After travelling down the long road from injury, Issy Boffey returns to the international stage for her third European Indoor Championships. With the excitement and happiness comes a sense of gratitude to be back competing. Issy spoke to James Rhodes about her season, goals for Apeldoorn and looking top the future.
The European Indoor Championships is a stage that Issy Boffey knows well. Coached by Luke Gunn at the University of Birmingham, she made her senior debut at this event four years ago. The running journey since has not been plain sailing, with last year curtailed by a grade two hamstring tear.
However, with a full indoor season under her belt, she heads to the Netherlands with a positive outlook.
“I’m feeling good, feeling happy. It’s the step that me and my team wanted to make, making an indoor team. I felt like I missed the whole of the outdoor season last year; it’s just nice to be back where I wanted to be.
It will be really interesting. I’m aiming to do better than I have done before, which is make the final. I’m hoping I can make my way through the rounds. It’s definitely going to be a test for me, but I’m feeling confident and I feel fit. I’m feeling prepared for it”.
Birmingham Not Boston
Normally, the indoor season includes a visit to Boston for a fast race at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix. It is an event that Issy has raced at for the past four consecutive years. However, with no 800m on the programme this year, a change in venue was needed.
Step in the Keely Klassic. A race at home, the perfect opportunity to settle any nerves ahead of the British Indoor Championships a week later. The withdrawal of Keely Hodgkinson – and the touted World Record attempt – meant a different race plan was needed. Issy came away with the win in 2:01.69; the European Indoor standard secured. The first step to Apeldoorn ticked off.
“I hadn’t raced in a long time, I wasn’t super confident of my hamstring’s ability to be able to cope with indoors.
The idea before the race was to try and run a really quick time, because it was a World Record attempt. Obviously, that didn’t happen so it was very much a quick change of headspace in terms of what we were trying to get out of the race.
Luke said to me, ‘let’s just go in it to try and win it’. I was very calm, it was definitely the confidence booster I needed ahead of the British Championships the weekend after. I felt like I had in previous years again.
The time was obviously great as I got the European Indoor standard, but it wasn’t necessarily the time I wanted. I’m hoping that this weekend I’ll have the opportunity to run fast”.
Photo: James Rhodes
Birmingham, Again
A week later and another four laps of the Birmingham track. This time, for the British Indoor Championships. The objective was simple, top-two would guarantee a spot in Apeldoorn.
Issy was the sole athlete in the final with the standard, and there was an assumption that others may chase the time. That didn’t materialise and the race didn’t go out as expected – either for those watching or those on the track. She claimed another British Indoor title to join one from two years ago, and confirmed her return to international competition.
“I was very confident that I’d make the final, and I went into the heats knowing it wouldn’t be super quick. Ahead of the final I had to hype myself up a little bit more, I needed to be prepared. I saw it as really handy practice for the week after, if I ended up getting to the Europeans.
I went out really hard, I got to the break and wondered ‘where is everyone!’. Me and Luke had a plan going into it, and no part of the plan was for me to front run it! I didn’t want to, at the end of the day I was not going to be the one to push for a time, I had the time.
There was quite an abrupt stop literally 100m into the race. No one wanted to take the front, and it ended up being quite an awkward, uncomfortable pace. A lot of runners will get this, when you’re not running super-fast race pace, it’s that awkward one when you have to hold back. I was happy I got the win, but it was not the race I expected it to be”.
Photo: James Rhodes
Goals & Lessons
Issy is quick to point out that the nature of indoor racing means, sometimes quite literally, anything can happen. Experience in Birmingham, as well as from her previous European Indoor Championships (in 2021 and 2023), will serve well this weekend.
“I’ve done two European Indoor Championships before. The first was my first ever senior vest, I made the final and it was amazing. I wasn’t naive, but I didn’t really have any expectations for myself. To me, it was just a bit of fun.
The second time, I went in ranked second fastest and didn’t even make the final. I was devastated. It was the first time where I thought ‘it’s indoor racing, anything can happen indoors’.
There were so many falls that year as well, you just never know what might happen. You have to be quite aggressive, you have to be able to hold your own space. There’s just not enough space on the track for everyone”.
Photo: James Rhodes
Unlike in recent editions, there is no clear favourite going into this weekend’s competition. Seventeen women entered have run 2:00 or 2:01 this year. With the unpredictability of indoor racing alongside such a closely matched field, Issy recognises there are upsets waiting to happen.
“I definitely think there will be some upsets, there always is. There’s always someone who should have made the final who doesn’t. We’re all so close on times, and a lot of people have faster PBs than they’ve run this year, it’ll be interesting to see what happens.
I think there’ll definitely be some disparities between the heats. Some of them will be really slow if they don’t have anyone in who’s naturally a frontrunner. Others will be really quick”.
A Tough Watch
It would be remis to not visit what happened last year. Not long before last year’s British Championships, which acted as the trials for the Olympic Games, Issy suffered a grade two hamstring tear. Her season ended, there and then. The childhood dream remained on ice, another four year cycle before the next opportunity. It was painful, figuratively and literally.
“Injuries are tough, everyone knows that, but injuries in a big year like the Olympics is especially tough. I found it especially difficult to watch the Olympics because I think it was my first realistic chance of making the team. At the end of the day, it’s every athlete’s childhood dream to make the Olympics. It’s not even necessarily about making the final or winning a medal, it’s just getting on the Olympic team. It’s a big thing.
To be robbed of that chance before I’d even tried at the British Championships was especially difficult. I hadn’t necessarily been having a good season for many reasons. It was frustrating as we’d been sorting out the illness and horribleness that had really drained my body. I had had a couple of really good sessions and I thought, perfect, for British Championships, I can give it a good go.
Obviously, it would have been really tough to make the team – but I would have liked to have tried. I didn’t even get the opportunity to try, it came completely out of the blue”.
Photo: James Rhodes
A Happy Return
The focus for now is firmly on this weekend; as Issy says, she is taking one step at a time. However, of course there are goals for the future. Once again making a Great Britain team outdoors, and improving her PB of 1:59.30.
“I’d love to get a PB, that’s what my heart is set on; I want to be running sub-two regularly”. I think I had a really good year ahead of making the World Championships team [in 2023]. I am hoping to have a very similar year hopefully.
With a late World Championships, we’ve got a long way to go. I’ve got time to do what I need to do. There’s definitely time to do whatever is needed.
“It’s been a journey to get back to where I am physically and mentally. I’ve definitely got the mindset of very much just being happy to be here, I’m really looking forward to it. It was a long road to recovery, but I’m just happy to be back and healthy”.
It’s been a long journey, and hopefully there is a happy ending at the end. Issy is joined by Grace vans Agnew and Erin Wallace in the women’s 800m at the European Indoor Championships.
The heats take place at 09:15 (UK time) on Friday, the semi-finals at 18:53 (UK time) on Saturday and the final at 15:33 (UK time) on Sunday.
The post A Happy Return – Issy Boffey’s Indoor Season appeared first on Fast Running.
Source: fastrunning.com