DEREK'S DREAM YEAR
Published 2 Sep 2011 09:30
ELDERSLIE'S Derek Hawkins insists he is heading to the upcoming Bank of Scotland Great Scottish Run looking to lay down a marker for yet another apperance in British colours later this year.
The 22-year-old has enjoyed a dream year so far, winning the Scottish National Cross Country Championships in February - a performance that earned him a run out at the world equivalent a month later.
And Hawkins, who runs for Kilbarchan AAC, is targeting a big finish this year, with a second appearance for Great Britain in December's European Cross Country Championships in Slovenia the goal.
And with that firmly on his mind, Hawkins has vowed to go all out on the streets of Glasgow on September 4 for the half marathon in order to ensure he doesn't miss the European party.
He said: "I have started my winter training a bit earlier this year because I want to qualify for the British under-23 team for the European Cross Country Championships.
"I am pretty confident I can do that at the moment but it is still early days yet so the Great Scottish Run will be an important part of my training and I will be going all out.
"I have had a really good year up until now as winning the nationals was great and I never expected to get to the worlds at all.
"That was a great experience and although I was a bit disappointed with how I ran it was still great to see all the top athletes from across the world and see the strength in depth.
"So I will head to the Great Scottish Run looking to lay down the marker and looking at past results it should provide me with some strong competition to kick-start my aim for getting to the Europeans."
While the Great Scottish Run is integral to Hawkins' immediate plans, he reveals Scotland's largest mass sporting event, could also be key to his long-term ambitions.
Despite his cross country success Hawkins, who finished 92nd overall at the worlds in Spain, has plans to move onto marathons and believes there is no better time to test the waters.
He added: "I plan to move up to do half marathons and marathons eventually so I am keen to see what I can do and what I will be up against.
"My long-term plans involve the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014 but that might come a bit too soon for my marathon ambitions so I hope to be there on the track.
"But I am still going to go to the Great Scottish Run trying to get used to the longer races and hopefully it will set my up well for the future."
This article appeared in The Gazette 01 Sep 11
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