Eilish McColgan aims to give next generation a head start

The record breaking British and European middle and long-distance runner has a string of records under her belt – and this month broke her mother Liz's Scottish record to win a 10,000m race in the Netherlands with a time of 30 minutes 19.02 seconds.

And now she hopes to give others a helping hand to boost their own sporting careers.

The 31-year-old and her partner, Olympian Michael Rimmer, 36, have jointly set up Giving Back To Track; a non-profit organisation that aims to inspire women from all walks of life to reach their athletic best.

They created a fund to provide financial help to female athletes in Scotland, aged between 16 and 22, but they have also launched a community scheme that supports Eilish’s local club, Dundee Hawkhill Harriers.

“I realised how incredibly lucky I’ve been to have support and sponsorship and now that I’m a little more comfortable I wanted to give something back,” McColgan said. “I know how hard it is to get started in this career, so we thought we’d put a call out to ask other female athletes in Scotland if we could help – they don’t need to be runners, they can be from any disciplines within running or track and field.”

Giving Back to Track has already awarded six £1000 bursaries along with sports clothing from sponsors and career guideline advice from McColgan and Rimmer.

“No child should be priced out of a sport,” added McColgan.