Innes FitzGerald enjoys her first taste of the big stage

British distance runner chats about a year in which she landed continental gold medals, set new standards and got her first taste of competing on the senior world stage.

At the beginning of the year, Innes FitzGerald was looking at British Milers Club (BMC) race options, planning the season in the way she usually did. Even though she was already a double European Under-20 Cross Country champion and one of Britain’s most established young middle-distance talents, the early structure of her season felt familiar: choose the BMCs, build the rhythm, sharpen for the summer. But, this time, her coach Gavin Pavey wasn’t offering the usual guidance.

“I remember I was trying to plan out what races I was doing,” she says. “I was saying to my coach: ‘Should I enter these BMCs?’ And he was keeping quite quiet. I was like: ‘What’s going on? Surely we need to have a bit more of a plan’. And now I know he didn’t want me to sell myself a bit short.”

Only later did FitzGerald realise that Pavey had been steering her towards something different. Instead of local meets, he envisioned her stepping out on to the Diamond League stage. The shift made sense as the year unfolded: her progression from an established junior athlete to world-level senior competitor happened not by surprise, but through a season that kept levelling up – from national bronze in the 5000m to double European under-20 gold, to taking her place on a senior World Championships start line.

“Going into 2025, I didn’t really know what I was in for,” says the 19-year-old. “I wasn’t expecting the season to work out how it did, but I’m incredibly grateful for all the opportunities and I gained so much experience.”

FitzGerald is only now beginning to comprehend the scale of what she achieved on the track. The first major step came at the European Indoor Championships, competing in the 3000m thanks to her third-place finish at the British indoors. Apeldoorn marked her debut in a senior British vest.

“Jake Smith was giving me a lift back from training and I remember him saying to me: ‘What’s the European Indoor standard?’ and I said: ‘Oh, I’m never going to get that’. Then suddenly I made the senior team. It’s different when you get to the senior level as everyone seems a bit more focused and in their element.”

Despite the shift, FitzGerald achieved her goal of simply making the final, going on to finish eighth in 8:57.00.

“Rarely, as athletes, do we come away from races feeling pleased with ourselves. But the overwhelming feeling was pride,” she says. “That champs was important going into the summer, especially going into those Diamond League races where you’re suddenly in a different country by yourself. It was important to have experiences like that.”

Pavey’s reluctance to encourage the BMC plan suddenly made sense as Diamond League opportunities began to emerge. That setting allowed the University of Exeter Sport and Exercise Science student to compete at a high level without the tactical pressure of a championship environment, finishing third in Stockholm (3000m), 12th in London, and 15th in Brussels (both in the 5000m).

London was the standout moment and the standout race of the year for FitzGerald. In front of a packed home crowd, she broke the European U20 5000m record with 14:39.56, surpassing Zola Budd’s 1985 mark of 14:48.07. After that aforementioned third place in the 5000m at the British Championships – winning her first outdoor national senior medal – she was then whisked away to Tampere for the European U20 Championships.

The change in environment required a different mindset, but she welcomed the shift.

“It’s a completely different atmosphere,” she says. “More of a team thing. More chatty. More relaxed.”

But there was a clear target. After finishing fourth at last year’s World U20 Championships in the 3000m, she was aiming for gold in both the 3000m and 5000m. The Briton delivered exactly what she intended: two commanding, winning performances and a championship record of 8:46.39 in the 3000m.

If London was the emotional peak and the U20 double gold her expected triumph, then the World Championships in Tokyo proved the most formative experience of all. Making the British senior team at such a tender age was a major achievement.

FitzGerald might not have reached the 5000m final there but she says: “Just being there, racing at that level, was something I was really grateful for. The whole experience was so different. The call rooms, the timings, the structure… everything feels like a step up. I left feeling like I understood so much more about what it takes to be competitive at that level. It’s made me really excited for the future. I left everything out there and I came away feeling satisfied that I made it to the champs. I know there’s a lot more to come in future years.”

FitzGerald’s competitive year still isn’t over, though. She went straight into the cross-country season, winning both the Cross Challenge events in both Cardiff and Liverpool, with the latter booking her spot to the European Cross Country Championships in the Algarve, where she will hope to win her third U20 title.

With all the travelling Fitzgerald has done this year to compete at senior levels, sustainability has become an increasingly important consideration – something she has spoken about openly.

“I guess it’s something that’s still very close to my heart and always has been,” she says. “I think there’s always more that can be done.”

Next year the UK will host both the European Championships and the Commonwealth Games, which brings more than just logistical convenience.

“I think that’s going to be great for us as Brits,” she says. “But, also, it’s an area where lots of European countries can come over quite easily.”

Being closer to home also opens the door for her family and friends to witness her competitions without the environmental impact of long-haul flights.

“I never want to encourage my family or friends to have to fly to come and see me race, because I don’t think that’s necessarily the right decision to make,” she says. “But, having them in the UK next year is just going to be extra special, because I can hopefully have lots of family and friends there watching. And I think the rest of the GB team that end up going will probably be thinking the same.”