When I Represented Great Britain
From the age of 6 when I begged my local swimming team to let me join them I had one goal: to represent my country. Back then my naïve motivation was simply because Olympic swimmers looked cool on television, but as I grew older I began to realise that I wanted to represent something much greater than myself. I became hugely patriotic and the pride of being an ambassador of my country on an international stage was always in my mind.
So what makes a dream like this a reality? Millions of children dream of becoming professional athletes, but less than 1 in 662,000 ever actually make it. We could go down the genetics debate here but that would take all day. The bottom line is I was dedicated, disciplined and gave up a typical ‘normal’ life growing up, I would do whatever it took to represent my country. I was also fortunate enough to have incredible support from my family. My mum would drive me (for hours and hours) all over the UK almost every weekend so that I had access to the very best coaches and facilities. She paid for my equipment, my coaches, hotels, physiotherapists and anything I needed to be better. Without her support and dedication I would have never had the opportunities that I had or be where I am today.
At 15, after 9 years of training every single day, sometimes twice per day, my dreams first became a reality.
I was coming of the back of a whirlwind 6 months, I had officially transitioned from a competitive swimmer to a Triathlete and everything was still very new, I literally barely knew how to ride a road bike but that didn’t stop me. My first Triathlon race I entered was the British National Championships, held in Eton.
It also doubled up as the selection race for the European Youth Championships to be held in Italy.
As always I gave everything I had. I crossed the line in 4th place and earned the last spot on the team for the European Youth Championships. I had to wait over 2 hours to find out if I had been selected. I remember so clearly feeling relief that all my hard work was worth it, followed by pride and almost disbelief. Had my dream actually just come true?
Jessica Ann Louise Towl: the girl from the small market town in the middle of rural England, the girl that was born extremely sick and dangerously prematurely had become an ambassador for her sport and her country, representing the Queen and every person in the United Kingdom.
My debut race representing GB in Italy I will never forget, it sticks in my mind more than all the other times I proudly raced internationally. The feeling of putting on your National Team Triathlon Suit, your name proudly displayed next to your country and flag for all to see is impossible for me to describe.
Still to this day I get Goosebumps when I think back to the first time I heard someone shout “GO Great Britain” to me on the bike. It really hit me then that I was no longer “Jess” and I was no longer doing this just for me, I was my country, I was Great Britain. I had earned this and needed to do it justice for every British person watching at the race or back home.
Over the years I went on to race around the world in Triathlon, Duathlon and Aquathlon. When you travel with the GB team, with the athletes, coaches and support staff, you are all wearing matching GB tracksuits. People would stare at us walking proudly together as a team, they would ask us what we were competing in, where we were going and always wished us good luck. I felt a HUGE responsibility to my country and wanted to do British people proud!
Not all dreams come true and that’s ok. I never made it to the Olympic Games, I never earned the right to stand on the top of the podium at World or European Championships. I didn’t get to listen to my National Anthem play as I stood on top of the world.
BUT I did get to be on that podium, just slightly lower down, the Union Jack flapping proudly behind me. If less than 1% of athletes get to represent their country, the chances of winning a medal must be insanely low. Things happen in life, we change as we grow older and I have made peace with the fact that I didn’t see my dreams through to the end.
For all those years the competition was about so much more than the opportunity to win a medal. It was about always about the chance to compete for my country. The chance to wear the red, white and blue proudly on a world-class stage, the chance to make 6 year old Jessica’s dreams come true.
What is my next goal? I have represented my country in Triathlon, Duathlon, Aquathlon and CrossFit. I now want to represent my country at a different sport entirely, to compete at the Spartan World Championships. Watch this space!
By Jess Towl, Endurance Coach
ENGINE
Working on holding our MIKKOS score calories for longer blocks of time.
GYMNASTICS
This week, we will focus on rope climbing, doubleunders, and handstand push-ups in gymnastics. We will focus on the skill elements to help you with these movements! Whether you have these movements down or not, this class will help you improve in all these movements so you're ready to attack classes!
