Running an indoor 200m personal best in her opening race of the season was a special moment for Antrim’s Lauren Roy.

Her time of 22.89 places her second on the Irish all-time list for the non-championship event, sitting just behind European medallist Rhasidat Adeleke.

In 2023, Roy took a major leap by moving to Texas for college, leaving family and friends behind to pursue her athletic ambitions.

Many of her standout moments over the past three years have happened without family present — though race starters have often stepped in with support, including a keepsake she plans to gift to her dad.

“He (the race starter) gave me the little shell from the gun. I didn’t even know that the shells came out of them, but he gave me it. I thought it was so sweet,” Roy recounted to the Irish Athletics Podcast.

“They were all giving me fist bumps, so they were all my biggest fans that day. It’s beside my little collection of trophies and medals… I think my dad has claimed it, he wants to keep it.”

This season, Roy is aiming to collect more than mementoes. She has set her sights on qualifying for the NCAA Championships as an individual for the first time, having been part of Tarleton State’s 4x100m relay at the 2025 edition.

“I think my main indoor goal is the NCAA Indoor Championships. So that I’m really focused on that. And then I’m kind of just going with the flow for the rest of the meets.

“Right now, I’m ranked third in the NCAA in the 200m. And the 60m, I think I’m 15th.

“Every week I watch myself slide a little bit more. So, right now, and just from doing from previous years, the 60 will probably take a 7.21 to make it. The 200, I should be fine to get in there.”

Her 7.23 for the 60m is only fractions off the automatic qualifying standard for the World Indoor Championships in Poland in March.

Roy says she isn’t shocked by her performances, but is surprised by how early the fast times have arrived.

“It’s not that it hasn’t sunk in, but it’s like we have been working so hard. It’s not unexpected at all. It was just a matter of what meet am I going to run these times in?

“I think the surprise was how early on I did hit those times because… We really won’t start tapering off until April. We’re still in heavy, heavy, like all day, every day kind of training.

“It’s always a good when you are hitting those times. And I think the 60 has never been my thing… Our goal was to get that 60 on as much as possible and to already have achieved that is really, really exciting.”

Despite her rise, Roy says her training programme hasn’t changed drastically this year. I

t still includes unique sessions like incline treadmill workouts and “bleacher runs”, routines rarely seen in Ireland.

“I honestly don’t think there has been any drastic changes this year in particular. I think my performances have been not just a two-year work in progress. This has been five, six years work in progress.

“I think last year was very much me getting used to the sessions and building a good base. And then this year, we’ve done pretty similar training, to be honest. We’ve just ramped everything up a level or two.

“In the fall, I do a lot of stadium runs, so up the bleachers, the steps. A lot of 200 metres, a lot of 300 metres.

“This is a certain type of treadmill. It’s called Tread Tough… Coach Dearth that takes us on it, used to play NFL.

“The science kind of behind it is that it recruits so much muscle and speed without actually leaving you sore and tired. And that really doesn’t make sense in my head still. But it works.

“We’re typically in there probably no more than twice a week, but at least once.”

After two years at her previous college, Roy sought a transfer and immediately connected with her new coach, Tim Thompson, at Tarleton State.

“My coach and I have an amazing relationship, honestly. I still remember the first phone call… The conversation I had with him was just different, but in a good way. I remember he said to me that he always starts off with his athletes at 100% trust.

“When you get a new coach, people will say they build trust, they build relationships. We made a decision to start on 100% and if it goes down, it goes down, but it didn’t.

“We literally just took both of our guards down and just went 100% into it. It worked so well… It’s just been such a good pairing for me.

“He trusts me so much to make calls on training and recovery and what I need, what days, but he is still the man in charge who will set the correct session. It just meshed so well. It’s kind of crazy.”

Roy previously represented Ireland at the 2019 European Indoor Championships in Glasgow as a teenager and has since competed at major championships in the relay, including being part of the record-breaking 4x100m squad in London last year.

The relay remains a major target for 2026, alongside a packed schedule she feels prepared to handle.

“Commonwealth Games and European Championships are my main two big things. I’m going to go for both. Also, the World Relays are on this year. I love running part of that 4x100m team.

“We broke the national record last year. I’d be silly not to want to go to that. Definitely lots of relay action and NCAA outdoors too.

“There’s a lot in there. I managed a lot last year so I’ll be more than capable of managing a lot this year too.”

LISTEN TO THE IRISH ATHLETICS PODCAST HERE: https://open.spotify.com/show/3cQRXlxX7cEizr0Hpu7p7B?si=74dc50f1029c45c7 

FOLLOW LAUREN ON INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/l.aurenroy/