Until last year, setbacks were something of a foreign concept to Erin Wallace.
The Glasgow woman had long been touted as one of Scotland’s brightest middle-distance prospects, picking up Commonwealth Youth Games gold and European Junior bronze in the 1500m in the course of her junior career.
A foray into triathlon in her late teens saw her make her Commonwealth Games debut in 2018 before a return to fully focusing on athletics a few years ago.
She had, it seemed, the world at her feet.
Going into last summer, Wallace had one target; to ensure she was heading to her second Commonwealth Games, this time for athletics.
Everything was going to plan until, the very week she was due to begin racing last May, a stress fracture appeared in her foot, decimating her season and any ambitions of making it to Birmingham 2022.
“My injury happened just days before my first race of the season so it was the worst timing possible,” the 22-year-old says.
“I don’t want to sound dramatic but it really was pretty terrible, it tested me a lot.
“It was especially hard during the Commonwealth Games – I absolutely love Scotland but that was a tough couple of weeks because I’d had my heart set on competing in Birmingham and after that stress fracture happened, it slowly dawned on me that I wasn’t going to be there.
“Even though I now realise I’d got ahead of myself, at the time I was sure I was going to be in the team. And so when that got taken away, it was really hard. Even though it was never mine in the first place, I felt like I’d lost it.”
Wallace forced herself to get over that disappointment and having had what she describes as “a really good winter”, including a three week training camp in the sunny climes of South Africa, made her first competitive track appearance for almost a year just a few weeks ago.
Her opening races of the indoor season have shown positive signs and Wallace goes into this weekend’s British Indoor Championships in optimistic mood.
She will line up in the 1500m, alongside Olympic medallist Laura Muir, who is heavy favourite to take the women’s title, knowing qualification for the European Indoor Championships is within her reach.
Having already run four seconds faster than her performance that secured second place at the same event last year, Wallace is cognisant of the potential of picking up her second-ever senior GB vest following her selection for the World Indoor Championships last year.
However, with the qualification standard having been set unusually high this year, Wallace is refusing to get too caught up in team selection.
“I don’t like to make direct comparisons to previous seasons but I definitely feel like I’m in PB shape. But whether it’ll happen or not always depends on the race.
Last time, the qualifying time for GB was something like 4 minutes 13 seconds whereas this time, it’s 4:09 flat so it’s a lot faster this year,” the Glaswegian says.
“I don’t think it’s life or death that I make the Europeans and the outdoor season is definitely the priority but it’s always nice to get another GB vest if I can.”
A recent switch from Andy Young’s training group in Glasgow to Trevor Painter and Jenny Meadows’ group in Manchester has, at least in part, driven Wallace’s improvement.
She remains in Glasgow until she graduates from her degree in neuroscience this summer but the occasional sessions with her new training partner, the golden girl of British athletics, Keely Hodginkson, has given her an extra push.
Wallace’s main priority this year is the outdoor season, with bettering her current personal best of 4 minutes 7.46 seconds her primary aim which will, she hopes, put her in the picture for World Championship selection.
However, if she learnt anything from her Commonwealth Games disappointment last year it’s that a spanner can be thrown in the works at any time.
“Last year, I felt like I was building towards a PB and now, I’ve got another winter behind me which always helps,” she says.
“Things don’t always go to plan but I’m feeling in good shape. But even if I don’t make the Worlds team, I can still have a good season and still run fast.
“It’s definitely exciting to be feeling like this but last year, I totally got ahead of myself and then it completely backfired so because of that, this year I’m trying to just take it one step at a time. If I take it gradually, the times will hopefully come.”
One of the highlights of the British Indoor Championships this weekend will be Muir taking on Jemma Reekie in the women’s 800m while in the men’s 1500m, the absence of Jake Wightman and Josh Kerr mean Neil Gourley will be looking to win his first indoor national title.
In the men’s 800m, Guy Learmonth is looking to win a fourth British indoor title but with Gourley doubling-up and in excellent form so far this season, Learmonth will have stiff competition.
In the women’s 400m, Nicole Yeargin will be in action while in the sprints, Adam Thomas and Alisha Rees go in the 60m.