HYROX
We start to put together the pieces and do a mini HYROX
MOBILITY
We will go over full-body flow routines focusing on flexibility for full-body alignment.
PURE STRENGTH
In Pure Strength, we start the week with some percentage work on the close grip bench press, followed by heavy rows and a shoulder pump to finish. Wednesday, we worked up to a heavy single on the deadlift, with some tough drop sets followed by some heavy single leg work.
WEIGHTLIFTING
Snatch Focus this week, and we get into over-head squats before working into some Snatch High Pulls and Hang Snatch and then finish with some heavy Snatch singles!
Track Tuesday
Week two of our over/unders block, this week we move to 1km efforts.
Start time: 05:59 am
Session Length: 1 hour
Wednesday Ride
Wednesday ride* 5.59am BOTS. << use links/details from a few months back
4 X 8min at your best effort, what have you got?
Start time: 05:59am
Session Length: 1 hour
Location: BOTS - https://goo.gl/maps/6AwtJXW8nA45Cy9H8
The Coffee Run
Our classic builders set this week, 5min builds based on effort! A great tempo run.
Start time: 05:59 am
Session length: 1 hour
Location: Common Grounds, Jumeirah Beach Track
Saturday Ride
Back to a long ride today, 105km in the group with some structured intervals to follow.
Start time: 05:59am
Session Length: 1 hour
Location: BOTS - https://goo.gl/maps/6AwtJXW8nA45Cy9H8
Sunday long run
Team IFE on Tour are 3 weeks out from the marathon in Munich, so they need to run long. Why not come along and support with some miles to? Message sh@innerfight.com to find out more.
Start time: 05:29am
Session Length: 1 hour
Location: From InnerFight
Monday
Time: 5:59am & 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: Ladies Only Tempo
Today we will hold tempo for 2 long blocks and one shorter block. Keep asking yourself if you are running a 7/10 effort during this session.
Tuesday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Sports City
Session: Track Tuesday
This week our over/unders have increased from 800m to 1000m. Paces are the same as last week. This is your chance to run fast with the wider InnerFight Endurance Community and Coaches.
Wednesday
Time: 5:59am & 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: Ladies Only Intervals
We will be running our intervals around the Olivia apartments this week for 1 loop and then in the park for a shorter loop. Try and pick up the pace on the shorter park loops.
Friday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Kite Beach
Session: The Coffee Run
This week our efforts will build from 4/10 to 7/10 over 3 blocks of builders. You therefore have 3 attempts to hit that 7/10 feeling. We recommend that you do not start off too fast on this one.
Sunday
Time: 5:29am
Location: InnerFight
Session: Long Run
We will be running from InnerFight this Sunday. There are various options from 15km to 35km depending on which races you have coming up. If you would rather run for time, that is also fine! Routes will be shared in WhatsApp and on TrainingPeaks.
We will kick the week off on Monday with heavy single-leg work and move on to a fast interval workout. Tuesday is about the sandbags with a tough set of EMOMs followed by a partner workout. Wednesday, we have more focus on our strict pull-ups and then a gymnastics and running-based workout. Thursday, we will hit some technical work on a clean complex and follow it up with some heavy clean singles, followed by a tough and fast-paced workout with rowing cleans and wall balls. Friday, we finish the week with some heavy Jerks in the skill and then a gruelling chipper.
Monday:
Strength:
Walking Dumbell Lunges
Conditioning:
In a 2 min window
25 KB Sumo deadlift (2x24/16)
Amrap DU
rest 2 mins
In a 2 min window
16 Weighted Box Step Ups 1 x KB 24/16
AMRAP Cals Bike
rest 2 mins
x3
Tuesday:
Strength:
Building Weight Sandbag To Shoulder
Conditioning:
In Pairs
100 sandbags to shoulder (80/50)
Every 4 mins
1 car park lap farmers carry 2 x 32/24
Wednesday:
Strength:
A) Strict Pull Ups
B) KB Push Press + Pull Ups + Side Plank
Conditioning:
16 min amrap
Pool Run
10 burpee pull-ups
3 wall walks
Thursday:
Strength:
A) Clean Pull + Hang Squat Clean + Front Squat
B) Squat Clean
Conditioning:
For time:
500/400m row
30 squat clean (60/40)
50 WallBalls
Friday:
Strength:
A) Push Jerk
Conditioning:
It's an awesome triplet to end the week! Therapyyyyy!
