“Considering how difficult this year has been, I’d be over the moon to win a medal in Budapest, no matter what colour,” says Laura Muir as she reflects on the most turbulent few months of her life. “But to be honest, even before I get there, I feel like I’ve already won. Because I’m happy. And that’s the most important thing.”
On Tuesday evening, the 30-year-old was named Great Britain’s captain for the World Athletics Championships, which start this weekend. It is a measure of the regard she is held in the squad, but also an acknowledgment of her extraordinary battling qualities on and – more recently – off the track.
For 12 years, Muir had worked with her former coach Andy Young, winning 11 major medals – including Olympic 1500m silver and world championship bronze – along the way. But in March, Muir and her British teammate Jemma Reekie walked out of a training camp in South Africa after a series of disagreements, culminating in an argument over whether they were allowed to drive to a coffee shop which ended with Muir and Reekie walking a mile in baking heat.
Young, who spotted Muir’s talents during her veterinary studies at the University of Glasgow in his capacity as the man in charge of the student running club, insisted at the time “there was no bust-up” before later admitting he felt under pressure because he was the subject of multiple complaints made by former members of his training group, which are the subject of an independent investigation by the dispute resolution service, Sporting Resolutions. “I hope it will soon be resolved but it’s fair to say it was causing me some strain when we were in South Africa,” he said in April.
The Guardian has spoken to Muir dozens of times over the past decade. Often her replies were stilted, uncertain, and accompanied by glances at Young. Now, though, she sounds a different person. Lighter. Happier. And also willing, for the first time, to talk in depth about her last few months. “When I left Andy I didn’t have a plan going forward, but I knew any situation was better than the situation I was in,” she says. “I was just happy to be out of that.
“And probably the last six months, I’ve learned the most about myself that I have in my entire life to be honest. It’s been a rollercoaster. But we’re at a high point now. And I’m very happy with where I’m at. I’ve learned a lot. And I think it will do me a lot of good going forward, not just for my running career but in my life as well.”
Muir admits that she has had an up and down season, with some strong performances interspersed with shock defeats, including a loss to Katie Snowden at the British trials last month. That is hardly surprising given what she has gone through. But the positive news for Muir’s many fans is that she says that things have “really clicked” with her new coach Steve Vernon, and she is now in the best shape of her life.
“On Saturday I did a PB in a nasty session, so I was very happy with that – and I’ve done a couple of endurance-type sessions as well which were the best I’ve ever done too. So it’s there from the endurance and speed side,” she says. “I’m not someone that says anything blatantly. I’m very analytical, I go by my stats, I go by my data. I’ve got 10 years now of doing these sessions that I know I can do. We’ve tweaked things a little bit. But the way I’m running sessions, I’m very happy.”
Muir believes she is in shape to break her British 1500m record in Budapest. But, as she acknowledges, she faces one of the toughest fields in the entire world championships, with the reigning Olympic and world champion, and world record-holder Faith Kipyegon, Olympic 5,000m and 10,000m champion Sifan Hassan, and three strong Ethiopians – including world 5,000m champion and 1500m silver medallist Gudaf Tsegay – all due to line up against her.
“I’m very confident going in,” Muir says. “But it’s going to be tough. I can run a British record, and come fifth and I wouldn’t be surprised to be honest. But at this stage in my career, all I can do is just focus on myself and do the best I can.”
And whatever happens in Budapest, Muir insists she is already enjoying the process more than usual. “I think about the championships that have gone before and how stressed and miserable I was,” she says. “And still I was able to produce. Regardless of how these championships go, it’s going to be a win. It’s definitely going to be difficult. It’s the first time to have different circumstances since I started my career, since the European Indoor Championships in 2013. Andy was there for every one, so it’s going to feel different. But I’m excited for what I can do.”
Muir stops, smiles, reflects for a final time. “Happiness is the secret to everything I think,” she says. “If you’re a happy person, you’ll be a successful person. Just be happy. It sounds simple, but it’s so important.”
