After a turbulent year of change, the British middle-distance star talks about the confidence uncovered by upheaval and why she feels in a position of strength from which to attack 2024

Snorkelling with turtles, dolphins leaping over the boat Laura Muirs end-of-season holiday to Hawaii was a slice of heaven for the qualified vet and self-confessed wildlife obsessive. You could be forgiven for thinking that, after a gruelling summer on the international circuit, the last thing most athletes might want to do would be to spend their break with other athletes. But thats precisely what the Olympic 1500m silver medallist did. With the 2023 campaign coming to a close at the Diamond League final in Oregon, it afforded the opportunity to reset on Americas island state.

She did so in the company of British team-mates Dina Asher-Smith, Jazmin Sawyers and Morgan Lake, as well as Irish sprint hurdler Sarah Lavin. Shop talk was off the table as the friends took time to unwind. While most of the group was keen to hit the beach, Muir admits sitting still for long periods of time is not her strong suit hence taking the chance to sharpen her snorkelling skills.

We all know each other very well, we get on very well and everybody was ready for the break, she says. We were done and just wanted to enjoy it.

It was exactly the kind of retreat the 30-year-old needed following the most challenging and turbulent of years. All had seemed well back in early March when she won the third European indoor 1500m title of her career but, by the end of that month, news broke of her split with long-time coach and mentor Andy Young following a series of disagreements.

Given they had worked together for 12 years, since Young spotted Muirs talent when she joined the athletics club he coached at Glasgow University, it was a seismic shift.

Not wishing to rush into any hasty decisions as to who she might work with next, Muir initially opted to look after herself. You will struggle to find an athlete with more experience of life at the top level, but the emotional turmoil of what was happening, combined with trying to do everything else, was no easy task.

I knew what I had done before worked, so changing that was quite stressful, she says. Then looking after myself for that first two, three months was really, really hard not necessarily in terms of running but just everything round about that. Youre going to a race thinking: I dont know where Im living next week. There were a lot of things going on. Also, with 1500m there are a lot of tactics involved in the race. Not only do you have to physically be in a really good spot but mentally youve got to have all those plans up your sleeve.

Youve got to be able to react really quickly, youve got to be able to adjust your race plan and when youre mentally fatigued, tired and not concentrating, it shows. Youve really, really got to think and I wasnt necessarily in that thinking space sometimes. It was tricky, but I managed to get from A to B in one piece and Im actually very proud of the season that I put together.

Im glad I did [it that way]. I feel like now Ive made the right decisions and everything is set up like it should be. Everything is in place for me to hopefully be in the best place that I can be for next year.

Muir began working with Steve Vernon, also the endurance performance manager at UK Athletics, midway through the summer and its a partnership which will continue towards the Paris Olympics.

I think weve been very similar in terms of what our expectations are and our morals in the sport, says Muir. We just seemed to click and I felt like he really understood me, not just as an athlete, but as a person as well which is really, really important. Hes been amazing and really considerate, given everything that Ive been through.

Hes identified a lot of areas where I can get a lot stronger which havent really been addressed before. We started to address a few of them throughout the summer but I think theres a lot more we can do.

Not surprisingly, given off-track matters, 2023 was a mixed bag for the British record-holder who produced some strong performances but also some below-par showings such as her surprise defeat to Katie Snowden at the UK Championships.

Following sixth place in the world 1500m final in Budapest, though, there was a distinct upswing with 800m victory in the Weltklasse, a 1500m win at the Brussels Diamond League and then signing off with third place in Eugene where she clocked 3:55.16, the second-fastest time of her career over the metric mile.   

Its really exciting to know that I can run that time but there are all these areas I can improve on, she adds. Im looking forward to tackling a few of them over the winter and hopefully being a lot stronger for next year.

Muir has already begun that work and recently returned from a first training trip of the winter, in Font Romeu. She will be based in Loughborough until Christmas before a new year training stint in Potchefstroom that will lead into an enticing indoor season that culminates in a chance to shine over 3000m in front a home crowd at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow. 

