Meet The LWAC Team

I joined Lincoln Wellington Athletic Club in 1968 at the age of 10. My first pair of spiked running shoes were Adidas and cost me 3 shillings (15p in current terms), my latest pair, still Adidas, cost over £150. At the time I joined, the club it consisted of 5 to 10 regular athletes being coached by Ken Barnsdale. We have come a long way to our current status and club size.
My journey as an athlete has seen me compete all around the globe at all levels. My best events were the Decathlon and the 400m Hurdles, these remain my favourite disciplines.

In 1982 I qualified as a sprints coach and progressed my coaching to Senior level before becoming a UKA Performance coach. I am also a qualified official having passed all my exams for every technical aspect of officiating in 1984, I focused on the Starting/Marksman role and still favour this as the best activity for officials. I have been the ‘Clerk of the Course’ at multiple competitions because of my wide knowledge of the sport. This year, 2026, I was awarded recognition of my long service (40 years) by England Athletics on behalf of UKA.

I am currently serving as a member of the Lincolnshire County Athletics Association and was the lead instigator in returning the County Championships back to our control. We have seen a remarkable participation in this event which has resulted in it having to expand to a 2 day event this year.

I am also the Vice Chair for England Athletics (EA) East Midlands which gives me a seat at the EA national council. I am very active in promoting our sport and have been involved in bringing EA meetings into our region.

I consider it a privileged to help, guide and coach our young athletes, I still learn from these athletes the importance of this sport and that the bonds that we make as athletes last a lifetime.

For new members just reading this I would like to welcome you and your family to our family. I hope you find the enjoyment that I have in being a member of a great community. I would invite any of you to come and ask me any questions about the sport as I love sharing my knowledge and leaning from others, even if it is just to tell me how much your first pair of spikes cost.

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I started coaching at the club in the late eighties when my sons joined LWAC and started training with Rob Lewis.

I asked him where all the girl’s were as there was just boys in the group at that time! He said well you know what to do then – haha! So he is the one to blame for all my years of coaching!

I am a level 3 Young Athlete coach and a Level 2 in both Jumps and Throws. I am also the clubs Junior Welfare Officer.

In the past I competed for the club’s Ladies team in both Cross-Country and Track & Field.

I’ve always run, since from when I can remember.

I joined Lincoln City and Colleges AC in 1978, training and competing in short sprints and field events.

In 1982 I joined Lincoln Wellington AC and 43 years later I’m still here!

I also take part in Masters Athletics.

I started volunteering with LWAC in 2006, when my daughter joined the club.

My LWAC journey started with helping coaches, then in 2012 I became Membership Secretary.

I joined the Committee and started a role in Timekeeping.

In 2019 I was the England Athletics East Midland Volunteer of the Year.

Now, I am a qualified Athletics Coach, a Level 3 Timekeeper, a Level 1 in: Field, Endurance and Photo Finish.

Outside of LWAC I am the Treasurer for a local Trefoil Guild, and volunteer at Special Olympics events when I can.

I joined LWAC Road Runners in 2006 when my children joined. I initially assisted with the younger groups when they were out on Road Runs and became the Treasurer in 2008 and have been doing it ever since.

I can often be seen in the caravan when we host league matches doing the results recording.

I enjoy running and walking but haven’t done very much competitively for a number of years.

Outside of athletics I play league table tennis and am on the Lincoln and District League committee

After playing football and cricket quite seriously since leaving school I joined Wellington in 1981 principally to train for the 1982 London Marathon with the strong road running group at that time. I ran London again in 1983 together with a lot of shorter road races over the next few years until an ongoing knee issue resulted in retirement from running.

By 1987 my son Andrew had joined Wellington and when stalwart coach Ken Barnsdale retired I was persuaded to take on the coaching of a small group of about six 10/11 year olds with, of course, zero coaching experience at that time. Numbers in the group grew rapidly and in 1989 Ian Mansfield announced his arrival as a top class athlete with a silver medal in the junior boy’s 800 at the English Schools Championships. Ian subsequently went on to become North of England U17 and U20 800m champion.

