Stephanie Clitheroe Emma Nwofor interview on On relay and 400m

In the Stephanie Clitheroe Emma Nwofor interview, Clitheroe described how winning the London On squad relay took her team to Los Angeles, where she learned on race morning that the course was 600 metres long. She also told Nwofor that the experience has made her consider training for the 400 metres or 400-metre hurdles.

How did Stephanie Clitheroe’s team reach the On squad relay in Los Angeles?

Stephanie Clitheroe’s team qualified for the Los Angeles competition by winning the London On squad relay, a result she had not expected. She and teammate Ella had track experience and thought the opposition would be difficult to beat; the younger men on their team were much more confident.

Winning the London relay

Clitheroe said she and Ella understood how fast their opponents could be, even if some had stopped competing on the track. She recalled telling the men on her team that they were not going to win. When they did, her surprise quickly turned into a practical concern: she needed time away from her accounts job to make the trip.

The Los Angeles event fell during a busy period for management accounts. Clitheroe said her manager gave her a week off despite the work that had to be completed. Without that decision, she said, going to Los Angeles could have meant losing her job.

On’s travel and support

Before departure, On brought the team to its Battersea store for kit, including trainers, clothing and bags. Clitheroe said the brand later gave them sprint spikes that were not on sale. Kevin, a videographer, also filmed the team.

On paid for flights and accommodation that kept the team in Los Angeles beyond the Saturday event, Clitheroe said. Amelia, who worked for On, helped during the trip and covered meals from Thursday through Monday. Clitheroe stayed for seven days and said that support made the visit particularly enjoyable.

What did Stephanie Clitheroe say about the 600-metre Los Angeles relay?

Stephanie Clitheroe said her team learned only on the morning of the Los Angeles competition that the course was 600 metres long. That was a difficult surprise for a sprinter whose team had been tested on a 300-metre course in London, but she came away proud of how they handled the longer run.

The five-kilometre shakeout

The distance mismatch became clear to Clitheroe before race day. On Friday, the group went on what was described as a five-kilometre shakeout. She expected an easy run, but found the pace hard to maintain. After Ella needed a toilet break, the two walked much of the remaining way and met the others at the On store in Los Angeles.

At that point, Clitheroe still did not know the relay distance. She hoped for something near 300 metres and thought a course closer to 400 metres would be harder. A 600-metre leg was beyond either expectation.

Learning the distance on race morning

Clitheroe said she was angry when the team was told the distance. She did not regard 600 metres as a sprint in the terms she was used to, and stressed that the team had earned its place on a much shorter London course. She did not give a result for the Los Angeles competition, but said she was proud of her teammates for taking on the change.

Asked whether the event would return, Clitheroe said she knew it had taken place in America the previous year and thought the organizers might try to make it annual. She did not claim that another edition had been confirmed.

What did Stephanie Clitheroe say about joining sprint club?

Stephanie Clitheroe said sprint club gave her opportunities she would not have expected when she first attended, including the trip to Los Angeles. She also described it as a welcoming place for beginners: people demonstrate the drills, accommodate different experience levels and listen to feedback.

Clitheroe recognized that joining can feel daunting without a sprinting background. Her own track experience meant familiar instructions, such as doing high knees, did not require an explanation. She said newcomers do get that explanation rather than being expected to know the drills already.

For her, the group’s willingness to guide people and accept suggestions matters as much as the sessions themselves. She described sprint club as a community, not a place where members are simply told what to do.

The Los Angeles trip changed her sense of what could follow from turning up. Clitheroe said she would not have believed, when she first went to sprint club, that she would soon be sent to Los Angeles to run.

Is Stephanie Clitheroe considering the 400 metres or 400-metre hurdles?

Stephanie Clitheroe said she thinks she may train for the 400 metres after running the 600-metre relay in Los Angeles. She is also reconsidering the 400-metre hurdles, an event an old coach had suggested, although she has preferred the 100-metre hurdles and has not committed to a switch.

A coach’s suggestion and the 100-metre hurdles

Clitheroe said an old coach thought she should try the 400-metre hurdles. She had resisted because she was comfortable with the 100-metre hurdles and did not want to put herself through a longer, more painful event. She said she misses the straight hurdles and likes how quickly that race is over.

She has appeared in 400-metre hurdles listings on Power of 10, but said those races did not reflect a serious attempt at the event. According to Clitheroe, her coach made her run it at the time and she deliberately ran slowly because she did not want to be selected for it again.

The Los Angeles leg that changed her thinking

In Los Angeles, Clitheroe compared her leg with runners she described as quick, including a 400-metre runner from Berlin. She estimated that she received the baton about 10 metres behind them and lost only about five more metres during her run. That performance made her think she could run well over a longer distance when competing seriously.

Clitheroe has not announced a training plan or a race. Her point was that the 600-metre experience gave her a reason to test herself rather than dismiss the longer events as she had before.

What did Stephanie Clitheroe say about old rivals and trying new things?

Stephanie Clitheroe said she values the friendships that remain from her years in athletics, including her connection with Emma Nwofor. Looking ahead, she would rather try an opportunity and have it fall short of her hopes than avoid it and never find out what might have happened.

The two remembered a photo of them together at a British champs event sponsored by Sainsbury’s. Clitheroe said it still appears when she searches her name. She also said she tends to watch athletics events when she knows someone competing, particularly the hurdles.

Clitheroe described the change that can happen at the finish line: athletes compete against one another during a race, then return to being friends afterward. That mix of competition and connection is part of what she has kept from the sport.

On whether to take a chance, Clitheroe put her view plainly:

I'd rather do it and it not work out how I wanted rather than just never known.