From the age of 6 when I begged my local swimming team to let me join them I had one goal: to represent my country. Back then my naïve motivation was simply because Olympic swimmers looked cool on television, but as I grew older I began to realise that I wanted to represent something much greater than myself. I became hugely patriotic and the pride of being an ambassador of my country on an international stage was always in my mind.
So what makes a dream like this a reality? Millions of children dream of becoming professional athletes, but less than 1 in 662,000 ever actually make it. We could go down the genetics debate here but that would take all day. The bottom line is I was dedicated, disciplined and gave up a typical ‘normal’ life growing up, I would do whatever it took to represent my country. I was also fortunate enough to have incredible support from my family. My mum would drive me (for hours and hours) all over the UK almost every weekend so that I had access to the very best coaches and facilities. She paid for my equipment, my coaches, hotels, physiotherapists and anything I needed to be better. Without her support and dedication I would have never had the opportunities that I had or be where I am today.
At 15, after 9 years of training every single day, sometimes twice per day, my dreams first became a reality.
I was coming of the back of a whirlwind 6 months, I had officially transitioned from a competitive swimmer to a Triathlete and everything was still very new, I literally barely knew how to ride a road bike but that didn’t stop me. My first Triathlon race I entered was the British National Championships, held in Eton.
It also doubled up as the selection race for the European Youth Championships to be held in Italy.
As always I gave everything I had. I crossed the line in 4th place and earned the last spot on the team for the European Youth Championships. I had to wait over 2 hours to find out if I had been selected. I remember so clearly feeling relief that all my hard work was worth it, followed by pride and almost disbelief. Had my dream actually just come true?
Jessica Ann Louise Towl: the girl from the small market town in the middle of rural England, the girl that was born extremely sick and dangerously prematurely had become an ambassador for her sport and her country, representing the Queen and every person in the United Kingdom.
My debut race representing GB in Italy I will never forget, it sticks in my mind more than all the other times I proudly raced internationally. The feeling of putting on your National Team Triathlon Suit, your name proudly displayed next to your country and flag for all to see is impossible for me to describe.
Still to this day I get Goosebumps when I think back to the first time I heard someone shout “GO Great Britain” to me on the bike. It really hit me then that I was no longer “Jess” and I was no longer doing this just for me, I was my country, I was Great Britain. I had earned this and needed to do it justice for every British person watching at the race or back home.
Over the years I went on to race around the world in Triathlon, Duathlon and Aquathlon. When you travel with the GB team, with the athletes, coaches and support staff, you are all wearing matching GB tracksuits. People would stare at us walking proudly together as a team, they would ask us what we were competing in, where we were going and always wished us good luck. I felt a HUGE responsibility to my country and wanted to do British people proud!
Not all dreams come true and that’s ok. I never made it to the Olympic Games, I never earned the right to stand on the top of the podium at World or European Championships. I didn’t get to listen to my National Anthem play as I stood on top of the world.
BUT I did get to be on that podium, just slightly lower down, the Union Jack flapping proudly behind me. If less than 1% of athletes get to represent their country, the chances of winning a medal must be insanely low. Things happen in life, we change as we grow older and I have made peace with the fact that I didn’t see my dreams through to the end.
For all those years the competition was about so much more than the opportunity to win a medal. It was about always about the chance to compete for my country. The chance to wear the red, white and blue proudly on a world-class stage, the chance to make 6 year old Jessica’s dreams come true.
What is my next goal? I have represented my country in Triathlon, Duathlon, Aquathlon and CrossFit. I now want to represent my country at a different sport entirely, to compete at the Spartan World Championships. Watch this space!
By Jess Towl, Endurance Coach
Track Tuesday
Week two of our over/unders block, this week we move to 1km efforts.
