After illness derailed her autumn plans, Eilish reflects on an unexpected reset, a return to form, a new British record, and her renewed excitement for 2026.
Unfortunately, after the Great North Run I ended up with a really rotten cold. Thumping headache, swollen face, incredibly sore sinuses - it really was horrible. I genuinely don’t think I’ve been so sick in about four years, and it completely knocked me for six. It quickly became clear that the New York Marathon wasn’t a sensible option. I hadn’t completed a long run or anything over 12 miles in almost five weeks so trying to cram training sessions of that distance into the final fortnight would have been risky at best and reckless at worst.
The silver lining was that being forced to stop allowed my body a bit of a reset after what had been a full-on year. My breathing was still a problem when I started back jogging, so the focus shifted to shorter, sharper sessions. Then, somehow, when the fog lifted, I found real progress waiting.
At the London Vitality 10K at the end of September, I took a hat-trick win, running a huge season’s best and my third fastest time ever! This still feels wild considering that only a week or so before I was lying in bed all day, feeling awful. Apparently, the secret to running fast isn’t training blocks or periodisation... it’s lying in bed for 72 hours, surrounded by a tissue fortress, with a head the size of a small planet!
Next up, I headed to Font Romeu for a training block at altitude. Towards the end of the camp we experienced snowy conditions and some painfully cold training sessions, but despite the challenging conditions, I felt strong. Stronger than I had in a long time and ready to race again.
However, Mid-November isn’t exactly prime time in the calendar for racing options, so when the opportunity came up to return to the NN 7 Hills Run in Nijmegen (Netherlands) on 16 November, I couldn’t say no.
I last ran this race in 2022 during one of the best years of my career so far - and broke the British 15km record there. It may not be a distance that people chase very often, but honestly, it’s such a fun one to race! There was also something special about returning because my mum won this race back in 1994 - so I was running quite literally in her footsteps!
The race - however - absolutely lives up to its name because whoever said the Netherlands is flat was definitely not talking about Nijmegen! Yet despite the hills, I ran much faster than in 2022 and broke the British record again - this time taking it back from Calli Thackeray who had broken it earlier this year.
It was still only good enough for fourth place, and yes, that stung a little! However, it was a very close fight until the final 1km. For me, what was more important than position, was that my body felt good. My breathing was back to normal and I could feel progress after the setback of being ill. And that felt like the real win!
Now, for the first time since 2022, I’m genuinely excited to attack winter training. The last two years have been challenging - dealing with niggling knees, surgery, setbacks, having to play the challenging patience game, and the moments of doubt that come with all of the above!
But right now, I feel ready again.
Ready to chase PBs.
Ready to move forward instead of back.
Ready to build towards what could be a very special 2026.
The road is long... but that’s the beauty of it. And I’m happy to be back on it.
Published Wednesday 17th December 2025