A few years later Roger Morley went one better than Ian and became the English Schools intermediate boy’s 800m champion and subsequently a silver medallist in the senior boy’s 800m. Tom Duffield was one of the fastest athletes I have coached and became a 400m specialist. He was an easy winner of the junior boy’s 400m at English Schools in what is still a county record.

A few years later Rachael Nathan became the first female in the group and developed into a superstar – not a word I use lightly with young athletes but entirely appropriate for her. Over the country she won the English Schools, Inter counties and National Championships in one year. She won two gold medals in the English Schools 3000m as an intermediate, taking the Championship record and holding it for the next 10 years. She also represented GB U20 team on the track when 16 years old winning a 3000m race against a USA U20 team. Also at 16 she won team U20 gold with 12th individual place at the European XC in Croatia. One further achievement was a bronze medal in the 3000m at the European Youth Olympics in Paris.

Current Olympic athlete Sam Atkin spent his late teen years in the group before relocating to the USA. He illustrated his potential by winning the North of England XC Championships as an U17 and was also no 1 in the 5k rankings in that age group.

There has been many team medal winning performances from the group over the years with the outstanding one being Catrina Thomas, Rebekah Ward and Abbie Donnelly winning the National Road Relay U17 girls title at Sutton Park. This was a very high class team with Catrina subsequently representing the England U20 team at steeplechase and Rebekah winning two English Schools silver medals in the steeplechase. An earlier high class steeplechase performance had come from Daniel Hewitt who won a bronze medal in that event at English Schools.

Abbie has remained in the group since joining as a 15 year old and has steadily moved herself among the very highest class female endurance runners in the country with a string of terrific performances. Over that time the composition of the group has seen major changes with the appearance of younger athletes virtually drying up to be gradually replaced by the senior and veteran athletes we have today.

I do get asked why I’m still continuing to coach after around 38 years and there are two responses I give to that. I still do enjoy it but more importantly the group at the moment are totally committed and that is all coach can ask for. Of course the sessions are hugely demanding but there is still time for a few laughs and positive results do seem to keep coming so on we go.

In conclusion I must acknowledge the part played by Mark Thornton and Bill Delaney in managing the group. By sharing the workload it does mean that only in exceptional circumstances will there be no coach present at any session.

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I am a 61-year-old coach who still runs and trains regularly. I am passionate about both Road Running and athletics, and feel privileged to coach in both these fields at Lincoln Wellington AC.

I ran to a reasonably high standard as a youngster and was British Police Champion in the 200m & 400m, and Metropolitan Police Champion numerous times in both the 400m & 800m.

In competition, I ran 22 seconds for the 200, 48 seconds for the 400m and 1:50 for the 800m, as well as 55 minutes for the road 10-mile in my golden years.

I therefore bring personal experience to both track and road running in addition to my England Athletics coaching qualifications (I feel your pain!). I am proud to be part of the voluntary coaching set up at Lincoln Wellington AC.

I grew up in south Florida and swimming was my love…so I thought. My school entered into a city track and field competition when I was 6 years old. I was put forward for the long jump and to everyone’s shock, I took first place along with winning a sprint race. I must have been average height for my age back then. IYKYK! I competed until my senior year in high school before being injured in a car accident.

I’ve always loved athletics and when my youngest daughter joined LWAC in 2008, I decided to get involved. I took on the role of kit officer in 2010 and joined the club management committee at well. I still hold both roles today.

Over the years I’ve managed the Youth Development League Teams, Officiated Track and Field, dabbled at announcing meets we’ve hosted and was the Social Officer. I’m currently living “across the pond” but remain committed to this club and its success.

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I first joined the club in 2012 and spent 6 years with the Road Runners training group, learning to run with Anne Gilroy and Sean Baxter, from 10k which was my first race, up to marathon distance.

In 2018 I moved over to Rob Lewis’s middle and long distance track group, where I still train today, and have now represented the club on both the track and road.

Also that year, I began to work alongside the club in the 5k Series with my own business, Lincs Van Hire, by becoming the official race sponsor and volunteer.

I joined the LWAC Committee in 2025 as Assistant Secretary.

