How I got into Sport:

My involvements in sport began from a young age when I joined Chorley Marlins Swimming club at the age of 9. I was a breastroker to county level, but gave this up once I reached high school as I found I had a talent for running-in particular running up and down hills!
I was a member of Chorley Harriers and then Horwich Harriers, during which I consecutively won the National fell running title up until I reached a senior and represented Team GB all over the world at various world mountain running championships. My biggest achievement was winning the first ever Commonwealth event in 2009 at the Up and Downhill Mountain Running Championships.

My career within Triathlon and Duathlon began in 2009 when I decided to apply for the ‘Trigold’ programme. This is a fastrack programme aimed at transitioning sub 34 minute 10k runners into elite triathletes. The scheme is entirely funded by Barrie Wells.

Triathlon is something I have always said I would love to have a go at, but having given up swimming at 14 and never ridden a road bike I was reluctant to take the plunge. Therefore trigold gave me the perfect opportunity to fast track into elite triathlon, as the programme enabled me to train full time at Loughborough High Performance Centre with all round elite support and to be coached by top British Triathlon coach, Rick Velatti.

It was quite a life changing move as I was leaving my full time job in Bolton as the Head Fitness Coach for Tennis to become a full time triathlete. I soon progressed my 400m swim time from 6 minutes to a 4.56 minutes within 6 months and I picked up cycling very quickly and was able to compete in elite triathlons all over the world within my first year of racing. This was really exciting and made me hungry for more.

But at the backend of 2010 I was knocked off my bike. Following the accident I suffered never-ending niggling injuries for the best part of 18 months. This was a dark and frustrating time to the point where I almost gave up.
However, I took a bit of time out and after getting married in July 2011 and relocating to Surrey with my husband Sam, I made my comeback, winning the World Duathlon Championships in September 2011.

This has restored my faith and confidence and I am now taking a more progressive approach to my training and I can’t wait to start racing again in 2012 both nationally and internationally, including defending my world title.

	Fact File
Nationality	British
Born	Chorley, Lancashire
Lives	Pirbright, Surrey
Height	5' 4" (1.63m)
Weight	51kg
Coach	Mick woods (running)	Adrian Timmis (cycling)
Clubs	Aldershot & Farnham AC.	Horwich RMI
	Guildford City Swim Club
Biggest Inspiration:	Norman Matthews; My coach who sadly passed away in 2010. He gave me self belief and made me the athlete I am today.