Olympics: Freya Murray hoping to go the Olympic distance

FREYA Murray steps into the unknown when she runs her first marathon in London tomorrow, but that hasn’t stopped the Scot dreaming what it would be like to claim the last remaining Olympic slot and return to the English capital later this summer wearing a Great Britain vest.

The competition will be intense in the Virgin London Marathon and while thousands take to the start line for charity – and ‘fun’ – for elite athletes it will be a massive day which will ultimately combine nervous energy, exhaustion and elation or disappointment.

With Paula Radcliffe and Mara Yamauchi already selected for the Olympics, one slot remains with another runner liable to be asked to keep herself ready as a reserve.

For structural engineer Murray, tomorrow’s race is another twist in her athletics journey. The perennial Scottish cross country champion has taken a deliberate decision to move to longer distance this year and hopes altitude training in Kenya and Boulder will stand her in good stead.

Murray, 28, said: “It has been brilliant to train at altitude in Kenya and then Boulder in the States. I am grateful to all the help I have had in that regard from scottishathletics and my coach. So the preparation has been very good. I am now just a mixture of excitement and nerves awaiting the big day.

“I have never run a marathon before so in some ways it is hard to know what to expect. The qualifying time is 2.31 but already a couple of people have posted below that so it might need something like 2.28 to get that last slot for the Olympics.

‘I was slightly disappointed in the New York City half-marathon because I thought I might be a wee bit quicker [72.32]. But it’s not about that now, it’s about how everyone fares on Sunday. It’s a huge challenge and a huge carrot – the idea of being involved in Team GB for the Olympics is massive. I’ll go and try and enjoy it and do my very best.’

Leeds-based Scot Susan Partridge, with a PB of 2.34.13 over the London course last year, is aware she may even need to strip five minutes from that tally to make GB selection.

Partridge, 24th at the World Championships in Daegu, has the leading British time for half marathon at the moment and that run in Bath has boosted her confidence. But she knows so much depends on how the race unfolds tomorrow.

“I feel all my preparations have gone well and I’m just counting the days and hours now to the race,” said the 32-year-old. “I ran a PB by 59 seconds in the half marathon in Bath when I did 71.34 and was pretty pleased with that. I also did the National Road Relays last weekend and ran quicker than I had in that in the past. So all those things build confidence but I think with a marathon more than any other race a lot comes down to what you do on the day. And not just physically but also mentally because you have to make the right decisions. With the big prize at stake of a place in the Olympics, and a number of people in contention, then I think there’s going to be a big tactical aspect – when to break, whether to go out very fast or sit and wait for a bit and so on. I just hope I get that bit right.”