On the Saturday before Christmas, Ciara Mageean set another milestone of sorts in her athletics career. She clocked the fastest parkrun in the world, running a time of 15 minutes and 13 seconds over 5km at Victoria Park in Belfast. Her previous best over the distance was 15:24.
It was an achievement that perhaps did not garner many headlines, coming a month after she was named Irish Track Athlete of the Year for 2023 alongside Rhasidat Adeleke - a recognition for coming so close to winning a medal in the 1500 metres at the World Championships.
In finishing fourth in Budapest, she set a new Irish record of three minutes 56.31 seconds. She would subsequently improve on that, a time of 3:55.87 was achieved at a Diamond League meeting.
Hopes high then that Mageean can run faster in this Olympic year. So far we have yet to see her in competitive action.
Unfortunately that parkrun saw the Portaferry competitor pick up an injury during the run itself, which ultimately meant she missed the indoor season. As a consequence she was not present at last weekend's World Indoors in Glasgow.
Talking to RTÉ Sport, Ciara Mageean charts her path to Paris
Speaking at an event in Dublin where Flogas were announced as the energy partner of Team Ireland for the Paris Games, Mageean outlined what transpired in the days and weeks after that pre-Christmas 5km.
"I just did a stride, and I've been getting a neural pain for a number of years, a little shooting neural pain. And I thought 'ah, that feels like that’, just a little tweak, it didn’t impact my running. So I’d just run it off. Then later that evening, my glute-hamstring got a little tight.
"So I took it easy the next few days, ran a bit slower, a few less miles, and then we were in camp in Flagstaff [in Arizona in January], I tried my first session, and I was like ‘no, it’s not good’.
"So I got an MRI out there, thankfully it was nothing crazy bad, but thankfully I work with a great sports doc in Manchester, sent the scans, and he was like ‘the year that’s in it, I would advise you to take a bit of downtime time, and we’ll be conservative in our approach back’.
"Because there's too much at stake in the summer. Ultimately that made my decision to put a halt on the indoor season, which was disappointing, because I was in really good shape. There won’t be another parkrun, but I wouldn’t mind having another go at a good ol’ 5k though, somewhere in the future.
"Most of us, if we travel home for Christmas, we want a bit of a blowout."
For Mageean the plan was to race in Glasgow.
"Sometimes the World Indoors is such a cauldron, melting pot, and if it was faraway, I probably wouldn’t have travelled. But because it was Glasgow and so close, I was probably going to focus on the 3k, that’s what I like to do over the indoor season.
"The plan was to run a couple of races and head towards Glasgow. I wouldn't be all guns blazing but I felt I was in a good place. I haven't had a run of luck with indoor seasons, this is my third one to miss, so I feel I have unfinished business on the indoor scene."
"That said I had a good summer last year [after an earlier tendon injury], so maybe if I just follow the exact same trend.
"I would have rather to not tweak a hamstring but I'm back training now. The only thing I’m feeling is that I’m not as fit as I’d like to be, that’s a good place. But the hamstring is feeling great, touch wood!"
The Paris Games are just over four months away, with Mageean confirming that she will take part in the European Championships in Rome.
Mageean's reaction to finishing fourth at last year's World Championships
Outlining her plans between now and the Olympics, she added: "I'm going to have an altitude camp in St Moritz, will start that in April and roll down till the end of May. There is a BMC [British Milers' Club] in Manchester at the end of May, which is close to where I live. I'll have a wee lash at that. Then on to the Stockholm Diamond League, followed by the Europeans.
"It's quite a quick turnaround to get ready for European champs. I'm very aware that I'm not going to be in the sharpest place I'd usually be in for the Europeans. For the year that's in it, that's OK. I will have another altitude stint before the Olympics and then replicate the best I can to what I did last year."
Paris will be Mageean's third Olympics. In Tokyo, she did not make it out of the heats. She turns 32 next week. The aim will be to get down under 3:55 in the French capital. That may or may not be enough to get to a medal.
In Budapest last summer she felt she gave it her all.
"I can't walk away disappointed but I'm feeling positive that I'm so disappointed with fourth in the world," she told RTÉ Sport.
Months on and she added "that there is an awful lot that goes into finishing fourth in the world".
The women's 1500m is a stacked event and again, just like Budapest, Mageean will hope that she is in with a chance after the bend for that vital finishing kick.
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