Start time: 05:59 am
Session Length: 1 hour
Wednesday Ride
Wednesday ride* 5.59am BOTS. << use links/details from a few months back
4 X 8min at your best effort, what have you got?
Start time: 05:59am
Session Length: 1 hour
Location: BOTS - https://goo.gl/maps/6AwtJXW8nA45Cy9H8
The Coffee Run
Our classic builders set this week, 5min builds based on effort! A great tempo run.
Start time: 05:59 am
Session length: 1 hour
Location: Common Grounds, Jumeirah Beach Track
Saturday Ride
Back to a long ride today, 105km in the group with some structured intervals to follow.
Start time: 05:59am
Session Length: 1 hour
Location: BOTS - https://goo.gl/maps/6AwtJXW8nA45Cy9H8
Sunday long run
Team IFE on Tour are 3 weeks out from the marathon in Munich, so they need to run long. Why not come along and support with some miles to? Message sh@innerfight.com to find out more.
Start time: 05:29am
Session Length: 1 hour
Location: From InnerFight
Monday
Time: 5:59am & 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: Ladies Only Tempo
Today we will hold tempo for 2 long blocks and one shorter block. Keep asking yourself if you are running a 7/10 effort during this session.
Tuesday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Sports City
Session: Track Tuesday
This week our over/unders have increased from 800m to 1000m. Paces are the same as last week. This is your chance to run fast with the wider InnerFight Endurance Community and Coaches.
Wednesday
Time: 5:59am & 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: Ladies Only Intervals
We will be running our intervals around the Olivia apartments this week for 1 loop and then in the park for a shorter loop. Try and pick up the pace on the shorter park loops.
Friday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Kite Beach
Session: The Coffee Run
This week our efforts will build from 4/10 to 7/10 over 3 blocks of builders. You therefore have 3 attempts to hit that 7/10 feeling. We recommend that you do not start off too fast on this one.
Sunday
Time: 5:29am
Location: InnerFight
Session: Long Run
We will be running from InnerFight this Sunday. There are various options from 15km to 35km depending on which races you have coming up. If you would rather run for time, that is also fine! Routes will be shared in WhatsApp and on TrainingPeaks.
We will kick the week off on Monday with heavy single-leg work and move on to a fast interval workout. Tuesday is about the sandbags with a tough set of EMOMs followed by a partner workout. Wednesday, we have more focus on our strict pull-ups and then a gymnastics and running-based workout. Thursday, we will hit some technical work on a clean complex and follow it up with some heavy clean singles, followed by a tough and fast-paced workout with rowing cleans and wall balls. Friday, we finish the week with some heavy Jerks in the skill and then a gruelling chipper.
Monday:
Strength:
Walking Dumbell Lunges
Conditioning:
In a 2 min window
25 KB Sumo deadlift (2x24/16)
Amrap DU
rest 2 mins
In a 2 min window
16 Weighted Box Step Ups 1 x KB 24/16
AMRAP Cals Bike
rest 2 mins
x3
Tuesday:
Strength:
Building Weight Sandbag To Shoulder
Conditioning:
In Pairs
100 sandbags to shoulder (80/50)
Every 4 mins
1 car park lap farmers carry 2 x 32/24
Wednesday:
Strength:
A) Strict Pull Ups
B) KB Push Press + Pull Ups + Side Plank
Conditioning:
16 min amrap
Pool Run
10 burpee pull-ups
3 wall walks
Thursday:
Strength:
A) Clean Pull + Hang Squat Clean + Front Squat
B) Squat Clean
Conditioning:
For time:
500/400m row
30 squat clean (60/40)
50 WallBalls
Friday:
Strength:
A) Push Jerk
Conditioning:
It's an awesome triplet to end the week! Therapyyyyy!
ENGINE
Working on holding our MIKKOS score calories for longer blocks of time.
GYMNASTICS
This week, we will focus on rope climbing, doubleunders, and handstand push-ups in gymnastics. We will focus on the skill elements to help you with these movements! Whether you have these movements down or not, this class will help you improve in all these movements so you're ready to attack classes!
