British distance runner will hit the country this weekend in South Wales but his big target is a successful 26.2-mile debut in Seville

Marc Scott plans to use the soggy turf of Llandaff Fields in Cardiff this weekend as a springboard to his debut marathon in Seville in February.

The 29-year-old is part of the mens line-up at the Cardiff Cross Challenge on Saturday (Nov 11) before heading to Liverpool a fortnight later for the British trials for the European Cross Country Championships in Brussels on December 10. His main upcoming goal, though, is earning Olympic selection in the marathon in Spain on February 18.

A brilliant spell of racing in 2021-22 saw him clock a European indoor record of 12:57.08 for 5000m and 27:10.41 for 10,000m in addition to winning the Great North Run. The fine run of form culminated with a fine bronze medal in the 3000m at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade, although he has struggled since due to injuries and illness.

At the end of 2022 he left the Bowerman Track Club in the United States to move back his native England, where he subsequently joined the NN Running Team. But this year he missed a couple of months of running mid-summer due to stress fractures in his shins in addition to a small tear on his soleus, all of which ruined plans to run the Amsterdam Marathon in October.

Things are looking up now as he returned to racing with 48:09 at the Great South Run off minimal training but has since nailed three weeks of solid work at Font-Romeu before dropping back to sea level to run in Cardiff.

I surprised myself at Great South with my time off pretty much nothing and now Ive had three good weeks in Font, he says. Its hard to say exactly where I am with fitness but Ill find out on Saturday.

I want to test myself before Liverpool two weeks later. Last year I did the same thing and raced the Surrey League as a guest on Wimbledon Common but I didnt feel it prepared me well enough for Liverpool. It was more like an off-road trail race without much mud, so I want to run a race that will be a more similar to Liverpool.

When the World Championships unfolded in Budapest in August, Scott was busy cross-training. On his shin problems, he says: Going into the World Indoors last year Id had plenty of years of good training and maybe things caught up with me a little bit. After leaving Bowerman and Jerry Schumachers coaching philosophy I hit a few hurdles in the road but Im hoping Im clear of that now.

I think my biomechanics have led to a bit of heavy tension going through that part of my leg. I dont have any issues anywhere else. My shins seem to take it all but Ive been doing a lot of strength and conditioning and I think Im on the other side of it now.

Currently Scott lives just south of London but is planning to move back north in the new year. Im self-coached and being guided by the British Athletics staff with Steve Vernon as head of endurance, who I check in with a lot. I plan things with Chris Jones and am working closely with the head of physiology Andy Shaw.

I had a good set up with the Bowerman Track Club under Jerry but after all those years I know what works for me. I like planning my own week now too.

Scott has a good record in Cardiff as he won there in 2019. He expects a tough race on Saturday, though, as it is now a World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold Label event. Im expecting it to be a bit muddy with all the rain weve had, he says. I also think itll be quite a hard run.

Cardiff and Liverpool aside, he adds: The main thing for me is to keep healthy and not risk injury ahead of the Seville Marathon. Amsterdam was originally the plan. Valencia in December was also an option. But there wasnt enough time and I wanted a proper build up, so now were going for Seville.

Whereas he enjoys the idea of targeting a podium place at the Euro Cross in Brussels, he says he has no interest in the World Cross due to his marathon plans. I couldnt even tell you the date of it! he says.

Seville takes place just one day before UK Athletics first selection meeting for the Paris Olympics marathon team, too, where they can potentially pick athletes who have beaten the World Athletics standard of 2:08:10 (or 2:26:50 for women).

I wanted a new challenge, change of scenery, he says. My whole set up has changed so I wanted to get on to the road and explore that avenue a bit more. Track became a bit monotonous and I was ready for a change pretty much.

If Seville doesnt go as well as he would like, Scott has a back-up plan of racing in London in April. Whereas he is happy grinding out the miles in the UK right now, in the new year he is looking at going to Spain for a few weeks to prepare for Seville in warmer weather.

Ive practised fuelling for a lot of months already even before I got injured, he says. The road is where my career started as a youngster and even my coach back then thought my true potential lay there.