Media coverage
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Media coverage
Title Outreach Day with Olympian, Eilish McColgan Date 1/05/26 Description School pupils were put through their paces by four-time Olympian and Commonwealth champion Eilish McColgan during a sport science outreach visit organised by University of the West of Scotland (UWS) and CASES last week.
The event, which took place at Strathaven Academy on Friday 8 May, aimed to inspire school pupils, teachers and the wider public by showcasing the breadth and impact of sport and exercise science.
Arranged in collaboration with the Chartered Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (CASES), the UK professional body for sport and exercise sciences, Eilish’s visit was part of a prize won by sixth-year pupil Ross Munro for his successful poster competition entry on inclusion in disability sport last year.
Ross is a keen runner and is a member of local running club, Strathaven Striders. As part of his prize, Ross was given the opportunity to select an athlete to visit his school and deliver a specialist athlete-development workshop, with Ross choosing Eilish.
Fresh from finishing as the top British woman at the 2026 London Marathon, Eilish took part in a panel session with pupils, who given the chance to ask the record-breaking Scottish long-distance runner questions relating to her life and her sport. She was asked about how she juggled sport with her studies, who inspires her, how often she trains and how to get started in sport.
The visit also included practical sessions, with Eilish leading pupils through her own go-to warm up, as well as challenging the students to try out different running paces measured by UWS’s sport science equipment.
Pupils also had the chance to try boccia – a target ball sport similar to bowls, which is often played by athletes with various physical disabilities affecting motor skills. The sport had inspired Ross’s winning poster when he got to experience boccia during a visit to UWS last year, so he wanted his fellow pupils to learn more about it.
Eilish McColgan discussing her time at the school said,
"It’s been fantastic to be here. The pupils asked great questions, and it’s been a lot of fun – I can tell the school is very engaged in sport. I was asked my best piece of advice for young people who are interested in pursuing a career in sport and that would be to join a local club. The qualities and values you learn from sport are so valuable through many stages of life."
University of the West of Scotland is the only Scottish University to be part of CASES’ national Outreach Hub initiative. The Hub network enables higher education institutions to engage local communities through events like these, as well as school visits, public talks, webinars, and hands-on learning experiences.
Dr Hayley McEwan MCASES, Senior Lecturer in Psychology of Sport and co-lead of the UWS CASES Outreach Hub presented Eilish with a CASES t-shirt as a thank you for coming to inspire the school pupils. She said,
"Being able to offer a taste of sport science to school pupils has been a rewarding experience for everyone involved over the past few years, and now for one of the pupils to win the national poster competition as part of the visit and bring a world class athlete to Strathaven is remarkable. I particularly love that Ross chose a female role model in Eilish McColgan – she is relatable and inspiring to all."URL https://youtu.be/SyPTcvSUriY Persons Hayley McEwan
Keywords
- outreach