She will move through that schedule feeling emboldened by what has been an educational period of her life. The European and Commonwealth champion spoke earlier this summer of having learned a lot about herself, but what has been the biggest lesson?

My success is me, she says. Thats a big thing. I think a lot of the time I felt like I needed lots of other things. And then actually when you strip it down Id be going to races by myself and Id win and Im like: Oh, okay, that was me!

Also, just knowing what Im capable of. Some of the things that Ive done in training this year, Ive never had the opportunity to do before and Ive really shocked myself like: Wow, I can do that.

So I think its just having that confidence in myself that I am successful because of the athlete that I am. Thats been a big, big thing, just self-confidence really, and not having to rely on somebody else.

I know that I can do it and, given the right support structure, then I can go and perform a lot better.

It says much about the esteem in which she is held by her British team-mates that Muir was selected as captain for this years World Championships. Its a role she has turned down in the past due to her discomfort with public speaking and the knowledge that the skipper has to deliver a pre-event speech to the team.

It felt right this time, while fortune also fell in her favour, given that she made her final preparations in St Moritz while much of the squad were in the holding camp in Slovakia. That presented the chance to pre-record her message and show it via video link. I did it in one take, though, she smiles.

I had two messages [in the speech] no limitations and no expectations. Dont put any limitations on yourself and dont have any expectations of other people. They were the two things that I really felt helped me through my career not putting any limitations on yourself because there are lots of times when I havent been expected to do very well and have done really well.

And then the no expectations of others is because you can have other athletes come to championships being a world record-holder or someone whos been flying all year, but then they might not even make it through  a qualifying round.

So dont have that expectation you cant beat them, because theres a chance you might be able to. They were my two key messages and I hope they helped.

The fact the British team had their best performance at a World Championships since 1993 suggests Muirs words perhaps struck a chord. As plenty of her colleagues will confirm, she is a role model her peers pay attention to. There is still plenty of time for her to make an even deeper mark on the sport but, when her competition days are over, would she consider imparting her wisdom through being a coach herself?

I love the sport. Its my passion and I think Ill always want to be involved in some sense, she says. I think Ill be one of those nutters thats still running at 80 in some random cross country event somewhere.

I definitely wouldnt rule out coaching. I think there are a lot of things that I could help young athletes with. Id hope Id be a nice, approachable coach. If athletes are happy to work with me then I could give it a bash in a few years time.

Ive got a few different stories that I could tell and, yeah, lots of different things that have happened at championships. Ive been in just about every race scenario you can imagine as well. Ive learned a lot which will put me in good stead for next year and hopefully even further down the line as well.

The more immediate task at hand is the pursuit of more global 1500m honours to add to that Tokyo silver from 2021 and world bronze from Oregon last year. One of the biggest barriers in her way has been a constant throughout Muirs competitive career Faith Kipyegon, the world record-holder who has completely changed the event.

The Scot was in all three of the world and Olympic champions historic performances in the 1500m, mile and 5000m this year. And while that raising of the standards doesnt make Muirs job any easier, she has nothing but warm words of praise for the Kenyan who has two Olympic and four world gold medals to her name.

I remember, a couple of years ago, just being quite frustrated that Faith wasnt really getting the recognition she deserved, says Muir. Shed won everything, multiple times, the only thing she was missing was that world record.

For her to break that record this year and really elevate her profile Im so happy for that because she really deserves it and its been a long time coming.

I was the only one in all three [of Kipyegons world record-breaking performances], which is quite funny. Weve been around a long, long time and in eight global finals together since 2014.

Were the two who have kept on going and then other people come in and out. Over that period of time, I think the event has changed a lot. We used to have two or three standout performers and then a gap but now theres eight, nine, 10 people that are all very similar, very, very fast and running very fast times.

The depth of the event has grown a lot and the times were having to run now are crazy, crazy, crazy. I think Im going have to try and grab a couple of seconds to get on the podium for next year but I think it is possible. Ive got confidence that I can be where I need to be.