Support from the John Taylor Foundation has been hugely helpful in contributing towards the cost of travel to and from races and training sessions. This has been of massive benefit towards my preparation for the GB trials in early May in my effort to make the team for the world mountain and trail running championships in Innsbruck in early June.

During this training build up I’ve tested my fitness in two events; the Chapelgill Hill Race near Broughton in the Scottish Borders which claims to be the steepest hill race in the UK with gradients reaching a steepness of around 45%, and also the Northern 12 stage road relays which took place in Redcar which was a pan flat road race. Both exceeded expectations and I won at Chapelgill and was only 19 seconds off of the record, and at Redcar I clocked the second fastest time on my leg running at 3:05 min/km pace for 9.5km in blustery conditions despite doing only hill and mountain work in the fells which I took to be a very positive sign.

The support from the John Taylor Foundation has helped ease some of the financial pressures of travel to and from races and I’ve been especially grateful for it as this year as athletes who qualify for the GB team for the world champs will have to contribute towards the cost of travel due to budget restrictions. The mountain and fell running season is almost all year long and so the support from the John Taylor Foundation has played a crucial role in helping to funding this year’s season.