It is a warming sight, to see a little boy, no older than seven or eight, asking McConnell for her signature while she sips her drink.  (Maybe we have overstated the modern child’s indifference to sport?)  She duly obliges, signs the card, and the star-struck youngster excitedly runs back to his mum.

Of course, it seems to be in McConnell’s nature to be so courteous, as In The Winning Zone gladly discovered, finding her still smiling even though we were 30 minutes late for our meeting.  After much apologising, sat down and relaxed, we got down to the matter of McConnell’s business – being the top athlete in Scotland.

Now, there is no official means of rating one athlete (as in ‘track and field’ athlete) against another, spanning all disciplines, but in terms of performance and achievement, McConnell, a European and Commonwealth medallist, streaks out in front of the opposition in Scotland, just as she does in many of her races. 

She has won medals for Scotland in the 200m and 400m, as well as being a specialist relay runner for Scotland and Britain.  She is the captain of her country in international meets, and will this month travel to Japan for the IAAF World Championships.  She is, essentially, one of the very best.  But although Lee freely admits that she was blessed with natural talent, she enforces that there is much more to becoming one of the best in the world than using what you were born with.

“It’s about hard work and dedication and you have got to have a really strong mentality to be able to do it. You also have to have a really strong commitment to it and put yourself through quite a bit of discomfort.  So it depends if you have really got that.”
 
Lee, now 28, admits herself that although talented as a schoolgirl, there was no suggestion she would be a world beater.  “At primary school and the first couple of years of secondary school I wasn’t that good because I didn’t do any training. I used to turn up and run at the Glasgow schools meets.  I made finals, but I don’t think I ever medalled.”

So what made the difference?  “As soon as I started being coached there was huge progress straight away. I went straight to being one of the top in Scotland for both the high jump and the 200 metres.”

Indeed, the impact and importance of not just any coach, but the right coach, is immeasurable to an individual athlete like McConnell.  The life of a runner can be a solitary one, and it is often down to the coach to motivate her.  She says she has been very lucky to have not just one, but two such individuals who she can turn to at any time.
Lee was originally a high jumper before she turned to racing, and has been with jumping specialist Alan Scobie since she was 16, which has proved invaluable in her adult career.  “Alan knows how to handle me, as each athlete is different, and they do have their moments, throwing tantrums and not wanting to do things. Alan knows certain ways to talk to motivate me, and that comes from knowing me as a kid.”

Scobie however, once a high jumper himself, has recently taken on a more ‘managerial’ role.  The physical aspect of her schedule is now controlled by Roger Harkins.

“I changed from the high jump to the 400m, and it was Alan who found me Roger. Alan went to Roger and said ‘Lee wants to achieve x and y in the next couple of years.’ Most coaches would have said ‘she can’t do it that quickly,’ but Roger was the only one that said I could do it.”

And, with two significant men in her life, Lee feels that the balance is now just right,  though it did take a little road-testing:  “Roger [initially] needed Alan to be there because it takes a long time for a coach to get to know an athlete and know how they work mentally and physically. Because you might be dying on the track and feel you are not able to do another run, but sometimes your coach would know that you could.

“Even now if Roger and I are having a bit of friction and I am worried about something, Alan comes in and gets things back on track [excuse the pun!].  You need that at the start but as it goes on you need it less and less. 

“Different athletes have different relationships with their coaches and I have a close relationship with mine. I know he is the boss, it’s just like any working relationship.”

McConnell has also been fortunate enough to enjoy the dynamic of team bonding, even though she does much of her training alone. 

“We have a great training squad. That takes away some of the discomfort you have because it makes it fun and a hell of a lot easier than being out there on your own. I hate training on my own, I really do not like it, but I have always had a really good network of people around me.

“We are quite supportive of each other, we pick each other up off the track when we are dying, and we support each other to get round and finish the session, which plays a huge part.”

With such a strong social structure surrounding her professional priorities, Lee has been able to concentrate on bettering herself as an athlete, free from the concerns that may hamper an individual with less support.  And she is fast approaching the point in the season where everything needs to be exactly right.

The World Championships are being held this month (25th August – 2nd September) in Osaka, Japan, and McConnell wants to be in optimum shape for her next big test.

“I had a really good winter but unfortunately I have come into the start of the season and ended up with quite a few niggles and injuries. I am trying to get back racing again but it’s been a pretty hard season so far and it hasn’t gone that well, because I have been carrying injuries into everything.

What makes injuries more difficult for an event racer like Lee, as opposed to a season long performer like a footballer, is that her sport requires her to taper her fitness and performance into being prepared to race at the right time.

“You’re in different stages and shape throughout the summer because you are peaking from one championship to the next.  It’s all about stringing a lot of sessions together over the weeks and months and that’s what makes you a physically better athlete. An injury just stops you being on the track and getting a lot done.”

Scotland will be keenly following the progress of its favourite athlete.  As always, McConnell will be seeking to place high and gain that (so far) elusive medal on the world stage.  Her lifetime ambition is to medal at the Olympics but, regardless of how many discs of precious metal she collects in her lifetime, she knows what will make her happy when she reflects upon her career in years to come.

“It’s hard to say ‘I need to achieve certain goals in order to be content and happy’.  But I think probably the knowledge of reaching the best you can and putting everything into it is the most important thing.  The satisfaction of knowing you have done the best you could do.”

But of course, it would be just like McConnell to exceed everybody’s expectations, so there is a good chance we haven’t seen the best of her yet.

RO

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