Megan Keith admits she took “a little bit of an odd” route into top-level athletics given her teenage years have been spent having “a good bit of success in fairly a short while in orienteering”.
She is one in every of eight Scots within the Nice Britain and Northern Eire workforce going to this month’s World Championships in Budapest.
The 21-year-old from Inverness will compete within the 5,000m.
“I grew up within the Highlands in a really energetic household,” Keith explains.
“I went to my native athletics membership’s coaching periods, however then on high of that I went to orienteering races and I rowed for Inverness Rowing Membership. Then I skied and I climbed hills in the summertime.”
Keith was so gifted at orienteering that she received European and World Youth Championship gold medals within the sport.
“I simply did plenty of issues and I did not actually really feel like I wanted to commit to 1 100% as a result of I had mates doing all this stuff and I used to be having fun with the variation and wasn’t taking any of them significantly,” she tells BBC Scotland.
Keith admits she received “a bit pissed off” as her working means was compensating for her “barely extra unreliable” navigation expertise.
“Then it simply struck me – why am I not simply specializing in the bit I’m good at?” she says.
It means the Inverness Harriers runners is one thing of a late starter in athletics.
“It was once I was solely 16 or 17 that I began focusing in on the working,” Keith recollects.
“I’m glad I did it like that. It has simply been so enjoyable and low strain, a little bit of an odd means in to it, nevertheless it has been a enjoyable journey.”
The third 12 months sports activities science scholar at Edinburgh College is in eye-catching kind.
After profitable 5,000m gold ultimately month’s European Below-23 Championships, she then smashed her private finest over the space on the London Diamond League occasion.
Her time of 14:56.98 was 35 seconds quicker than her earlier finest and was two milliseconds contained in the World Championship qualification time.
Solely Laura Muir has run quicker on this season’s UK standings.
Nevertheless, she goes into this month’s occasion considerably underneath the radar given the highlight is more likely to be on Muir and compatriots Eilish McColgan and Jemma Reekie.
“I prefer it – it retains expectations down,” Keith provides.
“I do not really feel there’s any strain on me as a result of we now have received these massive names in Scotland who’re going on the market combating for medals, however it’s only a actually loopy group to be part of as a result of everybody in Scotland is acting at such a excessive stage proper now.”