HYROX
We start to put together the pieces and do a mini HYROX
MOBILITY
We will go over full-body flow routines focusing on flexibility for full-body alignment.
PURE STRENGTH
In Pure Strength, we start the week with some percentage work on the close grip bench press, followed by heavy rows and a shoulder pump to finish. Wednesday, we worked up to a heavy single on the deadlift, with some tough drop sets followed by some heavy single leg work.
WEIGHTLIFTING
Snatch Focus this week, and we get into over-head squats before working into some Snatch High Pulls and Hang Snatch and then finish with some heavy Snatch singles!
From the age of 6 when I begged my local swimming team to let me join them I had one goal: to represent my country. Back then my naïve motivation was simply because Olympic swimmers looked cool on television, but as I grew older I began to realise that I wanted to represent something much greater than myself. I became hugely patriotic and the pride of being an ambassador of my country on an international stage was always in my mind.
So what makes a dream like this a reality? Millions of children dream of becoming professional athletes, but less than 1 in 662,000 ever actually make it. We could go down the genetics debate here but that would take all day. The bottom line is I was dedicated, disciplined and gave up a typical ‘normal’ life growing up, I would do whatever it took to represent my country. I was also fortunate enough to have incredible support from my family. My mum would drive me (for hours and hours) all over the UK almost every weekend so that I had access to the very best coaches and facilities. She paid for my equipment, my coaches, hotels, physiotherapists and anything I needed to be better. Without her support and dedication I would have never had the opportunities that I had or be where I am today.
At 15, after 9 years of training every single day, sometimes twice per day, my dreams first became a reality.
I was coming of the back of a whirlwind 6 months, I had officially transitioned from a competitive swimmer to a Triathlete and everything was still very new, I literally barely knew how to ride a road bike but that didn’t stop me. My first Triathlon race I entered was the British National Championships, held in Eton.
It also doubled up as the selection race for the European Youth Championships to be held in Italy.
As always I gave everything I had. I crossed the line in 4th place and earned the last spot on the team for the European Youth Championships. I had to wait over 2 hours to find out if I had been selected. I remember so clearly feeling relief that all my hard work was worth it, followed by pride and almost disbelief. Had my dream actually just come true?
Jessica Ann Louise Towl: the girl from the small market town in the middle of rural England, the girl that was born extremely sick and dangerously prematurely had become an ambassador for her sport and her country, representing the Queen and every person in the United Kingdom.
My debut race representing GB in Italy I will never forget, it sticks in my mind more than all the other times I proudly raced internationally. The feeling of putting on your National Team Triathlon Suit, your name proudly displayed next to your country and flag for all to see is impossible for me to describe.
Still to this day I get Goosebumps when I think back to the first time I heard someone shout “GO Great Britain” to me on the bike. It really hit me then that I was no longer “Jess” and I was no longer doing this just for me, I was my country, I was Great Britain. I had earned this and needed to do it justice for every British person watching at the race or back home.
Over the years I went on to race around the world in Triathlon, Duathlon and Aquathlon. When you travel with the GB team, with the athletes, coaches and support staff, you are all wearing matching GB tracksuits. People would stare at us walking proudly together as a team, they would ask us what we were competing in, where we were going and always wished us good luck. I felt a HUGE responsibility to my country and wanted to do British people proud!
Not all dreams come true and that’s ok. I never made it to the Olympic Games, I never earned the right to stand on the top of the podium at World or European Championships. I didn’t get to listen to my National Anthem play as I stood on top of the world.
BUT I did get to be on that podium, just slightly lower down, the Union Jack flapping proudly behind me. If less than 1% of athletes get to represent their country, the chances of winning a medal must be insanely low. Things happen in life, we change as we grow older and I have made peace with the fact that I didn’t see my dreams through to the end.
For all those years the competition was about so much more than the opportunity to win a medal. It was about always about the chance to compete for my country. The chance to wear the red, white and blue proudly on a world-class stage, the chance to make 6 year old Jessica’s dreams come true.