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I volunteer to help with new member enquiries by making sure the emails are directed to the relevant coaches or the waiting list in the case of juniors.

I am also admin support for the 5k race series. I have been a member of the club since 2010 and I am still an active member of Lincoln Wellington Road Runners.

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I joined Lincoln Wellington in 2012 and run a variety of distances from 5k to marathons.

I have competed over cross country, trail races and road running – although in recent years only road running. My favourite distance is 10k.

Outside of the club I am a qualified accountant and perform the independent examination on the club accounts.

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I first started running at secondary school in 1993 when a PE teacher encouraged me to give cross country a go and I’ve been passionate about the sport ever since.

I joined Louth AC in 1995 to begin structured training and competition, before moving to Lincoln Wellington AC in 1996 to train under coach Rob Lewis. I competed until 2002, with a particular love for track and cross country, gaining valuable experience in competitions across the country, including multiple national finals.

After stepping away from racing, I spent 12 years working as a PE teacher before transitioning into professional sport, where I’ve spent the last 10 years supporting athletes across multiple disciplines. In 2023, I rejoined Lincoln Wellington AC with my children and returned to coaching in 2024, updating my UKA Level 3 Endurance Licence and working alongside Marc Thorpe and the Lightning Squad.

I’m passionate about long-term athlete development and take an athlete-centred approach that balances challenge, enjoyment, and growth. I aim to create fun but purposeful training environments where athletes feel supported and stretched, using my background in education and elite sport to help individuals thrive and reach their potential both in and beyond athletics.

Fun Facts:

• Favourite food: A good Indian meal
• Athletics memory: My sister and I won the Lincolnshire Schools XC Championships in 1999 crossing the finish line at exactly the same time, winning our respective age group (Senior Boys/Junior Girls). I had to sprint hard to catch her she didn’t make the moment easy😂
• Favourite race location: Berry Hill for the National Cross Country Relays — I loved racing there.
• Pre-race superstition: I used to take a Ruud Gullit action figure with me to every race 🤷‍♂️
• Sporting hero: Steve Prefontaine – for his fearless, uncompromising racing style.

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Before I was a coach at Lincoln Wellington, I was an athlete and joined the club when I was 8 years old. Through the course of moving through the groups, I developed a passion for hurdling and sprinting, which I still continue to compete in – and would highly recommend everyone try!

As I got older, I realised that I wanted to give back to the club and help coach young aspiring athletes and have now been coaching since 2023. The enjoyment and reward I get from coaching is amazing; I truly love helping my athletes achieve their end goal and love to see their improvement with time.

I joined LWAC in 2003 after the gym where I started running closed. I was quite nervous coming to training for the first time as I’d never imagined myself belonging to an athletics club, but I needn’t have worried as everyone was so friendly and welcoming.

Being a member of the road running group at LWAC has enabled me to achieve things I never thought I could (like running a marathon – although I never thought I’d want to either!), thanks to the support and encouragement of fellow members, and particularly the coaches of the road running group, Anne, Martin, and now Sean.

To help out at the club I became a leader in running fitness in 2015 and I also help at the club’s 5k race series in the summer taking on-the-night entries and results processing. I am also a regular volunteer at Lincoln parkrun, while away from running I am a keen follower of county cricket and supporter of Essex County Cricket Club.

I moved to Lincoln in 2001. I have always had a passion for athletics and it was an ideal opportunity to introduce my children. We therefore joined LWAC. This is when I started volunteering at the club. I completed the level 1 Assistant Coaching course in 2004.

I have now been assisting at the club for just over 25 years in the (middle distance and endurance category), under the guidance of Rob Lewis and more recently Mark Thornton.

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I have been a member at Lincoln Wellington AC for approximately 20 years.

When my children were competing for the club (in a variety of events, including steeplechase, pole vault and hammer) I became involved, too.

I have been a ‘Throws’ coach since 2008. The throws group is a small, friendly, group of athletes who train in all 4 throwing disciplines.

As well as this, I am also a field official for the club.

Finally, I enjoy running and am a member of the Road Runners training group.

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