When Laura Muir races the Fifth Avenue Mile on Saturday in New York, it will be the conclusion of a stunning season for the 23-year-old 1500-meter star who competes for Great Britain.

In the span of the last six months, she became a first-time Olympian in Rio, she broke the national record in her event at a meet in London—then did it again in Paris last month. And after placing second in Zurich on Thursday, she became the 2016 Diamond League 1500-meter champion.

If running at the highest level around the world wasn’t enough, the Scottish standout has also completed her first three years of veterinary school at the University of Glasgow.

“Ever since I was young, I just loved working with animals. I was kind of brought up with them when I was younger. I had a rabbit and a guinea pig and a dog,” she said during a phone interview on Wednesday. “I couldn’t really see myself doing anything else, really. A full-time athlete wasn’t really a career option [when I was younger].

“I love what I do, and I’m grateful that I’ve got great support from the University of Glasgow to be able to combine my studies with my running.”

The intense studies haven’t slowed Muir down. In Paris she ran 3:55.22 to win the 1500 meters. It came after the Olympics, where she charged out front early in the final but came up short and finished seventh. Muir said she wouldn’t do much differently after reviewing the race multiple times.

“We were confident that the tactics I used would give me the best chance,” she said. “And then I just went for the gold, and I think in doing so that maybe cost me a silver or a bronze. I was hopeful for a better outcome, but I just went for it and I’m proud of that.”

Jenny Simpson, who won bronze for Team USA in that race in Rio, has said multiple times over the course of the season that she sees Muir as one of her biggest threats on all the starting lines. That includes the Fifth Avenue Mile, where the duo will face off one last time for the year. Simpson is going for her fifth win at the road race and said she hopes her experience on the course might give her an edge.

Muir, who’s never visited New York City before and is looking forward to sightseeing after the run, said she agrees that familiarity with the course is to Simpson’s advantage, but off the track it could be anybody’s race to win.

“In the road mile it’s completely different to the track, so I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a few other girls. I will have my eyes open for quite a few of the girls, but I think Jenny will be the main competitor,” Muir said. “[American bronze medalist steeplechaser] Emma Coburn as well. I can imagine she’ll have a pretty decent run, too.”

Muir attributes her 2016 success to consistency in training, rarely getting interrupted by illness or injury, and heading to high altitude for stints throughout the year. She spent time around Christmas in South Africa and trained in Font-Romeu, France, in the spring and prior to the Olympics.

She didn’t start her competitive season until the beginning of June in order to remain fresh for Rio, she said.

“I am just very fortunate that I pretty much trained six days a week, every week, and haven’t missed a session at all,” Muir said.

After the season’s celebration is over, she plans to reset and start focusing completely on the world championships, which will be held next summer in London in front of her hometown crowd. Friends and family have already purchased tickets, Muir said, and she will take a year off school in order to compete at her peak.

When she returns to the university and moves toward graduation, Muir said she plans to go into small animal practice—and eventually have her own dog, too.

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