What is my next goal? I have represented my country in Triathlon, Duathlon, Aquathlon and CrossFit. I now want to represent my country at a different sport entirely, to compete at the Spartan World Championships. Watch this space!
By Jess Towl, Endurance Coach
Monday
Time: 5:59am & 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: Ladies Only Tempo
Today we will hold tempo for 2 long blocks and one shorter block. Keep asking yourself if you are running a 7/10 effort during this session.
Tuesday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Sports City
Session: Track Tuesday
This week our over/unders have increased from 800m to 1000m. Paces are the same as last week. This is your chance to run fast with the wider InnerFight Endurance Community and Coaches.
Wednesday
Time: 5:59am & 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: Ladies Only Intervals
We will be running our intervals around the Olivia apartments this week for 1 loop and then in the park for a shorter loop. Try and pick up the pace on the shorter park loops.
Friday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Kite Beach
Session: The Coffee Run
This week our efforts will build from 4/10 to 7/10 over 3 blocks of builders. You therefore have 3 attempts to hit that 7/10 feeling. We recommend that you do not start off too fast on this one.
Sunday
Time: 5:29am
Location: InnerFight
Session: Long Run
We will be running from InnerFight this Sunday. There are various options from 15km to 35km depending on which races you have coming up. If you would rather run for time, that is also fine! Routes will be shared in WhatsApp and on TrainingPeaks.
We will kick the week off on Monday with heavy single-leg work and move on to a fast interval workout. Tuesday is about the sandbags with a tough set of EMOMs followed by a partner workout. Wednesday, we have more focus on our strict pull-ups and then a gymnastics and running-based workout. Thursday, we will hit some technical work on a clean complex and follow it up with some heavy clean singles, followed by a tough and fast-paced workout with rowing cleans and wall balls. Friday, we finish the week with some heavy Jerks in the skill and then a gruelling chipper.
Monday:
Strength:
Walking Dumbell Lunges
Conditioning:
In a 2 min window
25 KB Sumo deadlift (2x24/16)
Amrap DU
rest 2 mins
In a 2 min window
16 Weighted Box Step Ups 1 x KB 24/16
AMRAP Cals Bike
rest 2 mins
x3
Tuesday:
Strength:
Building Weight Sandbag To Shoulder
Conditioning:
In Pairs
100 sandbags to shoulder (80/50)
Every 4 mins
1 car park lap farmers carry 2 x 32/24
Wednesday:
Strength:
A) Strict Pull Ups
B) KB Push Press + Pull Ups + Side Plank
Conditioning:
16 min amrap
Pool Run
10 burpee pull-ups
3 wall walks
Thursday:
Strength:
A) Clean Pull + Hang Squat Clean + Front Squat
B) Squat Clean
Conditioning:
For time:
500/400m row
30 squat clean (60/40)
50 WallBalls
Friday:
Strength:
A) Push Jerk
Conditioning:
It's an awesome triplet to end the week! Therapyyyyy!
ENGINE
Working on holding our MIKKOS score calories for longer blocks of time.
GYMNASTICS
This week, we will focus on rope climbing, doubleunders, and handstand push-ups in gymnastics. We will focus on the skill elements to help you with these movements! Whether you have these movements down or not, this class will help you improve in all these movements so you're ready to attack classes!
HYROX
We start to put together the pieces and do a mini HYROX
MOBILITY
We will go over full-body flow routines focusing on flexibility for full-body alignment.
PURE STRENGTH
In Pure Strength, we start the week with some percentage work on the close grip bench press, followed by heavy rows and a shoulder pump to finish. Wednesday, we worked up to a heavy single on the deadlift, with some tough drop sets followed by some heavy single leg work.
WEIGHTLIFTING
Snatch Focus this week, and we get into over-head squats before working into some Snatch High Pulls and Hang Snatch and then finish with some heavy Snatch singles!
Track Tuesday
Week two of our over/unders block, this week we move to 1km efforts.
