I’m a runner through and through – these days you’ll mostly find me on the fells, whether that’s training, racing or just enjoying time in the hills. I also love yoga and can’t speak highly enough of the benefits it’s brought to my running and overall well-being.

I started running in 1989, aged 7. As a kid I did XC, track & field and road running. I was super sporty from that point onwards – doing everything from running and team sports to gymnastics and trampolining. The variety of sports I did gave me a great basis of fundamental movement skills that have enabled me to sustain a long running career.

My first taste of yoga was in my late-teens. I used to meet with friends at uni and we would regularly book out a space and do a yoga video together. What started as a hobby with friends, has become an essential part of my running toolkit.

I have often said that yoga has kept me relatively injury-free. This is true in some ways, but maybe not in others. It has definitely been really beneficial as a type of prehab – offering conditioning and maintenance that has prevented injuries. In truth I have also suffered a few catastrophic injuries, but have for the most part been able to continue running or only take a small amount of time off because of the extent that yoga has helped me understand my body and how to look after it. I’d also say I get niggles and issues just like every runner does, but doing yoga is like an early warning system that means I notice and can address problems quickly.

Back to running – I discovered the joy of fell running in 2012 when I joined Pudsey and Bramley AC. I love running in the hills and wild places and being battered by the weather. It turned out that this type of running really suited me and played to my strengths. I got into training harder and got a bit more serious – for want of a better word. I have achieved things that I never expected and am very proud of, including becoming the BOFRA Champion in 2019 and taking Bronze in the British Fell Running Championships in 2022 and Gold in the female over 40 category in the English Fell Championships in 2024.

As things ramped up with my running, I became more interested in learning how to look after and manage my body. I wanted to have the skills and understanding to maintain and fix it myself rather than having to rely on others to do that for me. What started as a way to look after myself, evolved into wanting to support others to do this.

A few years ago, I decided I wanted to offer yoga for runners. I qualified as a yoga teacher in 2017 and went on do further training to specialise in yoga for runners and athletes. Since then I have taught regular classes to runners, cyclists, climbers, hikers, to running clubs and groups in West Yorkshire and online. My focus on runner/athlete specific yoga has developed into an interest in providing dogma-free, functional yoga that is accessible to people who don’t consider themselves yogis, but also enjoyable and not excluding those who practice yoga regularly.  Teaching yoga is something I absolutely love — it’s incredibly rewarding to help other runners build strength, resilience, and longevity in their sport.

Never satisfied and always wanting to learn more, I have continued to train, becoming qualified in teaching yin yoga, Level 4 sports massage and am a licenced CiRF (Coach in Running Fitness). This toolkit allows me to support athletes from all backgrounds in moving well, supporting their training , recovering better and enjoying what they do for longer.

You can check out my qualifications and training here

-Rachel