2015 in review - part 2

The second instalment in my review of the year that was 2015!

April

So far, 2015 had been great but April saw things start to turn on their head a little. At the beginning of the month, I lost one of my best friends to the horrible disease that is Cystic Fibrosis. At Christmas, Tahlia was finally found a double lung transplant that we all thought would change her life for the better. Unfortunately, after a troubled few months in and out of hospital, Tink’s body rejected the new lungs and she lost her life at the tender age of 20. I think it’s fair to say I was devastated and I felt completely lost with the unexpected news. At 22, I had never had to deal with death and I had no idea how to handle it. Some people that I needed to be supportive weren’t so, but others were fantastic and I felt so lucky to have them with me. So thank you to my family, the team at 17 Management, to Ben and to Darv, whom it probably hit harder than it did me, but whom I never saw cry. Rest in peace Tahlia ‘Tink’ Banks, we miss you so much.

RIP Tahlia "Tink" Banks who we lost in April 2015

So for the rest of April, I just powered through and focused on everything else to ease the pain. I trained hard, did my University work from a distance, and completed the appearances we had booked. Nearer to the end of April, I had a photoshoot with GLAMOUR magazine, my favourite magazine and definitely one that I had on the bucket list. It was so much fun, if not a little scary sitting on a 6ft high podium, on a roof of a London studio, in a wheelchair with no brakes! In case you haven’t quite noticed yet, I am a bit of a girly girl, so once again, I loved having my hair and make up done and I couldn’t wait to see my face and my story in Britain’s number one women’s magazine!

High on a roof top for Glamour magazine

May

Competition season was suddenly upon me and it started with a sudden heap of domestic races at the beginning of May. The weather was horrific and I felt like I was swimming my way through most of them, so I couldn’t be disappointed with the average times or lack of proof of my hard winter training. 

A wet race day at Stoke Mandeville

I find it important in times like these to also try and fit in some nice things, just to keep the mind entertained and to feel like there is some kind of balance between ‘work’ and play. That came this month in the form of releasing ‘those’ photos to the public! We headed down to the home of Bafta in London for the Panache ‘My Rolemodel’ launch and if I’m totally honest, it was a bit scary! All the models sat and did a Q&A session for journalists and retailers, about our experience and the meaning behind the campaign but once we had tested the water and worked out that the photos were in fact a huge success we all relaxed and enjoyed our time. 

The next day, I treated Mum to a trip to the theatre to see Les Miserables. Definitely not because I wanted to see it (cough) but if anyone wants to see a great show, be sure to see that one (and take me with you!).

#2015 #Review #Wheelchair #disability #sport #competition #friends #family

Catching up

In December 2014, I promised to start blogging properly again and a year on, I’m finally doing it! 

We have somehow reached the end of 2015, and although the year has flown by, it has been an incredibly busy one. So I thought I’d take the time to take a quick look back and to reflect on the victories and defeats, on the year that marked three years on from London 2012. However, so much has happened that I think doing it all at once might be a bit too much reading for anyone! So here is the first instalment of my 2015…

January

Putting the miles in on Perth roads

The first month of the year gave my University education a bit of a shake up, as I went part time in my studies to focus a little more on my sport. The need of my being part time was brought about by a six-week warm weather training camp, which began in Perth, Australia. 

I flew out to join my coach in her home city, for a month of intense base training, where we used the smooth, flat Perth roads to push mile upon mile and build strength and endurance. Between the 5am starts to avoid the heat and the 15 mile sessions though, we did get to have a little bit of fun, stroking the Kangaroos and koala bears, going to the outdoor cinema and visiting the Margaret River Chocolate factory. We definitely had to work for it though!

Enjoying some free time in the Australian sunshine

February


Mid February saw us move on from Australia and heavy base training. 