Start time: 05:59 am
Session Length: 1 hour
Wednesday Ride
Wednesday ride* 5.59am BOTS. << use links/details from a few months back
4 X 8min at your best effort, what have you got?
Start time: 05:59am
Session Length: 1 hour
Location: BOTS - https://goo.gl/maps/6AwtJXW8nA45Cy9H8
The Coffee Run
Our classic builders set this week, 5min builds based on effort! A great tempo run.
Start time: 05:59 am
Session length: 1 hour
Location: Common Grounds, Jumeirah Beach Track
Saturday Ride
Back to a long ride today, 105km in the group with some structured intervals to follow.
Start time: 05:59am
Session Length: 1 hour
Location: BOTS - https://goo.gl/maps/6AwtJXW8nA45Cy9H8
Sunday long run
Team IFE on Tour are 3 weeks out from the marathon in Munich, so they need to run long. Why not come along and support with some miles to? Message sh@innerfight.com to find out more.
Start time: 05:29am
Session Length: 1 hour
Location: From InnerFight
From the age of 6 when I begged my local swimming team to let me join them I had one goal: to represent my country. Back then my naïve motivation was simply because Olympic swimmers looked cool on television, but as I grew older I began to realise that I wanted to represent something much greater than myself. I became hugely patriotic and the pride of being an ambassador of my country on an international stage was always in my mind.
So what makes a dream like this a reality? Millions of children dream of becoming professional athletes, but less than 1 in 662,000 ever actually make it. We could go down the genetics debate here but that would take all day. The bottom line is I was dedicated, disciplined and gave up a typical ‘normal’ life growing up, I would do whatever it took to represent my country. I was also fortunate enough to have incredible support from my family. My mum would drive me (for hours and hours) all over the UK almost every weekend so that I had access to the very best coaches and facilities. She paid for my equipment, my coaches, hotels, physiotherapists and anything I needed to be better. Without her support and dedication I would have never had the opportunities that I had or be where I am today.
At 15, after 9 years of training every single day, sometimes twice per day, my dreams first became a reality.
I was coming of the back of a whirlwind 6 months, I had officially transitioned from a competitive swimmer to a Triathlete and everything was still very new, I literally barely knew how to ride a road bike but that didn’t stop me. My first Triathlon race I entered was the British National Championships, held in Eton.
It also doubled up as the selection race for the European Youth Championships to be held in Italy.
As always I gave everything I had. I crossed the line in 4th place and earned the last spot on the team for the European Youth Championships. I had to wait over 2 hours to find out if I had been selected. I remember so clearly feeling relief that all my hard work was worth it, followed by pride and almost disbelief. Had my dream actually just come true?
Jessica Ann Louise Towl: the girl from the small market town in the middle of rural England, the girl that was born extremely sick and dangerously prematurely had become an ambassador for her sport and her country, representing the Queen and every person in the United Kingdom.
My debut race representing GB in Italy I will never forget, it sticks in my mind more than all the other times I proudly raced internationally. The feeling of putting on your National Team Triathlon Suit, your name proudly displayed next to your country and flag for all to see is impossible for me to describe.
Still to this day I get Goosebumps when I think back to the first time I heard someone shout “GO Great Britain” to me on the bike. It really hit me then that I was no longer “Jess” and I was no longer doing this just for me, I was my country, I was Great Britain. I had earned this and needed to do it justice for every British person watching at the race or back home.
Over the years I went on to race around the world in Triathlon, Duathlon and Aquathlon. When you travel with the GB team, with the athletes, coaches and support staff, you are all wearing matching GB tracksuits. People would stare at us walking proudly together as a team, they would ask us what we were competing in, where we were going and always wished us good luck. I felt a HUGE responsibility to my country and wanted to do British people proud!
Not all dreams come true and that’s ok. I never made it to the Olympic Games, I never earned the right to stand on the top of the podium at World or European Championships. I didn’t get to listen to my National Anthem play as I stood on top of the world.
BUT I did get to be on that podium, just slightly lower down, the Union Jack flapping proudly behind me. If less than 1% of athletes get to represent their country, the chances of winning a medal must be insanely low. Things happen in life, we change as we grow older and I have made peace with the fact that I didn’t see my dreams through to the end.
