Mike Rowbottom
Mike Rowbottom ©insidethegamesAs I recall, and it was a long time ago, Liz McColgan seemed very pleased indeed to have won the 10,000m gold at the 1990 Auckland Commonwealth Games.

I distinctly remember, in the wake of her emphatic victory, and at the end of an extended chat with members of the media at the Mount Smart Stadium, the pride of Dundee and Scotland spoke in gleeful tones about a rendezvous with a whisky bottle. You got the feeling, late as it was, that her night was still young. I suppose she could have been joking. But I don't think so.

Pleased as she appeared then, however, it turns out she was not as pleased as she had been four years earlier when - under her maiden name of Liz Lynch - she became the host country's only track gold medallist at the Edinburgh Commonwealth Games in defeating New Zealand's Commonwealth 10,000m record holder Anne Audain with a perfectly judged surge over the final two laps.

The Scot - who now prefers to be known as Liz Lynch Nuttall following her marriage to former British international runner John Nuttall in January - took more than a minute off her personal best to set a time of 31 min 41.42sec - a Commonwealth, UK and Scottish all-comers' record. But as she revealed afterwards, what made her cry on the podium was not the extent of her achievement so much as the "overwhelming, totally unbelievable" sound of a fervent home crowd and the rendition of "Scotland the Brave."

Liz Lynch Nuttall - Liz Lynch as was - en route to what she has since described as the "best moment" of her sporting life - victory in the 10,000m at the 1986 Edinburgh Commonwealth Games ©Getty ImagesLiz Lynch Nuttall - Liz Lynch as was - en route to what she has since described as the "best moment" of her sporting life - victory in the 10,000m at the 1986 Edinburgh Commonwealth Games ©Getty Images





That she ranks her 1986 win above all else in a career that was to encompass a world title, an Olympic silver medal and victory in the London Marathon - she later described it as "the best moment" of her sporting life - is a huge tribute to the power of home. And also to the enduring power of the Commonwealth Games.

The value of the former world champion's memorable victory on home soil was affirmed this week as the eldest of her five children, Eilish, was invited to become the first athlete to test the newly laid track at Hampden Park which will host athletics at the Glasgow 2014 Games which open on July 23.

"My mum has told me all about the unbelievable atmosphere and overwhelming support of the crowd when she competed and won gold in front of a home crowd at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh and I know that's a standout memory of all her races throughout the years," said the 23-year-old, who was accompanied on the plush new track by pupils from the nearby Mount Florida Primary School.

Eilish McColgan, and pupils from Mount Florida Primary School, get a first feel of the new track at Hampden Park this week ahead of the IAAF Diamond League meeting and Glasgow 2014 Games ©Getty ImagesEilish McColgan, and pupils from Mount Florida Primary School, get a first feel of the new track at Hampden Park this week ahead of the IAAF Diamond League meeting and Glasgow 2014 Games ©AFP/Getty Images

"I'm just so excited at the prospect of competing in a home Games and she's [her mother] told me the support I'll have from the Scottish crowd as a Scottish athlete will be on another level."

That will be literally true, given the fact that, in order to accommodate the track, the pitch at Hampden has been raised by almost two metres using a temporary deck which is made up of 1,200 base panels supported by more than 6,000 structural steel stilts.

The two-day IAAF Diamond League meeting which usually takes place in London will act as an effective test event for the Games when it takes place from July 11 to 12.

When one recalls the dismal sequence of indecision and political confusion which accompanied the plans to convert the old Wembley Stadium into something able to accommodate the IAAF World Championships in 2003 - oh no, sorry, make that 2005 - oh no sorry, make that not at all - then Glasgow's achievement appears outstanding.

Games organisers claim the track - which will be dismantled a few months after the summer activity is over - and the warm-up track installed nearby at Lesser Hampden, have been provided within the target budget of £14 million ($23 million/€17 million).

No wonder the Glasgow 2014 chief executive David Grevemberg told my insidethegames colleague Gary Anderson this week that the process - fashioned in partnership with Scottish firm Malcolm Construction - had amounted to a "fantastic journey".

David Grevemberg, chief executive of the Glasgow 2014 Games, said this week that the Hampden Park stadium conversion had been a "fantastic journey" ©Getty ImagesDavid Grevemberg, chief executive of the Glasgow 2014 Games, said this week that the Hampden Park stadium conversion had been a "fantastic journey" ©Getty Images

The woman who turned this audacious technological challenge into a reality is Suzanne McCormack, an architectural technologist who was part of the team which created the Velodrome for the London 2012 Olympics.

She applied new techniques to create what was the world's first proper running track built on stilts. The first eight rows of seats at Scotland's national stadium disappeared beneath the enormous steel structure.

"This has never been done before," McCormack told the Daily Record last year. "Steel stilts have been used for temporary 110m straight tracks in Newcastle and Manchester, as well as the ice rink in George Square and the equestrian course at the London Olympics - but it's completely new for a 400m track."

The newly installed, temporary, athletics track at Hampden Park - suspended six feet above the pitch on stilts ©AFP/Getty ImagesThe newly installed, temporary, athletics track at Hampden Park - suspended six feet above the pitch on stilts ©AFP/Getty Images

Officials built a mock-up section on a vacant plot at Clyde Gateway East, near the Chris Hoy Velodrome, which was tested by a machine provided by the International Association of Athletics Federations - and Scottish high hurdler Chris Baillie.

At the time Grevemberg accepted that the plan was challenging but, if successful, could save a fortune on dedicated athletics stadiums at future Games.

"We don't need a new athletics stadium in Glasgow," McCormack added. "We have three stadiums which have a capacity of 50,000 or more - Hampden, Celtic Park and Ibrox. We don't need a white elephant of an athletics stadium that's going to sit there empty."

All in all, it surely ranks as the first gold medal performance of the Games.

Mike Rowbottom, one of Britain's most talented sportswriters, covered the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics as chief feature writer for insidethegames, having covered the previous five summer Games, and four winter Games, for The Independent. He has worked for the Daily Mail, The Times, The Observer, The Sunday Correspondent and The Guardian. His latest book Foul Play – the Dark Arts of Cheating in Sport (Bloomsbury £12.99) is available at the insidethegames.biz shop. To follow him on Twitter click here.