Hannah England will treat today’s European Championships 1500m qualifying heat like the final, knowing she has three days to recover before Friday’s decider in Zurich, writes STUART WEIR.

The Oxford City star, who finished seventh in the Commonwealth Games at Glasgow, goes in the second heat at 9.45am.

And the 27-year-old said: “Championship running is always unpredictable. I want to repeat what I did well in Glasgow. “Obviously the first step is to make the final. It is unusual that the races are so spread out.

“That could mean that (today’s heat) is very fast. It is nice to have the big gap and be able to treat today like the final, knowing I have enough time to recover for the final – assuming I get another chance.

“And after being away from home for six weeks at Font Romeu, Commonwealth Games and back to Font Romeu, sitting around seems very attractive.

“I am very good at sitting around doing nothing at the moment.”

Reflecting on her recent outing at Glasgow, she said: “I really enjoyed the whole atmosphere of the Commonwealth Games.

“I thought Glasgow did really well. I loved every second of it – except the last 60 metres of my race, which wasn’t quite what I wanted.

“I was pleased with how I executed the race and the position I put myself in.

“It seemed natural to put myself in a position to be high up.

“Remembering that I haven’t run a fast time yet this year, I finished higher in the Commonwealths than my ranking. And, of course, you have to learn from every experience.”

With Laura Muir and Commonwealth silver medallist Laura Weightman also in the 1500m, Great Britain are stronger than for some time in the event.

England, who was tenth in the 1500m at the 2010 European Championships, added: “I think it helps. It spurs me on throughout the year – like on a dark rainy morning it helps get me out of the door and makes me train hard.”