www.lesleyingram.co.uk/profile

My history . . . . . .
It all started back in May 2005 when I had finished Uni, started a job and was looking for a new challenge... I decided to buy a road bike. Working in an enthusiastic sports science department I threw this thought in at coffee one morning and everyone seemed to have an opinion (no surprise there) but in the end it was G who saved me. He made me promise not to buy anything until I had tried mountain biking, with nothing to lose I took the challenge . . . . after all I was the queen of cops and robbers on the bikes when we were kids and it couldn’t be that difficult could it? Those experiences as a kid had not prepared me for what lay ahead in the world of Glentress forest. Not really knowing what to expect I pitch up on my little bike (bluey) and hit the trails. I wont fib- the climbs were tough but the descents more than made up for that! I couldn’t remember the last time that I had experienced a buzz quite like that and from there I didn’t look back. In fear of bluey snapping he had to take early retirement and I bought my first little Giant and off we went to explore the world of biking together. To cut a long story short after that one ride I was addicted, I have been so fortunate to meet the right people who have really helped and directed me into the heart of the biking community. In 2006 I entered my first ever competitive cross country race, some might even say it was meant to be. To say I had caught the bug was an understatement and by the end of the 2006 season I managed to finish 2nd overall in the Scottish cross country elite rankings. Unfortunately in December 2006 I broke my ankle (playing silly football- I used to captain the Napier Uni’s women’s 1st team) which totally disrupted my first winter training schedule. By February 2007 I was back training trying to play catch up for the new season starting in April. During the 2007 season I had recurring issues with my ankle but towards the latter half of the season I hooked up with a fab physio (G’s wife Sarah) who started to sort me out. It took a year of hard graft but we worked together and 2008 saw the results. The injury nightmares that had plagued me for so long were finally put to rest and I was able to extend my racing calendar finishing my most successful (and jam packed) racing season to date! The last few years have been a great adventure, my body is now laden with scars each which tell their own biking stories and still make my mum shake her head at me in that disapproving way, but it sure has been fun.
Dr G an Exercise Physiologist at Napier University has now been coaching me for the last 3 years. His support has been invaluable to my development. I am in the best shape I have ever been and that is going to provide me with a fantastic building block for 2009. G and I are so excited about this winter- its going to be a good one-lots and lots of hard training-yee ha! No more football games from now on though, that’s for sure!