For all those years the competition was about so much more than the opportunity to win a medal. It was about always about the chance to compete for my country. The chance to wear the red, white and blue proudly on a world-class stage, the chance to make 6 year old Jessica’s dreams come true.
What is my next goal? I have represented my country in Triathlon, Duathlon, Aquathlon and CrossFit. I now want to represent my country at a different sport entirely, to compete at the Spartan World Championships. Watch this space!
By Jess Towl, Endurance Coach
From the age of 6 when I begged my local swimming team to let me join them I had one goal: to represent my country. Back then my naïve motivation was simply because Olympic swimmers looked cool on television, but as I grew older I began to realise that I wanted to represent something much greater than myself. I became hugely patriotic and the pride of being an ambassador of my country on an international stage was always in my mind.
So what makes a dream like this a reality? Millions of children dream of becoming professional athletes, but less than 1 in 662,000 ever actually make it. We could go down the genetics debate here but that would take all day. The bottom line is I was dedicated, disciplined and gave up a typical ‘normal’ life growing up, I would do whatever it took to represent my country. I was also fortunate enough to have incredible support from my family. My mum would drive me (for hours and hours) all over the UK almost every weekend so that I had access to the very best coaches and facilities. She paid for my equipment, my coaches, hotels, physiotherapists and anything I needed to be better. Without her support and dedication I would have never had the opportunities that I had or be where I am today.
At 15, after 9 years of training every single day, sometimes twice per day, my dreams first became a reality.
I was coming of the back of a whirlwind 6 months, I had officially transitioned from a competitive swimmer to a Triathlete and everything was still very new, I literally barely knew how to ride a road bike but that didn’t stop me. My first Triathlon race I entered was the British National Championships, held in Eton.
It also doubled up as the selection race for the European Youth Championships to be held in Italy.
As always I gave everything I had. I crossed the line in 4th place and earned the last spot on the team for the European Youth Championships. I had to wait over 2 hours to find out if I had been selected. I remember so clearly feeling relief that all my hard work was worth it, followed by pride and almost disbelief. Had my dream actually just come true?
Jessica Ann Louise Towl: the girl from the small market town in the middle of rural England, the girl that was born extremely sick and dangerously prematurely had become an ambassador for her sport and her country, representing the Queen and every person in the United Kingdom.
My debut race representing GB in Italy I will never forget, it sticks in my mind more than all the other times I proudly raced internationally. The feeling of putting on your National Team Triathlon Suit, your name proudly displayed next to your country and flag for all to see is impossible for me to describe.
Still to this day I get Goosebumps when I think back to the first time I heard someone shout “GO Great Britain” to me on the bike. It really hit me then that I was no longer “Jess” and I was no longer doing this just for me, I was my country, I was Great Britain. I had earned this and needed to do it justice for every British person watching at the race or back home.
Over the years I went on to race around the world in Triathlon, Duathlon and Aquathlon. When you travel with the GB team, with the athletes, coaches and support staff, you are all wearing matching GB tracksuits. People would stare at us walking proudly together as a team, they would ask us what we were competing in, where we were going and always wished us good luck. I felt a HUGE responsibility to my country and wanted to do British people proud!
Not all dreams come true and that’s ok. I never made it to the Olympic Games, I never earned the right to stand on the top of the podium at World or European Championships. I didn’t get to listen to my National Anthem play as I stood on top of the world.
BUT I did get to be on that podium, just slightly lower down, the Union Jack flapping proudly behind me. If less than 1% of athletes get to represent their country, the chances of winning a medal must be insanely low. Things happen in life, we change as we grow older and I have made peace with the fact that I didn’t see my dreams through to the end.
For all those years the competition was about so much more than the opportunity to win a medal. It was about always about the chance to compete for my country. The chance to wear the red, white and blue proudly on a world-class stage, the chance to make 6 year old Jessica’s dreams come true.
What is my next goal? I have represented my country in Triathlon, Duathlon, Aquathlon and CrossFit. I now want to represent my country at a different sport entirely, to compete at the Spartan World Championships. Watch this space!
By Jess Towl, Endurance Coach