Nicole Taylor is one of Sussex’s top cross country athletes. Having taken four consecutive Sussex XC Champs senior women titles, she has represented England and came second in this year’s South of England XC Champs at Parliament Hill. Kate Matthews caught up with her to chat about her background in the sport, her training and how she is dealing with changes following isolation and Coronavirus.
Kate: Who are you?
Nicole: I am Nicole Taylor, a 25 year old long distance runner who competes for Tonbridge AC and Sussex. I have been at Tonbridge since I was 12 years old and have been coached by Richard Owen since I was 15/16. I live in Crowborough and work full time as a teacher at 'Step By Step School' a school for autistic children. I love my job. Helping students to overcome challenges and seeing the progression they make is so rewarding. Another bonus is the structure of work as in the weekdays I can fit in a morning run or strength and conditioning session before work, and have enough evening to complete sessions at Tonbridge. Also, the weekends are completely free to get a long run in, complete training sessions and/or race. Some of my friends who do shift work struggle to get the weekends off, which must be stressful when trying to sort race plans!
Kate: What are your favourite distances/disciplines? And why?
Nicole: My favourite discipline is cross country, and more specifically 8km cross country! The sense of achievement after a gruelling course is like no other, and the camaraderie between athletes is amazing. I used to compete in the track season just to keep me fit for cross country, but now I really enjoy the longer distances 5km and 10km on the track. I find it easier to pace by ticking off the laps, and a lot of track events are well supported with spectators.
Kate: How did you get into athletics?
Nicole: I got into cross country running at primary school, competing in local primary events which progressed to county and regional level. I used to train around the streets of Crowborough with my dad and brother, who were trying to keep football fit! I continued to compete in local school events at secondary school, where I persistently asked my mum to let me join a club. There was no running club nearby! My two options were Tonbridge AC and Lewes AC, but after idolising Kelly Holmes after the 2004 Olympics, I chose Tonbridge as this was the club she trained at.
Kate: What do you love/hate about the sport?
Nicole: I hate that we live in England and the weather can be your worst enemy!! When training in the winter months, I can struggle with motivation due to the darkness and downpours we have been blessed with this year! I love that whilst it is an individual sport, there is so much support from friends and coaches. My best friends are mainly from running, because they just get me! We've been through similar experiences, achievements and challenges and they give the best advice.
Kate: What has kept you in it?
Nicole: To be honest my coach has kept me going. After some step backs with injuries and race execution it has sometimes hard to keep focussed and not give up, but he has always snapped me out of that mind frame and reminds me why I love the sport. I have never had a break from the sport, just a week or two off season relaxed training weeks. When injured I continued to cross train at the gym, my coach would send some brutal bike sessions and cross trainer sessions, which did keep me fit through injury.
Kate: What is your most proud athletics' achievement moment?
Nicole: When the Tonbridge women won the National Cross Country Relays in 2019 at Mansfield. It was such a surprise to us all and was such an amazing moment to share with my training partners and friends.
Kate: What has been the toughest moment?
Nicole: Toughest moment, apart from the obvious of injury, was probably not being selected for England in 2018, when I was performing well and training hard. But I think this made me a much stronger athlete in terms of resilience and proving that consistency is key, just keep showing up and it will happen.
Kate: How often do you train (in normal times)? 
Nicole: AM- Easy run & Strength and conditioning; PM- Recovery run
Tuesday AM- Core; PM- TAC session- long reps e.g. 4x 1mile 2x800m.
Wednesday AM- recovery run; PM- Easy run and circuit
Thursday AM- Yoga/Stretch; PM- TAC progression run/session
Friday AM- Easy run & Strength and conditioning; PM- Rest
Saturday AM- TAC session; PM- Recovery run / Or Race
Sunday AM- Core and Long run
Kate: Have you had any bad injuries and how did you deal with these?
Nicole: I have been quite fortunate enough to not have many serious injuries although have had a few which have caused me to cross train to keep fit. Although this year I did struggle with an achillies niggle, which put me out of running for 2 months (although felt a lot longer!). I did struggle mentally with cross training, I found it quite lonely and less satisfying than running, but I knew it was only short term and to look at the bigger picture of representing England and hopefully one day GB.
Kate: Other than actual achievements/PBs, what has being part of athletics brought to your life?
Nicole: It has allowed me to meet some amazing inspiring people, whilst also getting to travel around the country and countries.
Kate: Best athletics memory?
Nicole: Crossing the line at my first England representation in Spain, Burgos (2019) and having my mum, dad, brother, boyfriend and coach all waiting for me.
Kate: What would you say to younger people wanting to get started?
Nicole: Do it! Join a club that has a good ethos to encourage running for fun at a young age. It is important that young athletes keep other sports going and not dedicate everything to running. Sports work well together to provide a strong overall athlete, promoting speed, strength, agility, stamina as well as sportsmanship.
Kate: What would you change about the sport?
Nicole: What upsets me about the sport is that now, we question world records and times due to possible performance enhancing drugs or more recently performance enhancing equipment e.g. shoe type.
Kate: How do you juggle training around work?
Nicole: My coach is really good at giving me my training plans so I can prepare for the week, and we can adjust the plan if it doesn't fit with work. Work have also been really supportive, allowing me to have time off to get to races and prepare, and catch up on work in my time. My boyfriend and family are also really supportive, and know how important running is to me, so they accept when I am unable to attend events, and when they can, they reschedule so I don't miss out!!
Kate: Favourite athlete (past or present)?
Nicole: I have loads of athletes I admire! Eilish McColgan, Melissa Courtney Bryant, Jessica Judd to name a few. But one athlete stands out for me, Jess Piasecki. She was a promising junior athlete but struggled with injuries, including stress fractures at 18. She lost her period and whilst she felt strong, her body was breaking down. She took time off to listen to her body and is now back racing stronger than ever. Jess speaks openly about the Female Athlete Triad, discussing diet, and the importance of periods, she is a great role model for female endurance athletes.
Kate: Other ways you relax?
Nicole: I am really enjoying yoga at the moment! I just click on a youtube clip, usually Yoga with Adriene for around 20-40 minutes, or just make up my own sequence. But it's great to clear the mind and really focus on stretching those forgotten muscles.
Kate: How are you managing to keep fit/train during isolation and Coronavirus?
Nicole: My coach has giving me some less structured training including steady runs with pick ups to keep the speed endurance up. The concern is we don't know how long we are going to be solo running for without a race confirmed, so rather than burn out doing tough sessions on my own, we decided it was best to keep fit and enjoy this running period. I am still working at school a few days a week (as I work with vulnerable children) and working from home the other days, which keeps some structure to my days. But when I am not working, with the extra time I am focussing on core and strength and conditioning, and have joined in on some online work outs- including Kelly Holmes abs session on Instagram, and the body coach exercise programmes. Whilst it's a good time to get physically active, we can also use this time to read autobiographies and articles to deepen our understanding of the sport and inspire us to be better athletes. I also am regularly FaceTiming my family and friends to keep in touch, whilst we may feel alone at this time everyone is going through it too, so it is important to reach out to each other and provide support if we can.