A runner who frequently takes part in Burnham-On-Sea’s Parkruns has been selected by Team GB to compete in this year’s Paralympics.
Hannah Taunton is a regular runner in the 5km Parkruns held at Apex Park.
Hannah, who has a speech and language disorder, says: “I am very excited and proud to be representing my country.”
“I first went to a Burnham Parkrun when some of my friends from Taunton had run there and said what a great course it is.”
”I have got to know two of the event’s volunteers, Tracey and Mark Benton, really well, who have been so welcoming to me and I have take part over 20 times.”
“My personal best at Burnham is 17.16 in 2019. My other favourite local Parkruns are Longrun Meadow in Taunton, Exmouth and Minehead. My overall personal best time was at Exmouth, which was 17.07.”
She adds that she discovered a love of running when she first went to secondary school.
”At my first PE lesson at Castle School I did the bleep test and was still running way after everyone else had stopped!”
”I joined the Cross Country Club at school and then Taunton Athletic Club when I was 13. I did Cross Country at first and some track work, then moved onto road races, when I also joined the Running For Ever Running Club aged 17. I took part in many road races and won the Taunton 10k three times and the Taunton Half Marathon in 2019.”
“My coach, Charlotte Fisher, asked me about 4 years ago if I would like to compete against other athletes with my disability, with a view one day perhaps to be in a Paralympic Games.”
”To do this I would need to train for 1500m instead of long distances, as the longest distance for a T20 runner was 1500m in a Paralympics. So I changed my training which was really tough at first but I carried on and gradually improved.”
“I was chosen to go to Dubai to represent GB in Dubai in 2018 at the Para World Championships and came 5th in the World. British Athletics then offered me a place on the World Class Programme, when they sponsored me to enable me to buy sports equipment and to travel to competitions.”
“I was chosen for the GB Team again in June 2021 when I competed in the Para European Championships and came 4th.”
“Running is a passion for me. I never tire of training or racing and I have made some great friends through the sport.”
