Author: Nicola Fowler, 25th November 2022

I'm 38 from Bridlington, Yorkshire. I have mild Cerebral Palsy but have been sports-mad since I can remember. I started gymnastics aged 3 for ten years, then rugby and after finishing that I coached youngsters at tag rugby. I used to attend a local disabled swimming club for a few years but the club was mainly for those with learning difficulties. That was the opportunity for me to do a disability sport and the only people I saw doing sport on TV was Tanni Grey-Thompson (a wheelchair user) which I am not.

Fast forward to 2012, I applied to be a Gamesmaker, I got a role at the NGA (the O2) in the Paralympics supporting wheelchair basketball. I was nervous about leaving home (and my parents) for 10 days but it was amazing! I met some good friends (one I still email every week and we meet in London annually). There were a few minor hiccups but I did it!  I stayed the full duration and just loved being involved in a game-changer for disability sport. From this, I volunteered at other sporting events.

 

In 2018, in a lull, I was looking for my next sporting adventure, when I saw the Discover my Gold campaign looking for potential Paralympians. To get fit I went jogging, something I had tried before but I kept falling. Unsuccessful, I decided to try a local Parkrun with my sister, who's also a runner. From there I joined the local road runners and it has just gone from there.

To start with falling was just a norm, I even dressed as Mrs Bump for the Club's Christmas handicap race but now I rarely fall.