Local sportswoman hits the ground running and secures podium finish thanks to UON support

A local running enthusiast had a podium finish in an ultra-marathon thanks to University academics and students.

Running enthusiast, Lynne Nicholls turned to training offered by the University of Northampton’s Sports Injury and Rehabilitation Clinic after suffering a debilitating foot injury which knocked her off track and put her running on hold.

After taking full advantage of the suite of support offered by the University’s Sports Injury and Rehabilitation Clinic and weekly training sessions, Lynne felt confident enough to sign-up to The Lap – a 47-mile ultra-marathon held annually in the Lake District – to challenge her fitness and push her to the max.

After taking on the challenge last month, Lynne exceeded her abilities and crossed the line in third place for the women’s division – cheered on at home by her support team at the University of Northampton.

On her relationship with the sport, Lynne explains: “I’ve always been drawn to running and, after drumming up some courage, I applied for the Manchester Marathon and joined a local running club – Northampton Road Runners – to encourage me across the finish line.

“Looking back, it was the best decision I ever made. From there, the love of running really took hold. I thought if I just kept running as far and fast as I could, this would make me a more successful runner – until six months in, I suffered a stress fracture and broken bone, which crushed my strength and put my running journey to an end.”

“My injury recovery made me very nervous of lacing up my running shoes again, until a fellow Road Runner recommended the weekly gym sessions and rehab clinic run by Luke Callis at UON. Even after only my first session, I had learnt so much about improving my practical approach to running and strengthening targeted muscles – and I didn’t look back.”

Lynne took full advantage of The Sports Injury and Rehabilitation Clinic (SIRC) – hosted at the University’s Waterside Campus – which provides effective and affordable healthcare to staff, students and the Northamptonshire community via servicing by the University’s BASRaT-accredited Sport Rehabilitation and Conditioning degree students with practice overseen by our fully-qualified clinic supervisor.

“Luke and his team of students have been so supportive and so encouraging,” Lynne said. “My strength has improved and improved after every week because of the personalised warmups and training sessions built for me. The additional regular testing has shown me how much I’ve improved, and makes me even more motivated to continue working with Luke and the team to build up my medal collection!”

Northampton Road Runners – a local running club for all abilities on all track surfaces – has been partnered with the University of Northampton for three years, running their weekly training sessions based out of the University’s Waterside Campus.

The University of Northampton’s Applied Sports Scientist Luke Callis said: “We’re incredibly proud of the close relationship we have with local sport community group, Northampton Road Runners. The University of Northampton offers an enriching and supportive environment for sporting members of our local community.

“As well as getting involved with our newly launched VO2 commercial max testing and attending our weekly on-site gym sessions, it’s rare for a week to pass without us all training together!

“Lynne is one fantastic example of the success which can be achieved by the winning combination of training, physical assessments – and hard work. It has been a real pleasure for me and our students to work with Lynne in rebuilding her strength, confidence and fitness to smash that podium finish.”

Members of the public interested in getting involved with weekly gym training sessions or seeking assessments and treatment from the Sports Injury and Rehabilitation Clinic at the University of Northampton’s Waterside Campus are invited to contact Luke.Callis@northampton.ac.uk.

Find out more about studying Sport and Exercise Science or Sport Rehabilitation and Conditioning at the University of Northampton.