physical one, with 25 laps of the track to be negotiated.

"I think I'm slowly putting together a toolkit that means hopefully I can bring more success on similar stages," said the postgraduate student at Edinburgh University.

"It's more mental than physical. We all know we can run 10 kilometres pretty fast, but the lap counter starting at 25 and dropping incredibly slowly is the hardest bit.

"Physically, you need to be able to respond to any which way your race goes. You need to be really strong aerobically and, if it ends up being a tactical affair and a burn-up, then having that speed in the locker is necessary.

"You've tried and tested lots of different strategies and what your strength is going to be because everyone has their ideal way of a race playing out, whether you want to go and actively make that happen or respond to other people's strategies.

"Knowing that you're in shape over a range of different distances is always a good sign. A Scottish 3,000m record was a bit of a surprise to me. I've come from orienteering into cross-country and now onto the track.

"There will be quite a few Invernesians in the crowd, so I hope I can show what can be done."