A meticulous approach took the Scottish 1500m runner to a world title in Budapest but he is not about to start leaving anything to chance as he turns his gaze toward Paris

When Josh Kerr takes time out of his increasingly busy schedule to chew the fat with AW, a little over three months have passed since the golden moment hell never forget.

I would say that 50m to go in Budapest is going to be a lifelong memory, he grins. It was like: Youve got this one, just stay on your feet and youll be all right. That was pretty special.

The way that its sunk in is that now everything I do is with an expectation and approach of a world champion, says the AW British Male Athlete of the Year. In the way that Ive approached winter training, in the way that I approach this upcoming year, who Im being surrounded by and who Im hiring to help with all the madness that comes with it. If anything, its made me slightly hungrier to get my teeth into more major championships and bring home some more gold medals.

There is, understandably, an air of satisfaction emanating from Kerr when he reflects on 2023. An athlete who doesnt race very often, his strategy is to truly make it count when he does. Having found it tough to build on the Olympic bronze medal he won in 2021, this time all of his energies were focused on one singular target.

After the Olympics, I really struggled, he admits. I took a bit of time off and the motivation wasnt there. I just had a tough time getting stuck back into winter training [for the 2022 season], but this time I was able to really flip a switch going into winter training and be like: Right, this is where it starts.

Even this time last year, Kerr knew deep down that he had a genuine world title shot. He and his coach Danny Mackey constructed their plans at their base in Seattle off the back of that belief.

Back in December I said to Danny: This is a huge opportunity. I had a bad build-up to the World Championships in 2022 and I was fifth. If we can get this right, its there, recalls Kerr.

We had a goal in mind and the sacrifices my fiancée lives in Florida, my parents live in Scotland. Im not living anywhere close to anyone that I love. [That means] I find my time incredibly valuable and Im not here to waste any time. So to show that Im the best in the world is something where I feel like: Okay, this is worth it.

Ive been able to make it to the top and now Im getting greedy and want to stay there and thats really enjoyable.

The work to keep Kerr at the pinnacle is already well under way. Already he is feeling an improvement in his fitness levels compared to this time last year and is feeling buoyant, even if the prospect of running a half marathon in San Diego on December 16 lies in his immediate future.

Just as before, it is all part of a grand plan. The final destination, this time, will be the Olympics. The key to turning that plan into more success, however, is incredibly simple.

This year is going to present its own challenges and we need to understand that every plan has to be fluid, but it starts with me not missing days, says Kerr. I did that really well last year. I think Ive probably missed maybe 10 days overall through injury and illness through the year, which isnt a lot, and it was at the right times so thats a big thing we work on every year. If I can build off what we did this year, and not miss days, then Im going to put myself in a position to be available for that [Olympic] gold medal.

The continuation of an increased focus on nutrition, strength and conditioning essentially also working hard on everything of importance which surrounds running will also be on the menu.

I think nutrition is huge, especially with how much I travel, he adds. Even in the next month, I think Im going to be in about 10 different cities and thats just life now. But its also the emphasis on strength and conditioning and I dont run a tonne of mileage. I kind of max out about 75 miles a week off six days. Its maintenance work, staying on top of things, its having a massage therapist in every city that I go to, its being aware that my body comes first. Youre not going to force your body into never getting sick but you can definitely help it and treat it like a business would. I am a business so I have to keep maintaining myself.

Kerr has become better at knowing and listening to his body but the mental side of things is huge, too. On the start line in Budapest, he kept telling himself this is my time. The mantra worked, but he knows the work isnt done.

Ive realised that theres a limit to how hard and how much I can train in terms of volume and intensity. And I was like: Theres got to be an edge somewhere, he says. I think my edge has always been that, when the lights are on and when the when the chips are down, Ill get it done. If the body is in a good place then mentally I am there. But its something that I need to continue to work on, because its the hardest part of running.

I was like: Well, I can try and train more or harder but I think thats just a very uneducated approach and I think Danny takes very good care and puts us in a really good position. So I just work on unlocking that fitness and allowing myself to enjoy the journey. Enjoy the call room, enjoy the start line, enjoy the cameras and the pressure that comes with being locked in for five or six days across all the rounds.

Kerrs world success was also built on not leaving any stone unturned, as well as not leaving anything to chance. There is not a single part of race day for which he is not fully prepared.

I just find things Im not very good at, he adds. Is it the call room? Is it the nights sleep before the final? Is it standing on the start line for 10 minutes because somethings wrong with the clock? I practice all of it.

Theres nothing that happens on race day that I have not practised thousands of times. And I will continue to do that, because I think it allows me to have an edge over other people.

I worked on every element of that day. A mantra was: This is my time. Ive had enough of being in a championship final and coming away with a medal that is not gold, or coming away with nothing at all. Its hard. It was definitely my time but, again, the new year creates new challenges.

One of those will arrive in the return of Wightman, whose defence of his world title was thwarted by injury. The two world champions celebrated together in Hungary along with British team-mate Neil Gourley. Wightman brought us to a grungy, garage bar in Budapest, with my parents and my sponsors and everyone had an absolute blast, laughs Kerr.

When the two meet in 2024, it will be under rather different circumstances.

Im excited for him to toe the line again, and get back into it, says Kerr. The Olympics is going to be huge and I hope the biggest players in the world are going to be there.

You dont want to win in an off year, you dont want to win in the slowest time ever, you want to go out and you want to run the fastest time in Olympic history and you want to win the big one that people remember. Ours is a blue riband event where people want to watch because its interesting. I dont want to be a part of an event thats not interesting. Im very excited for Jake to be back. I think the storyline is going to be incredible.

In any other year, a World Indoor Championships in his home country would have been inked into Kerrs schedule. Though he isnt entirely ruling out making an appearance in Glasgow in March, his heart says yes but his head and his coach are not quite so sure.

All roads will lead to Paris and, when Kerr thinks back to his one previous Olympic experience, he has mixed feelings. On one hand, there was the joy of becoming an Olympic medallist. With nobody in the Tokyo Stadium to watch, however, he saw little point in even taking a lap of honour.

With a central European location and the crowds back in force, all of that should be very different this time around. Theres another thing he would like to change, too.

Ive got a bronze. It bores me. Im bored of the colour and I want to get a really good one.

The Olympics are always going to feel bigger, just because people care more. It definitely brings more eyes, it brings more opportunity, but its the same competition, its just slightly different surroundings.

I think Paris is going to put on a fantastic show, but I need to make the team. I dont overlook that part of the process. I feel up for the challenge and that will be fun in itself. Already being an Olympic medallist takes the pressure off slightly, where its like we can swing for the fences here, we can really go for it and hopefully attain the big goal that Ive had for my whole career. But there are so many steps to get there and Im very regimented in the way that well work this.