Tiffany Porter: It felt like the first day at a new school but I’m glad I made the move

 
Getty
21 June 2013

Changing your coach is a big thing. It can really impact on your career and not necessarily in a good way, so it’s not a decision you take lightly.

I’d been with my coach, James Henry, virtually my entire career but at the end of last season it felt the time was right to make a change so I started to do some research and talk to other athletes.

I’d heard really good things about Rana Reider. He has a lot of experience and coached some really good athletes, including Olympic champions such as triple jumper Christian Taylor.

I wanted to make the right change and I really feel I’ve done that.

I’ve only been on site in Loughborough with Rana’s group, which includes Christian, Anyika Onuora, Dwain Chambers and James Ellington, for about 10 days so it’s early in our new relationship.

When you arrive into something like that, it’s a bit like your first day at a new school. I was a bit nervous as I’d become so used to doing things a specific way. I’ve not really known anything else but it’s a case of so far, so good.

Obviously, with any change, there are things to get used to. One of the biggest differences is that I didn’t really have a training group before but I have now so there’s a camaraderie at every session, which I’ve enjoyed.

Last season, my base was London so the switch to Loughborough is a big one; they’re obviously very different places. I live just around the corner from the HiPAC [High Performance Centre] at Loughborough University and, like any training camp, you learn your new surroundings pretty quickly.

The facilities are incredible. You have everything you need there: the indoor track, the gym, the medical facilities, the lot. And I’ve got a good group to go out with. I went to the cinema the other night to see The Purge and we also have team meals out.

But, being here, my focus is on the running and I feel like I’m just getting into the groove. I had a win in Oslo’s Diamond League meeting last week which was good but it felt like there were some technical things to work on. It wasn’t my best race but it wasn’t my worst either and I was happy with the win.

It’s all in preparation for the World Championships in Moscow in August; it’s all about getting it just right there. The hurdles are difficult as you can have a race where your start is great or your technique was amazing or you finish it really well. The exhilarating part is working on getting that altogether at one time and that’s what I love. I’ve not done that yet this season but that’s what I’m building up to.

This weekend is Gateshead and I’m really looking forward to it. Two years ago at the European Team Championships I didn’t get it right and I’m looking forward to making up for it now.

I love being part of a team and this event is very special in that regard. Hopefully, we’ll have a lot of victories and we’ll all feed off that.

I’m looking forward to Perri Shakes Drayton being captain. She strikes me as a natural leader.

We’re all there to win. We’ve taken a great squad and everyone’s gearing up to do their best. It will certainly help us being back on British soil again.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT