Teamwork makes the dream work. The BMC is a team of athletes, coaches and officials all working towards being the best we can be. One of the greatest tragedies in athletics is the thought of each generation of developing athletes making mistakes that their predecessors made. Why not try and learn from each other's experiences to work towards our common goal of raising the standard of distance running in Great Britain?

The junior to senior transition is a difficult period for many athletes. It is a period during which you might be starting to think about leaving home, which might mean moving on from your club coach. You might be worrying about how to combine training and racing with work or study. You might be asking yourself how to manage your time, or how to make appropriate snacks and meals for yourself pre and post training. You might struggle to set realistic goals for yourself without the clear stepping stones that age group competition provides. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to speak to someone who has been through it already? Someone in your event group, from your region, who understands exactly what it takes? Someone who can offer you, your coach and maybe even your parents the lessons they have learned during their development?

With all that in mind, we are launching a pilot athlete mentoring programme. This will allow female middle distance athletes from u17 to u23 age groups to ask questions directly to 4 senior international athletes- Lynsey Sharp, Laura Weightman, Alison Leonard and Emily Dudgeon. They are all extremely passionate about their role as mentors. Laura Weightman said "I think it's important for younger athletes to feel like they have someone they can ask questions no matter how silly they may feel like they are as the chances are I had the same questions when I was the same age." Lynsey added "I have found it invaluable to gain advice from individuals who have dealt with injuries/the lifestyle and sacrifices needed to fully commit to being an athlete and even simple things such as dealing with travel and being away from home so often. Having been involved in the sport since I was 7, I would love to pass on some of my experience and life lessons to younger athletes to help make their career in the sport as successful and enjoyable as possible."

We hope to grow this programme so that athletes of all age groups can contact a mentor from their region and event group in the future. This will allow the BMC to take advantage of the collective experience that exists in Britain- a truly underappreciated resource.

How to apply

Those eligible to apply to the pilot scheme are female 800m and 1500m runners who are paid up BMC members. Applications can be made by email to BMC Mentor Scheme.Please include your name, age, location, and reason for seeking a mentor. (This will help us match you with a mentor who may have similar experiences, e.g. Considering a US university.)

For further information about the scheme email BMC Mentor Scheme.

Do you want to be a mentor?

We hope that the pilot scheme will be successful and that we will extend the scheme to males as well and to other female events. If you are an international level athlete interested in being a mentor, then please email BMC Mentor Scheme.