INDULGING in a spot of lunch in Manchester a fortnight ago, Jennifer MacLean looked around the room and tried her best to take it all in. She nudged her friend and rival, Toni McIntosh, as the Scottish pair engaged in an impromptu bout of star- spotting. Presumably, Haile Gebreselassie filling up his salad bowl was more of a treat for the onlookers than for himself but to be so close to greatness fuelled the appetites of both. Being invited into the VIP area can be intoxicating. And MacLean, by
You don't expect such wide-eyed giddiness from a 35-year-old deemed responsible enough to have just started her own company. Yet 2009 has seen MacLean come good and earn all-areas access among athletics' royalty. She was an unexpected ninth in the Bu
pa Edinburgh 10k earlier this month followed by a satisfactory 22nd a week later among Manchester's stellar field. Today, she will set her sights on a higher placing in the Albert Bartlett Edinburgh Marathon. A significant improvement on her personal best of 2 hours 54 minutes may not be beyond her.
"When I was in Manchester," she recalled, "you had the likes of Gebreselassie around. And it gave me a lot of confidence to see they were doing exactly the same things I was doing before and after the race. They train more, but they're not doing anything outrageous. I didn't get a chance to speak to them because I thought it would be really uncool. But it was nice to hear them chatting away. Being in the same room was a big boost."
Judged by the company she keeps, MacLean is in good shape to challenge for a podium place in the fourth edition of the reinvigorated capital event. Bath's Holly Rush is the favourite, having completed the Zurich marathon last year in 2:38, the mark both Scots must target to qualify to compete at next year's Commonwealth Games. On a speedy course, it may be achievable with MacLean planning a co-operative chase with McIntosh, who won the Edinburgh half-marathon earlier this year.
"I'm probably going to start off by ignoring what other people are up to and run my own race," says MacLean. "But we might try to push each other round and work together.
"I had a look at the start list a few weeks ago when it was sent out and there were a couple of females who had better times than me. Holly Rush is much faster than anyone on paper, so there's not much I can do about that. But I'm certainly intending to go for a PB. Anything more than 2:55 would be disappointing and I know I'm running well."
A £1,000 bounty is on offer for the victors of the men's and women's races, plus a further £500 for the leading Scot. It is a sum that would come in handy for MacLean, who is in the process of expanding her newly-acquired personal training business in the capital. "I should probably have got a vest with the details on it," she laughs. "Once I get this out of the way, I'll be focusing a lot on it."
Andi Jones, who was the leading British finisher at last month's London marathon, makes a swift return to action at the head of the men's field. However, Black Country policeman Martin Williams, who qualified for Scotland only last year, will bid to shave 40 seconds off his personal best to achieve the 2:19 standard for New Delhi.
The event, which has attracted 17,000 entrants of all abilities, begins at 9am on Regent Road, finishing at Musselburgh Racecourse.
