I was never particularly sporty at school. I wasn't one of the 'popular girls' and I always found PE really daunting. I was quite shy as a child so group activity with confident girls was not my idea of fun! I sometimes wish that had been different as I feel like I missed out. Who knows, I could have been lining up alongside Jess Ennis at the Olympics!

My fitness journey started on Boxing Day 2011. I was at my auntie's house with a glass of wine in my hand. She is a runner and I happened to have seen the Chester Marathon taking place a few months earlier. I casually asked her if 10 months was long enough to train for a marathon (I could just about run for 5k at the time). Her answer must have been yes because I entered the half marathon in May and the full marathon in October.

At the time I was working in admin for a payroll company as I didn't know what I wanted to do for a career. I started training for the races and sharing my story with friends and family. I began getting messages telling me I had inspired them to get exercising. It was a lightbulb moment for me. I started my level 2 exercise to music and level 2 gym qualifications that year and later went on to do my personal training qualification.

The races went well (the image above is me finishing the marathon) and I was bitten by the running bug. I have since done 2 more marathons (Chester again in 2014 and London in 2017), more half marathons than I can count, 10ks, 5ks and lots of Parkruns too. I am also a pacer for Chester Half Marathon which is one of the highlights of my year.

Since 2012 I have worked as a receptionist at Northgate Arena (which allowed me to start teaching classes there too), I worked with Claire Darlington at Delamere Outdoor Fitness for many years, Elysium gym for a few months, and Black Box before lockdown caused it to close. I now have my own gym (previously Dad's garage) for personal training and for teaching my online classes. Whilst lockdown was hard, thankfully it has been quite positive for my business. I am thankful to all of my clients, friends and family who have helped me keep my business going and thriving.