First, we visited Doha, Qatar and had a quick 2 day site visit to the hotels and tracks that were going to host the British Athletics team and the IPC World Championships later in the year. Although at the time, everyone was just about fed up of each other and ready to go home after a month away, it turned out to be an invaluable experience when the World Championships rolled around. It gave us prior knowledge of the culture, the environment, the food and the weather, all things that would give us a huge advantage over our rivals come competition time. 

We then moved from Doha to Dubai, to compete in the first IPC Grand Prix and the first race, of the season. I was still in heavy training, only easing off slightly because of access to training facilities, but I thought it would be good to have the experience of racing in a desert environment and to see if my base training was paying off. Of course, it goes without saying that I produced nothing fantastic for me, but some rather fantastic results for my competition, as my heavy arms slowed down my speeds and pulled them to some super PBs! Slightly annoying, but at the same time, a huge motivation to work even harder, as a brain in race mode never thinks logically, and didn’t really notice how far off my best my results were. Again though, an invaluable experience that taught me not to turn up in Doha without sunglasses or a waterbottle, as the sand in the air was incredibly uncomfortable when taking deep breaths!

On the podium at the IPC Grand Prix in Dubai

March

Finally home time but no time to rest. I was straight back into the swing of reality, catching up with 2 months worth of missed sponsor and appearance requests and keeping on top of all the hard work I had just been doing. 

March was a great month for me, as I did my first appearance for my new sponsor N+1 Singer and had my first meeting with soon to be but I didn’t know it yet sponsor, Irwin Mitchell. It felt so good to have new support and belief in my journey from these great companies.

It also saw me going way outside my comfort zone and becoming part of the ‘My Role model’ campaign, launched by Panache. Now, don’t misunderstand me, I’m incredibly proud of my body. Although it might not be the most attractive thing to look at with regards to it’s irregularities, it has done things that no one ever expected it to do and it has got me through some amazing times, it also could be a lot worse than it is, but we’ve worked hard together over the last 23 years and I’ve got it looking some what ‘normal’ (if there is such a thing). But to then de-clothe that is a completely different story and one I had to think long and hard about whether I wanted to do. But the thought was more into the impression it would create, than if people would be disgusted with what they saw. With this in mind, I decided to do it as Hannah the 22-year-old (at the time) disabled woman, rather than Hurricane Hannah, the athlete, hence the lack of wheelchair or anything sporty around me in the pictures. It’s hard as a female athlete to be respected for your athletic prowess and be admired for your power, strength and dedication rather than being seen as the blonde with boobs sat on the start line. I really didn’t want this photoshoot to enhance the second image but I did want to help with the message that Panache was trying to put out into the world. It was such a ground-breaking campaign, that I just had to be involved, as I for one had never seen a disabled lingerie model and now I was being offered the chance to be one. And if my image could persuade just one woman that she was beautiful, whatever size or shape she might be, then I did the right thing. Or, at least, I hope I did! It was actually so much fun though, sitting in a house worth millions of pounds, in the centre of London, having my hair and make up done, this was what it was all about! The all female crew made me feel so relaxed and comfortable and the other ladies involved were absolutely incredible. Just hearing their stories and why they had been chosen to be part of the campaign made me wonder how my achievements even stood close! It was a humbling and honourable experience that I was really glad I got the chance to be part of. 

I then went on to move more mountains in new experiences, by taking on the mountains of Geneva and doing my first international speaking engagement. I was lucky to be invited to the International School of Geneva to take part in their inspirational speakers convention. I found it difficult writing a speech, as I wasn’t entirely sure if the children at the school would understand my thick Yorkshire tones, but upon speaking to their wonderful head teacher, John, I decided that if they could understand his Scottish accent, they would be fine with me! It was a long couple of days, speaking in 6 sessions to over 1000 10-18 year olds but I was so well looked after and even taken on a tour of Geneva’s beautiful city centre. Thanks so much for having me! 

#2015Review #Disability #Sport #Athletics #WinterTraining #Competition #Sponsorship #Sponsors #PublicSpeaking