Eilish McColgan is one of Britain’s most accomplished distance runners. She has three Olympics, British records over 5,000m, 10,000m and the half marathon, and a Commonwealth 10,000m title to her name. Coached by her mum, former world champion Liz McColgan, she has built a career spanning track, road and marathon running, while becoming one of the most recognisable faces in British athletics.

But 2026 has been a year of setbacks and comebacks. A broken toe suffered during April’s London Marathon ruled her out of the Commonwealth Games, where she had hoped to defend her 10,000m title. Just five months later, however, she returned triumphant at September’s Big Half. She promptly won it, clocking 70:54.

The Great North Run a week later was a very different story: a foot injury forced her to withdraw early in the race. So, when we caught up with Eilish after the two very different half marathons, there was plenty to talk about – from injury and rebuilding to what comes next.

Withdrawing from the Great North Run

Of course, the first thing we asked Eilish was what happened on the day of the Great North Run. As she explains, she’s never had to drop out of a race before, so it was frustrating to say the least. “I’d put a lot of work into my training and I’d hoped to have a strong run out of the Great North Run. It was such a perfect day as well. The sun was shining. It’s probably one of the best days I think we’ve ever seen for a Great North Run. I was obviously very disappointed to not make the most of that.”

You might have seen the picture Eilish put up on Instagram following the GNR. There was no denying the horrific injury. We wanted to know how it was feeling now. She was typically pragmatic and positive in equal amounts. “My foot is obviously a little bit sore,” she says (we’re talking just a few days after the event!) “It was very sore the day of the race, just because it was so raw, but I’m actually quite happy with how well it’s healing. I think I heal quite fast so I’m making good progress. I have to keep it bandaged and wrapped up well, but there’s no infection or anything like that so I’ve been very lucky in that sense.” You see what we mean?!

Eilish was keen not to repeat her London Marathon experience. “I ended up breaking my toe then because I was running awkwardly due to blisters. At GNR, I made the decision to pull out early once I realised what was going on. It’s frustrating though, because I’ve never struggled with blisters before and I’ve not changed anything!”

Does this injury mean a lot of time off? “I’m not going to be racing this week, that’s for sure! But I’ll get back into running pretty quickly – easy running, and then we’ll just build up from there.”

Winning the Big Half

Enough of injuries and downtime! We wanted to know what the experience was like at the Big Half, just a mere seven days earlier. “I was pretty happy with my run at Big Half,” she says. “I took it a little bit more controlled. Since London Marathon, I hadn’t run that distance – even in training. It was a good five months of not getting in my normal training, my normal mileage, and so I just needed to be sensible. So I sat with the leader, Jess Warner-Judd, up until about Tower Bridge. I was around about halfway point, maybe about eight miles or so, and then I pushed on, but I was pretty happy with how I closed the last four miles of the race.”

Which is why, she explains, she was so excited about the Great North Run. “My time at the Big Half was one of my slowest ever, but as I said, I only really pushed on those last four miles, so I was excited to go to Great North Run and just see if I could take quite a large chunk of time off of that. But I’m obviously still very proud of myself to come out as British Champion in that race.” As she should be!

Recovering as a world-class athlete

Eilish has had to be cautious with training, following her fracture at London. “When you’re coming back from a fracture, it just takes a little bit of time to heal. I had to take a couple of months off, and then build my training back up again.

Understandably, training has looked a little bit different over the last few months. “I’ve been training indoors a lot more than I typically would do, on the cross trainer. I’ve been using the treadmill a lot as well. It’s been important to build my running back up on a perfectly flat surface, not going on rocky trails or up and down hills and stuff.”

Music has played a huge factor in getting her through some of those long sessions. “It is very *very* boring being on a cross trainer, or a spin bike. Listening to music or even catching up on my favourite TV show does pass the time. Having a really comfy and reliable pair of headphones has been a bit of a lifesaver over the last couple of months.”

Now’s a great time to mention that Eilish is sponsored by the undisputed Queen of Running Headphones: Shokz. I am a proud owner of the exact pair Eilish wears, which I think means we’re best pals, yes? She credits them with helping her through these tough months of recovery and training ahead of race days. “Before race day as well I will always have my them on. It’s a way for me to get into the zone and be in my own little world.”

What’s next for Eilish?

For Eilish, that huge blister is pretty much just an annoying blip. Understandably, the stress fracture was a much more significant crimp, and she’s pleased with her recovery from that. “I think this is actually the first stress fracture that I’ve had, so at the age of 35 and a distance runner, I feel like certainly doing something right!”

So what do the next couple of months hold? “I’ll be just continuing to build back my training as best as I can,” she says. “I’m taking small steps, rather than sort of looking too far ahead. Every session now is building that confidence and consistency back. Hopefully I can get a couple of races in too.”

“I think the big goal would be to try and rewrite PBs, particularly over the half marathon distance. I want to get that back down to 65 minutes. That’ll also help for the marathon distance – though I’ve got no plans for any major races just yet…”

She’s teasing us! What actually is next in the calendar? “I definitely have some unfinished business with the marathon distance.  I just don’t feel like I have really nailed one just yet. There’s so many different variables – not just in the training, but also with the fuelling side as well. It’s definitely been a challenge coming from a track background and never having to worry about taking on gels and drinks! I’ve been really lucky to work with Science In Sport on that to really try and nail my fuelling, but it’s still a work in progress.”

“I know from the training that I’m doing that there’s a sub 2.20 within me – I know that from my half marathon time. So that’s where I definitely feel there’s unfinished business. I would love to try and obviously make LA Marathon 2028 Olympics. That would be my fifth games, which would be a joint record for the most amount of Olympics by a male or female within athletics.”

And we can’t wait to see that!

About Eilish & Shokz

Eilish McColgan is a Shokz athlete and uses Open-Ear headphones to stay motivated, safe and connected to the world around her as she stays in pursuit of her distance running goals on the track and road.