The team behind Hodgkinson's golden rise and the hunt for a world record

The Olympic champion and the world silver medallist over 800m embrace by the side of the track after surviving their latest brutal training session together during an east Manchester downpour.

A short while ago, Keely Hodgkinson lay flat out on the track.

Coach Trevor Painter, aware it may be some time before Hodgkinson can move again, places an opened umbrella beside his star athlete to shield her from the incessant rain, before running for cover.

It requires the assistance of two team-mates to eventually peel her off the ground.

Georgia Hunter Bell, meanwhile, uses the little energy she has left to take herself away to be sick.

Observing it all, Painter jokes he is mostly disappointed that relatively few of their team-mates have suffered the same fate on this occasion, when the cameras are rolling.

This is, after all, what it takes to be part of M11 Track Club, where the emphasis is on fun until the stopwatch starts.

Named after the postcode in which it is based, the near-30 strong international training group continue to create history under the guidance of the meticulous Painter and partner Jenny Meadows, a world medallist who has put herself through all the anguish she now oversees.

There is no doubt in the mind of Hodgkinson, winner of six global medals in as many years as a professional athlete, about the important role of this support system in her monumental achievements.

"I think it's everything," the 24-year-old Hodgkinson tells BBC Sport.

"I probably wouldn't be the person I am without it. We have a very fun approach to training, I love everybody in this group.

"Environment is everything. We have people from all around the world training here. We all get along really well, we're all respective of each other's journey, and we all know that if we want to continue being the best, we've got to train with the best.

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The sense of community and camaraderie among individuals from around the globe is instantly evident as the team arrive and gather in a small room to begin their activation work and receive light physiotherapy.

Newest recruit Gaia Sabbatini, who has traded training in Rome to be here, is welcomed with happy birthday wishes and balloons - but there is a prevailing sense of apprehension among the athletes about what lies in store.

The miserable weather is the least of their worries, and it will not be long before the Italian is telling us all that she feels like she is "dying".

Painter might be the only one laughing and joking at that stage, but that is mostly founded in the knowledge that, by the time they are done here, they will each be sufficiently exhausted to know they are another step closer to realising their goals.

This is, after all, part of the deal.

"I'm really passionate about the environment we've created," Painter says.

"There are a lot of friendships, it is like a family. But, when the time comes, you roll your sleeves up.

"There will be people bent over being sick and going to a very dark place during training, but the friendships and the fun that we have make it that little bit easier."

A lactic acid-inducing session comprising 400m intervals in early June signals the start of a specific 800m training block to prepare for the summer's major targets.

That Hodgkinson was able to run a British 800m record in Stockholm just a few days before, having not begun her event-specific work, was cause for significant optimism, albeit she was outshone by Swiss athlete Audrey Werro clocking the fastest time since the world record was set 43 years ago.

Despite the conditions, Painter informs us that Hodgkinson, perhaps motivated by that unexpected defeat, has outperformed all expectations. She has beaten her personal best splits for this session, going faster than times posted in the lead-up to an outstanding indoor season in which she captured world gold and the indoor 800m world record.

The M11 foundations were in place long before Hodgkinson's father suggested the group's now globally recognised title.

Painter, who boasts a background in rugby league and an impressive 47-second 400m time, has overseen Hodgkinson's development since she was 17. Before then, he coached Meadows to international success.

It has taken just two years for Meadows' vision of an official Manchester-based training group to become reality and earn a global reputation.

"I think everyone thought I was quite deluded. I had a vision of this happening, but I didn't quite know how we were going to achieve it," says Meadows.