Ahead of the Games Clara told us a bit about how she got to where she is today, her hopes for the competition and what will come next.
Firstly, how did you get into running competitively?
I started at the athletics club when I was about 8 years old. I enjoyed sprinting and long jump but my parents told me I should try some distance running so I tried an 800m race and really enjoyed it. I wasn’t very good at running as a junior and it wasn’t until a few years ago that I started to make national and international teams.
And how did you come to choose a career in Transport Engineering?
My dad is a transport planner and my boyfriend is a civil engineer. Alongside running and athletics a lot of the household chat is about the manual for streets (guidance for practitioners involved in the planning, design, provision and approval of new streets, and modification). I’ve already got the running bit covered so I thought it would be useful to get into the industry to contribute to the rest of the conversation over the dinner table.
I’ve been lucky to be able to go down to a three-day working week whilst I’ve been building up for the Commonwealth Games. This allows me to hit the training hard the other two days. I’m running over 120 miles per week in the build-up to the games so trying to fit everything in can be a challenge!
I’ve also been lucky that I’ve been able to train at altitude (in the Pyrenees) as being at altitude allows your body and your blood to make adaptations that lead to increased performance. I have all the technology to keep in contact with my team and clients to continue working no matter where I am.
Having this level of support and flexibility from Tetra Tech has made a massive difference and has really allowed me to compete with other professional athletes.
How did you continue your training during the pandemic?
The pandemic made my training easier in a lot of ways as I was working from home. The extra time lost off the commute was put into my training. I went extreme too and upgraded to a home gym but I was also fortunate enough that I was given elite athlete dispensation from Welsh Government so I was allowed to travel to attend track for training and continue receiving physio and treatment as required. During the pandemic I also went and attended elite athlete races and raced in the World Half Marathon Championships in Poland which was quite surreal as we were completely in a Covid bubble!
Has hybrid working changed how you work/train?
Yes, the flexibility I have means that it is easier to fit in my training when I work from home. I am also lucky that the other people in my team like running too, so when I head into the office, I can usually drag someone out for a couple of miles before or after work. This usually means missing the worst of the traffic by coming in earlier/going home later.