When Olympian Katie Snowden wants to wind down, she will make sure she heads to her most treasured place in the world - Polzeath, Cornwall.
When she wants to test her body to the max in dizzying altitudes, she will head to the mountains of Falstaff, Arizona.
When Britain’s new women’s 1500m champion craves the comfort of home, she will always find warmth in the familiarity of London.
And when she wanted to set the bar as a middle-distance runner, she found herself on the SportCity track in Manchester.
The 29-year-old provided one of the biggest shocks of the UK Championships in July, going past Olympic silver medallist Laura Muir to gold in the 1500m, securing her place at the World Championships in Budapest.
Her road to the Hungarian capital has been long and arduous, with many injury bumps along the way but Snowden is embracing her mountainous rise to the top.
“I’ve had a really consistent year of training which I think is the difference between this year and the last couple where I’ve struggled with various kinds of injuries,” she said.
“It was towards the end of 2018, I had a bursa on my knee at the time that just stubbornly would not go away.
“After the knee injury I got plantar fasciitis which grumbled away for a while and unfortunately that turned into partially rupturing my plantar.
“Going into 2019 I ended up not having a season - I didn’t do one track race and it was the World Champs in Doha that year which I’d seen as a big goal to make so that was really frustrating.
“Although I didn’t see through that year, I think that’s what kept me motivated, that I didn’t feel like I had tapped out my potential yet.”
Over four years, with a semi-final finish in Tokyo along the way, Snowden built her strength back up with her training group in Flagstaff.
She has set herself the goal of joining Muir, who has been named captain of the Great Britain team for the Championships, in the final and wants to prove the event is not a one-horse race when it comes to the British team.
“In all our minds, it probably was like we were going for the second spot when we knew Laura was in the British Champs,” she said.
“It was almost one of those things where you haven't even contemplated winning the race, when I crossed the line I was like, ‘wow, I’ve actually just won’.
“It was almost predictable that Laura was going to dictate it with 600m or so to go.
“For the first time I actually felt strong enough to be able to match that whereas previously even if you’re expecting that to happen, it’s such a surge in pace that it’s hard to cover the move.
“Going into these Championships it’s felt like a really nice confide
nce boost that I can be up there with the likes of Laura because I’m sure she’ll go really well again in Budapest as well.
“Even now, breaking four minutes is my main aim but you’ve got Laura who is going at 3.54. It’s definitely something that you want to do but it’s hard to recognise it in yourself when someone else is doing exceptionally well.
“Hopefully British Champs showed that I am closing the gap a little bit and I can deliver some much better performances so it’s not so much of a one-horse race anymore.”
Snowden topped off July with an brilliant 800m performance at the London Diamond League, an atmosphere that she can only describe as having to be heard and seen to be believed.
It marks 11 years since she sat in the crowd for Super Saturday as an 18-year-old, watching Jess Ennis-Hill, Greg Rutherford and Mo Farah romp to gold.
With Paris in her sights, Budapest offers the biggest chance for the Balham track star to make a statement of intent on the world stage.
“That atmosphere in London was amazing,” she said “The noise of the crowd was just so loud. It’s almost hard to explain unless you experience how loud it is on the start line.
“I was fortunate enough in 2012 to spectate Super Saturday and I remember thinking at the time, ‘gosh, that must be amazing to be one of the athletes running’.
“Although I haven't compared specific seasons to where I was at before Tokyo and now, I just think I’ve done so much more and I’m much stronger recently - hopefully that will pay off in Budapest.
“I’m really hoping Budapest will be a springboard to Paris, if I can just get experience racing at the highest level in these Championships and getting through the rounds.”
Sportsbeat 2023