Brit on her debut at a senior World Championships, as she prepares to take on worlds best in Hungarian capital

Megan Keith is relishing an opportunity which she thought might not happen this quickly.

The 21-year-old, who last month became a European U23 5000m champion, also shone at the London Diamond League just 10 days later, taking a monstrous 35 seconds off her personal best in the 5000m.

In clocking 14:56.98, Keith just dipped under the world standard of 14:57.00 and was subsequently picked to represent Great Britain in Budapest.

AW caught up exclusively with Keith ahead of the World Championships.

The moment of victory!

Megan Keith wins the womens 5000m from the front in #Espoo2023! pic.twitter.com/K8tv4No0Xp

European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) July 13, 2023

How do you reflect on getting a personal best of 35 seconds which allowed you to qualify for the World Championships? 

It was really surreal at the time. Yeah, it was just a whirlwind. This time in July I was just gearing up for the 5000m at the European U23 Championships which I thought would be the peak of my season. If that went well, I could tick the goals off and then think about next season.

But the momentum kept rolling and I was then on the start line at the London Diamond League and then running under 15 minutes to qualify for the World Championships. There have been so many crazy experiences coming my way and I still cant wrap my head around how this season has exceeded everything that has been.

What was it like running a 5000m in a stadium which had 50,000 people cheering you on? It was such a fast race. 

It was like nothing Id ever experienced in a race before. Just the sheer volume on that last lap. The top girls were the best part of 300m ahead of me when I was approaching the bell. They were kicking it down, the crowd was going crazy and I just had to focus on myself getting to the finish line.

To produce such a performance that made me so proud was the most amazing day.

How did your friends and family react? 

I rang them afterwards and no one could quite wrap their head around what happened. My family were watching on the TV and they could still just spot me hanging on to the pack! When the camera zoomed on me as I crossed the line, they saw the time and they were like what just happened!?, so my coach needed to confirm it.

Did you know going into the final lap you had a shot of the world standard?

I knew I was near to sub-15 if I could hold it together but I was in unchartered territory. I knew I was at 3km in around nine minutes but I wasnt really sure anything after that! I just had to hold it together but I didnt actually know what the world qualifying standard was.

I finished the race and was obviously ecstatic about running under 15 minutes but I came through the mixed zone and the reporters were asking me about Budapest. The very last interview I had I found out Id ran under the world standard. I went into a bit of a daze after that.

How was the news when you officially made the team? 

I was hoping to run a big personal best but I wasnt expecting it to be that big. It was mental. I think it will properly hit me in a few months when Im going around some muddy fields and doing reps for cross country. Right now I feel like Im living in dreamland!

What was the experience of being in the holding camp? 

I did my best to soak up the experience and it was so interesting to see what everyone else was getting up to. It felt like a surreal bubble in Slovakia. It was amazing to sit next to so many Olympic and world medallists and you see them down in the canteen.

It carries over from the Diamond League. That was the first experience I had with athletes of this level and there [in London] I was sitting with them over dinner. It was almost like celebrity spotting around the table!

You have a fairly hefty cross country background. How has that helped you with the cross country stuff?

Im sure its definitely helped my strength and aerobic engines. Thats my best asset as a runner. I feel like winter wouldnt be as fun if I was doing six months worth of training whereas you can break it up with things like cross country. The whole premise of cross country as a discipline speaks to me. I would not go without it.

You grew up in the Highlands and have an orienteering background. Could you explain more about that? 

I lived in Inverness all my life. My mum and dad are pretty outdoors people. We were always scaling slopes and my dad was a pretty good hill runner. He put me and my sister into running because he competed for Inverness Harriers when he raced cross country.

I think I was technically an illegal member for a period because I went along aged 10! I did it on weekends and didnt train for it. At the end of primary school I would go along to the club trainings. I was messaging my friends recently and they joked how I hated training for the track because I thought summers was for hill climbing and being outdoors! I wasnt interested in the other side at all at the start!

Orienteering was an amazing social outlet for me and my sister. It was the one area I had huge success as I got selected for the national programme without having done a huge amount of it.

It followed a similar trajectory to my athletics that things picked up pretty quickly and I made the national team and was selected for the 2019 World Junior Championships in Denmark. It was a really fun sport but I wasnt quite getting to grips with the navigating. I realised the running bit was what I was good at! All this time I was still going to training with running.

The performance of Scottish athletes right now is perhaps the strongest in a generation. How has that inspired you? 

Its cool that the fastest ever people in Scotland are around right now because theyre breaking records and winning medals. Its just so cool that you can watch these athletes do their thing and its inspiring.

It was incredible [when Jake Wightman won world 1500m gold]. It was just extra special and the athletics community in Scotland blew up. My Facebook was pinging for days because Scottish Athletics were so ecstatic.

What would the definition of success be for you in Budapest? 

Im still wrapping my head around it. Id love to run fast but thats sort of, to pointers, out of my control. Id like to play an active part in the race I can and not just sit at the back and do nothing. But thats easier said than done.

Id love to be as close to the top eight in my heats as much as I can but Im not resting a success or failure based on whether I get to the final. The races are so stacked but I want to get close.

Being here in Budapest is the most crazy thing. This was not something I ever dreamt of because in the last few years, subconsciously, I was thinking that a career high would be making a world senior team. on the track. That will stand me in good stead for the following years.