It’s not every day you get to see a track designed, developed and built from the very beginning until completion.

Over the last 12 months I’ve been lucky to chart the spectacular progress of the Alexander Stadium as Birmingham City Council’s official Alexander Stadium Redevelopment Correspondent.

During my 22-year career, I spent 20 years training and competing at the Alexander Stadium as a professional track and field athlete, so I’ve seen and experienced first-hand what this venue used to be like.

Athletic fans will recall the toilets at the old stadium – well I am delighted to inform readers of this blog the new toilets are much improved and that’s an understatement!

I began filming my vlog series in May 2021 and it’s been such an incredible journey from the first to the last video.

I’ve met people who have been building the stadium, tested out the new track with over 100 local school children and had the pleasure of making athletics legend Katharine Merry cry happy tears when she visited the new stadium for the first time.

From the big grass mound in the 90s to the new West Stand in 2022, the transformation of this £72 million redevelopment is hard to put into words. It’s an incredible facility for both world-class athletes and the community in north west Birmingham and beyond.

Despite hanging up my spikes in June, I’m unbelievably excited to watch all of the events that are going to be held at the Alexander Stadium – starting with the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games!

Watch Nathan’s vlog series on the Birmingham City Council YouTube channel here.

Follow Nathan on Instagram @nathanjdouglas