Poppy Tank, an NCAA Division 1 All-American at Utah and the reigning British champion in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase in just her first year competing in the event, joins DyeStat editor Erik Boal to discuss her season opener in the event April 18 at the 64th Mt. SAC Relays Presented by Nike at Hilmer Lodge Stadium in Walnut, Calif. Tank, 26, reflects on moving back home and reconnecting last spring with former British steeplechase standout and Florida State alumni Luke Gunn, who is now Coach and Head of Performance at University of Birmingham in England, and accelerating her learning curve in a brief amount of time to make her 3,000-meter steeplechase debut at the British Milers Club Grand Prix last year and run 10:04.88. She revisits winning the British title in front of family and friends July 8 in a personal-best 10:02.77 in Manchester, followed by making her Diamond League debut July 23 in London and running 10:05.59. Tank examines how significant those experiences were in her preparation for this year and competing in as many elite events as possible in an effort to pursue both the qualifying standard of 9:37.0 to compete at the European Championships in Rome and the Olympic standard of 9:23.0 to race in Paris. She also analyzes how instrumental it has been for her to have the ability to be able to clear the water jumps with one foot instead of two, and how much Tank feels that will allow her to improve her performances significantly this year. Tank shares her recovery from recent shoulder, rib and diaphragm discomfort, and how she has incorporated extensive stretching and Pilates into her training regimen in order to avoid additional issues as her career progresses. She speaks about returning to Utah for altitude training ahead of competing at sea level in California, and being able to reunite with Utes coach Kyle Kepler, along with several former friends and teammates, most notably Saucony professional athlete Grayson Murphy, who has won multiple World Championships in Mountain Running in 2019 and 2023 after earning All-America first-team honors competing in cross country and track at Utah. Tank, who represented Great Britain last year at both the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Australia and the European Athletics Cross Country Championships in Belgium, also highlights her connection with the running community through diaries and journals on her social media, and being able to showcase an authentic and genuine look into her journey to competing in the steeplechase for the first time and her quest to race at an elite global level representing Great Britain for the duration of her career.