KEELY HODGKINSON claims it takes her TWO HOURS to get glammed up and ready for two minutes of running at big races.

And she admits she even hired a make-up artist so she could look the part during the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham.

Hodgkinson is one of the greats of British athletics, having stormed to victory at the Paris Olympics two years ago over 800 metres.

The 24-year-old feels just at home in a pair of stilettos as she does in running spikes.

Fashion is an important part of her life, as typified by her decision to wear an all-in-one speed ‘catsuit’ at last month’s Athlos meet in London.

In a chat with Manchester United footballer Ella Toone – a school pal – the Leigh runner talked about her preparation routines before going out on the track.

And during a home Euros this summer, she even brought in someone to do her hair and make-up before going out in front of the TV cameras.

Speaking on the Sky Sports’ Minus 1 series on social media, Hodgkinson – who won Euros silver behind Swiss rival Audrey Werro – said: “It takes me like two hours to get ready.

“I have a shower. I got a makeup artist for the Europeans.

“I wanted to go a bit wild. So I got blue eyeliner. It was sick. But I can’t do that myself.

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“So, I got a makeup artist to do it. The pictures looked sick.”

Hodgkinson – who is off-season at present before returning to blocks of intensive winter’s training – has won medals at World, European and Commonwealth level.

And next year she plans to target the 1983 women’s record for the 800 metres – a time of 1:53.28 that was set by Czech Jarmila Kratochvilova in Munich.

In the social media chats with Toone, Hodgkinson claims that one of the hardest parts of a race are the moments beforehand when you have to wait with rivals in a holding pen called a ‘call room’.

Nobody talks and everyone is alone with their thoughts about the race ahead.

Hodgkinson, whose PB is 1:54.33, said: “So I’ll warm up around the track and then there will be like a call room, half an hour before the race.

“Where you go in, you change into your spikes, put your number on, put the (race) chip in, all of that.

“It’s just complete and utter silence with everybody else that you’re racing. No headphones allowed.

“I feel like that’s when the moments of doubt creep in the most. The half an hour or 20 minutes before when you’re just sat there.”