I applied for the John Taylor Foundation Grant to help towards the cost of racing in the European AG Championships in Geneva in July 2015. It was my debut international race for GBR and I didn’t want to miss out on racing due to financial reasons, which is why I was so grateful for the grant I received from John Taylor Foundation.

I was really happy with my performance, I finished 11th female in 20-24years and third GBR athlete to finish. The race itself was very challenging – there was a strong current so it suited the stronger swimmers, but I managed to come out 6th in my wave. Then I had a pretty good bike split, managing the 40km in 1hour 10mins, although a few girls who were stronger on the bike passed me. Then it was time for the run! The run was one of the hardest runs I have done in a triathlon, a 3 lapped hilly course in scorching heat, but I managed to overtake two girls in my age group which I was pleased with, and meant I finished 11th female.

More recently I raced in the World AG Championships in Chicago which I fundraised for, and this was an incredible experience, and I managed to finish 15th and 2nd GBR athlete in my age group! I also competed in my first elite race at AJ Bell London Triathlon in August which was another highlight to my racing season this year.

Thanks again for John Taylor Foundation for enabling me to progress in the sport I love.

Lauren Munro-Bennett