Zoë Allan – a story of a love of running, talent, hard work and determination, from Junior Parkrun to representing England (and that just the start).

Zoë’s love for running started when she joined her brothers at Junior Parkrun aged just 4. She ran regularly and as she got older she broke a number of age category course records. During the 2020 lockdown, she carried on running, completing her first 5km in the national challenge run5km, donate £5 and nominate 5 others. Zoë also enjoyed StarTrack summer camps at Thames Valley Athletic Centre.

On her 10th birthday in 2020, Zoë joined Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow Athletic Club as a member of Shireen Higgins’ middle distance group, training with the group when lockdown rules permitted and trying on her own when they didn’t.

In the 2020/2021 winter season she ran her first ever cross country race for the club in the pouring rain and gale force winds – and loved it! The next few months were limited in terms of racing due to her age and the pandemic but she ran Junior Parkruns when able and then raced on the track for the first time in the 2021 summer season.

She ran her first ever 800m and 1500m races in May, then represented the club in the 600m, finishing second in her first race and then winning her second, with a PB. Zoë had arrived!

The 2021/2022 winter season saw Zoë compete for the club in road relays and cross country relays, including the South of England AA Relay Championships, where the under 13 girls finished 2nd with Zoë recording the 3rd fastest time and the Saucony English National Relay Championships, then in December she won the under 11 girls Berkshire Cross Country Championships and has remained unbeaten at ‘the Counties’ ever since!

Soon after, she finished 23rd out of almost 400 in the under 13 girls at the National Cross Country Championships, aged just 11, going on to win the National Independent Prep Schools under 11 girls cross country Championships. Zoë was then selected to join the under 13 South East team for the London Mini Marathon, finishing 5th.

Zoë said “it was really fun running the Mini Marathon and being on a team with new people. Finishing on The Mall was really exciting”.

Zoë enjoyed a good 2022 track season as a 1st year under 13, winning 7 races including county championships gold in the 1000m and winning all 5 races when she represented the club. The season also saw her go under 2.30 for 800m and and reach the final of the South of England under 13 Championships, lower her 1500 PB by 8 seconds during the course of the season (and faster by 31 seconds than her 2021 PB).

Further medal success followed the next autumn with the Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow Athletic Club under 13 girls team in the South of England Road Relays along with the South of England Cross Country Relay (silver) and National Cross Country Relay (bronze), with Zoë running the fastest individual leg in the latter at Berry Hill Park, Mansfield which is one of her favourite courses. She also won the under 13 girls Berkshire Cross Country Championships.

On the track in summer 2023 as a 2nd year under 13, she enjoyed further success, claiming County Championship titles over 600m and 1000m and breaking the Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow under 13 girls 800m club record at the South of England under 13 Championships in August, clocking 2:21.55. She finished the season ten days later at Watford, also breaking the under 13 girls 1500m club record, which she had already set earlier that year, clocking 4:43.44.

In her final year as an under 13, in the 2023/2024 winter season Zoë retained her under 13 girls County cross country title, also won the Berks, Bucks & Oxon Cross Country Championships and raced in all the major cross country championship races, finishing in the top 10 in all of them, including 2nd in the South East Schools’ Inter Counties in February, 4th in the South of England Cross Country Championships and again when representing Berkshire at the Inter Counties Cross Country Championships at Wollaton Hall in March.

Then came Zoë’s biggest successes to date, a week after the Inter Counties she ran a superb race as a lower-year in the Surrey Schools Junior Girls team at English Schools Championships at Pontefract Racecourse, finishing 8th. She was therefore selected to represent England to run in the junior girls team at the SIAB event in Dublin, Ireland, where they raced against teams from all the home nations and claimed a team gold medal!

Zoë said “I was so happy to qualify for the England team. I had no expectations at the start of the England Schools race but I ran super hard and it was one of my best races. I was even happier to finish higher up the England team in the SIAB international in Ireland. It was a great day!”

In the 2024 summer track season Zoë won as a first year under 15 in both the 800m and 1500m when representing the club, lowered her PBs even further and won gold at the Berkshire County Championships over both 800m and 1500m. She then qualified for the under 15 girls 1500m final at the National Age Group Championships at Alexander Stadium, again as a first year under 15.

The under 15 winter season started with team bronzes in the South of England and National Road Relays and the girls subsequently matched this in both the South of England and National Cross Country Relays. Her Berkshire County Cross Country Championship title retained yet again, Zoë turned her attention to building for the string of top races towards the end of the cross country season. However, in January 2025 at the South of England Championships, she sustained a hamstring/tendon injury which meant an early end to her winter.

Zoë said “I was devastated not to be able to run at the National Cross Country Championships, Inter-Counties and particularly English Schools. It was really tough not being able to go for an England vest again, this time as an upper year runner. But I joined my team at the course to be involved in the best way I could and cheer everyone on. With the support of my physio, my wonderful lead coach Shireen Higgins, my role models and the rest of our group, I am slowly building my way back to where I was and hopefully will become even better. I know that hard work, determination and my love for running will help me towards more success in the future”.

Footnote: April 2025 Zoë has overcome her injury and raced for the first time in the 800m and won.

Still only an under 17, the future is bright for Zoë, with hopefully much more success to follow. We are very proud of her.

Written May 2025

See here for all of Zoë’s results