Sound Mind, Sound Body: How movement can help bring positivity to your life

The benefits of moving have been long talked about along with the benefits of it on your physical and mental health. Here's my story of how movement helped to bring positivity to my life.

Para OCR Races - An Exciting Update

If you have been following my journey for a little while, you may have noticed that I have been campaigning for more inclusion within competitive Obstacle Course Races (OCRs). This blog aims to give you an update of what’s happening in the world of para/adaptive inclusion within obstacle racing.

Recovering from Surgery - Tips & Tricks

As someone who has now undergone over 50 operations, I am accustomed to bouncing back after both minor and major surgical procedures. As i’ve just recently had a larger operation, here are my hints and tips for how to recover or keep yourself occupied during your recovery.

Spartan Para Championship - Post-Race Blog

Spartan Para Championships in Zandvoort - the first opportunity for adaptive athletes to compete as individuals. This blog explores the incredible events of the weekend and thoughts about Spartan Para moving forward.

Peloton Bike - My First Week

Working out at home has always filled me with dread - the ability to have the space to train, as well as the equipment required has always put me off…..now comes the idea of a Peloton bike.

Achieving the Tough Mudder Unholy Grail

While most people were sleeping in their beds, I was running around in a field on my quest for the ‘Unholy Grail’ - a 12-hour, overnight obstacle challenge with three other obstacle races over two days.

My First Experiences of Wheelchair Racing

For anyone who has watched Wheelchair Racing, you’ll probably remember a flurry of speedy wheelchairs, racing around a track. You’ll probably think that they’re quite comfortable and super speedy from the get-go - this couldn’t be further from the truth. This blog looks to explore my first experiences of wheelchair racing, as races look to open up again.

Equinox Ultra - 41 Miles and My Longest Run Ever!

A 12-hour event, with 5 mile loops, challenges set between each loop - as close as you can get to a virtual obstacle race. Here's my blog about how the event went, with some learning points.

'I don't have time to train' - Finding Productivity in Running

In the past, I have frequently said ‘I don’t think i’m going to have time to train today,’ or ‘I wish I had more hours in the day to train.’ While this blog certainly won’t extend your day by a couple of hours, it might just change your mindset, to find productivity in running.

Running Blades - The Facts

Since the 2012 Paralympics, running blades have been put into the spotlight, with people now able to recognise what they are used for. With more and more people being offered or exploring the opportunity to run with a running blade, I thought I would explore the facts. Are there different types? When would you use one? What’s the grip like?…all will be answered!

Creating Accessible Racing Events

With races and events cancelled across the globe, there are plenty of new opportunities for event organisers to reach out to a new community of disabled athletes. When the word ‘accessible’ is mentioned for events and races, it often sets out panic to organisers, who picture wheelchair ramps, toilets and lifts. In reality, creating accessible events can be relatively simple and just making an effort to include disabled athletes can have huge benefits for everyone involved.

Why Everyone is a Runner

In the world of the media portraying the perfect body, 6-minute miles and chiselled, mid-20s torsos, what does it really mean to be a runner? The label ‘runner’ really is real-identifying so how do you get feel like a runner when in your head, you may be thinking that you’re too slow, too big or too old?

Appreciating Your Own Company

As humans, we tend to be social creatures and for those who especially enjoy the company of others, the current climate is particularly challenging. Whether you’re isolating on your own or with family, for some, this period is maybe the most time you have spent with yourself in a while. It’s evident that spending time with yourself allows for a really great opportunity to learn to love your own company but this blog will help you to understand how to to start appreciating this time.

Staying Focused on Your Goals

As we come into March, those January goals are either completely on track on just on the cusp of abandonment (if they haven’t already been scrapped and if you can even remember what they are). So, with this in mind, how do you keep your motivation and maintain your healthy habits while enjoying the process?

Why My Races Have Two Results

Official results and personal bests, often the only records we count when looking at achievement. Always taking into account two separate times, why are my official times and adjusted times different?. This blog looks my progression away from official results and looking at what it takes to count a personal best.

Adaptive Athlete OCR Eligibility Reform

For many able-bodied athletes, qualification to the European and World Obstacle Course Racing Championships can be extremely difficult. In some races, an individual needs to be placed in the top 5 within their age group to qualify and this can take an athlete several attempts to achieve. Now imagine being an amputee, a visually impaired runner or a wheelchair athlete and having to still achieve a top-5 result against able-bodied individuals.

LGBT Sport Participation

In the UK, the number of people who regularly take part in sport is increasing however, the all the numbers point towards an underrepresentation of LGBT participants. In a world heading towards equality and acceptance, why don’t the numbers add up? What are the options for LGBT participants?

Body Positivity as an Amputee

Body Image - how we think and feel about our bodies. Ever-evolving and heavily influenced by others and the media. Rewind back to the 19th century where amputees were being marketed as freaks within the circus, we as a society have certainly come a long way. It wasn’t until the promotion of the London 2012 Paralympic games where we saw those with limb differences were actively being promoted with their positives.

