ATHLETICS : The heat is on as Carey gets ready for Athens.

Byline: BY ANDREWWALLACE

CAREY MARSHALL has spent the past month sweating on her inclusion in Britain's Olympic squad.

But if the 24-year-old thought the heat was off after booking her 4x400 metres relay place last week she's in for a nasty surprise.

Marshall will now crank up the temperature as she builds towards next month's showpiece by working out in tropical conditions in Glasgow's West End.

She will spend gruelling hour-long sessions in 38-degree heat in a special chamber at Strathclyde University's Jordanhill campus.

The heat chamber replicates the scorching temperatures Marshall and fellow 400m runner Lee McConnell will experience in Athens.

It's hard, hot work but Marshall hopes it will prepare her for next month.

She said: 'Lee and I take turns doing 10 minutes on the treadmill, 10 minutes off. When not on the treadmill we go through our warm-up and do sit-ups.

'The heat chamber is about five metres by five and we set it to 38 degrees and 50 per cent humidity which replicates the conditions in Greece.

'We can go in and test various electrolyte and isotonic drinks and also our personal warm-up to see how we will cope over there.'

Marshall and McConnell are one half of a four-strong Scots contingent in Britain's female track and field team for the Games.

While only injury was likely to deny European medallist McConnell a place, Marshall's inclusion was always going to depend on her performance at the recent trials in Manchester.

The Hamilton-based athlete rose to the occasion, knocking almost half a second off her personal best over the weekend and finishing fourth in the final behind shock winner Christine Ohuruogu, McConnell and former world junior champion Helen Karagounis.

She said: 'I was surprised at my placing because the 400m is such a high quality event in Britain just now.

'The people I finished behind are all top athletes and I beat a couple of experienced girls as well.'

Marshall and the women who finished above her in Manchester will form Britain's strongest women's 4x400m team for years with a top-three finish well within reach.

An Athens medal would cap an incredible year for the Edinburgh Southern Harrier who has struggled to support herself on a part-time teacher's salary.

She admits only the generous backing of the National Lottery and Scottish Institute of Sport has allowed her to fulfil her Olympic dream.

Marshall's contract teaching special needs kids at Motherwell's Clydeview school has now expired and she has had to put her other career on hold to focus on the Games.

She said: 'I've being trying to get a job during the past week for when get home but because the Olympics don't start until the schools are already back it is proving difficult.'

Any school prepared to wait could well have an Olympic medal winning PE teacher on it's hands in September.