Eilish McColgan column: 'I want to stop kids being priced out of athletics'

I loved my home track in Dundee when I was a kid. It meant everything to me. But looking back, it wasn't the best.

We used to have to chase away rabbits to stop them nibbling at the already-patchy lane one. Kids would disappear into complete darkness on the back straight before re-emerging under the one floodlight that worked.

I love going back to Scotland even now. My partner finds it weird that I light up whenever I hear a Scottish accent, or that I talk a hundred times quicker as soon as we pass the border. And Caird Park especially remains a special place for me.

It is a truly an incredible facility, with a state-of-the-art gym, indoor area, and a brand new track. But with these much-needed upgrades comes increased prices.

As a sport, athletics is still relatively cheap compared to many others. But it costs to use a track, to join a club, to travel to events - especially in Scotland given that the British Championships are held in England every year. All those things add up. If you have siblings, it multiplies. For most families that's difficult. For some, it's impossible.

I hate the thought of young kids being out priced by athletics and missing the amazing opportunity sport can bring.

Not everyone will go on to be the next Mo Farah or Jess Ennis - but that's completely fine because sport is more than just records and medals. It brings connections. It creates friendships. It educates. It creates a drive. It instils qualities that are all important for later life and in any workplace.

'A family member told me to wise up and get a job'

It was thinking about that - of Caird Park; of the nerves of lining up for the Angus Primary Schools XC on a cold, wet and pure miserable Scottish day; of the excitement of being 'scouted' after the race and thinking I was some kind of child prodigy, even if most of the field were probably picked out too - that convinced me to set up a not-for-profit called 'Giving Back To Track'.

I want to do my small part to ensure youngsters in my local area aren't priced out of the sport. With my partner Michael Rimmer, I want to create two main pillars of support - female athletes and community athletics.

We are still brainstorming ideas as to how we can best help in the latter case. It may be that we create a bursary for families who need it most or even a free day of athletics, every weekend, so that everyone can give the sport a try.

To begin with, we are starting small - focusing on Scotland and my home club Dundee Hawkhill Harriers. But I'd love to continue building to the point where we can support male athletes and even look to extend across the rest of the UK.

Eilish McColgan competed in the steeplechase at London 2012

The second pillar will be for female athletes. It's already well-documented that a huge number of females drop out of sport between school and higher education for numerous reasons.

I wanted to bridge that gap and make the transition a little easier with a small financial contribution towards their travel and training costs. They will also be supported with shoes and clothes for competitions, too.

There's a whole host of other small bits and pieces but that's the main gist of the scholarship and it will benefit five individuals over this year. And I'll always be available on the other end of the phone to give them advice - if they want it - because I know first hand how difficult that transition can be.

In 2011, I was coming to the end of university and crossing into the territory of either making it or forgetting it. A family member told me I needed to 'wise up and get a job' but I made a bet on myself and vowed to give myself one more year with the aim of making London 2012. If I didn't, I'd get a job.

I contacted a local jam company and asked if they would support me. Their office was only up the road, but I couldn't believe it when the owner agreed to meet me. Mind you, I don't think he expected me to hobble through the door on crutches, with my left foot in a big moon-boot.

I'd suffered a bad fracture and had surgery after slipping in a competition, so I hirpled in there looking like I was ready to become an astronaut. Still, I beamed about a home Olympics, which to be honest was a pretty lofty goal given I'd never even made a GB team before. But I believed I could do it.

I could tell he thought I was crazy but, at the end of our meeting, I was shocked to hear him say: 'Let's bloody well do this'.

It wasn't a life-changing amount of money but the fact this stranger also believed in my dream gave me a real boost. I wasn't going to let them down. Fast forward 10 years and I'd like to think their small investment was worth it.

With this project, I feel like we are going full circle by recycling the faith they had in me and the support they provided back into the next generation. I now want other young athletes to be standing on the start line thinking 'let's bloody well do this'.