My Battle into Running

Feeling the breeze in my hair, seeing the world from a foot taller and the ability to conquer the previously unconquerable – all experiences I felt when I started running after 14 years in a wheelchair. Get your reading glasses on as I tell you the story of how I lost my leg and started the battle to begin to win the long run.

What Does it Take to Finance Sport?

What does it take to finance a career in sport? It's certainly a juggle for me to balance finances and training but my juggle of jobs keeps me motivated, flexible for training and most importantly, happy. In order for me to fund my sports, I have 8 different jobs, with multiple organisations and with a wide range of roles.

The Nuts Challenge OCR Review

Last year, I was looking through the Obstacle Course Race World Championships (OCRWC) qualification criteria and came across The Nuts Challenge. I remember the title of the run catching my attention but wondering really how nuts it would be…..I guess that I was soon to find out..

Preparing for Your First OCR

Congratulation! You’ve signed up for your first OCR (Obstacle Course Race) or at the very least, you’re thinking about signing up. You’ve taken your first step to entering a community and starting a race like no other. Obstacle Racing is pretty challenging with lots of crawling, climbing, jumping and sliding but check out these tips on how to prepare for your first OCR.

Rest Days are Your Best Days

​When you’re in a routine and on a roll with your training, you don’t want to think about rest days. The thought of stopping for the day seems pretty daunting, let alone stopping for a week! Despite the daunting nature of rest days, they really can be your best days of training, allowing you to recover, re-group and re-align your goals.

January Goals for Fitness & Training

January - the month of person plans, annual target setting and ultimate reflection. So with that in mind, what have I been doing with my January so far?

A Different View on Disability

​The Winter Wonderwheels event, as part of the Superhero Series, is the UK’s only disability sports event for everyday Superheroes! They create a really fun, personally challenging environment for those with disabilities without the worry of time or equipment restrictions. Whether you have none, one or two feet, travelling in a wheelchair or flying in a rocket, nothing is impossible - I’m yet to see a rocket though!

Exploring New Sports as an Amputee

Finding and discovering a new sport as an amputee can be very daunting but also extremely rewarding. It's difficult to find clubs that are able to cater for your adaptations and confidence is needed to join an able-bodied club but it does host a whole load of benefits.

There's No 'I' in Frontrunner

​ The ASICS frontrunners are a team - a team of like-minded and talented individuals in the pursuit of movement. Whether that’s running, cycling, walking, swimming or judo, the team pulls together the experiences and talents of others to share within the group and to inspire others into movement. Until this weekend, I thought I knew what it was to be an ASICS Frontrunner but the past few days in Dublin have really opened my eyes.

Tips on Running at Night

As we now start to venture into darkened nights, we now find that our runs start to get darker and darker. Not only are we having to think about how to be seen but also how to see as well as all of the other challenges that running at night has. Whether you are going for a jog in low light or running throughout the night, this blog will give you some tips and hints as to how to manage it.

1 Weekend, 1 Leg, 50 Miles of Running

In Berlin's version of Europe's Toughest Mudder, I managed to break the amputee record by 5 miles and 25 minutes. I didn't feel prepared or ready for the race and had no intention of breaking a record but here's my breakdown of the weekend!

Why Do Judo When You're an Amputee?

People often ask me - 'Why do Judo when you're the only amputee?' or 'Surely it's really unfair that you fight against two-legged people......why do you even bother?' Here's are some of the reasons for me to just be part of an amazing sport, despite a huge disadvantage:

Runner's Anxiety is Real but Manageable

​ Your heart is pounding, you're sweating and you haven't even started running yet. You feel a pit in your stomach while butterflies work their magic inside of you, eating away at any confidence left - these are all very common feelings for an individual with runners anxiety. So what is runners anxiety and what can you do to help manage it?

From Obstacles to Obstacle Racing

Obstacle course racing epitomises everything that running is about for me. Here's my story of how I overcame obstacles to conquer physical obstacles:

Discovering my Life Values

Values help us decide what is important in life and where our priorities lie. They help us to differentiate between two alternate options but with so many to choose from, which ones fall into my top 5? I met yesterday with one of my mentors from the True Athlete Programme, where we worked together to find values, and the meaning of those values. We discussed how values naturally change over time and they can be used as a tool to measure how well you're sticking to your life plan. Fortunately, the values I discovered can form the acronym B-HELD, with an aim for me to be held up through these values. Here's what they stand for:

Wheelchair User to Marathon Runner

​If you would have told me in April 2017 that I would be running the 2018 London Marathon, I would have never believed you. This time last year (mid-May 2017), I had just received my first walkable prosthetic leg, following my amputation in late 2016 and started to walk with two crutches. It is with great pride that I am able to say that I have completed a marathon: and here's how I did it:

Running with a Running Blade

I'm standing in a queue at an event, while waiting to collect my race number, when I notice someone suddenly look down and notice my Blade XT - a very common situation for me. Whereas most British people would talk about the weather or politics, I am asked what it is like to run on a blade. My honest answer to them is generally that I don't know any different as, despite being a new amputee and only being able to run for less than a year, I have never been able to run with two feet.