CLITHEROE Helen < Back  
Sport Athletics
CGA England   
Gender Women
Born 02 Jan 1974 in Preston, ENG
Height1.68 m
Weight 57 kg
Human Interest
Sport Specific Information
Name of coach John Nuttall
International Debut
Year 1998
General Interest
Injuries She claims to have been lucky with injuries throughout her career, only suffering accidental ones such as ligament damage. (physioroom.com, 27 Apr 2012)
Further Personal Information
Family Husband Neil
Other names Helen Pattinson
Sport Specific Information
Club / Team Preston Harriers AC: Preston, ENG
Further Personal Information
Residence Preston, ENG
Higher education University of Central Lancashire: Preston, ENG
General Interest
Hobbies She likes cooking, eating out, watching live music gigs, spending time with her family and pet dog. (thepowerof10.info, 24 Apr 2010)
Most influential person in career Her husband. (steeplechics.com, 21 Jul 2011)
Sport Specific Information
When and where did you begin this sport? She has been running since she was about six.
Further Personal Information
Occupation Athlete
Languages English
Sport Specific Information
Coach from which country? England
General Interest
Other information CLUB PRESIDENT
She has been a member of her athletics club Preston Harriers for 23 years and has the honorary role of Club President . She is also a life member of the club. (uka.org.uk, 31 Aug 2010)

AGE NO BARRIER
She will be 38 at the London 2012 Olympic Games, and still feels capable of making an impression. "I know other people have done it before and I don’t feel old in any way. After all, with all of these young athletes in the team, it constantly keeps me on my toes. Age is no barrier. I have had a lot of messages from other runners who are doing their first marathons or half-marathons and have been inspired by what I have done." (dailystar.co.uk, 04 Jan 2012)

SWITCHING DISCPLINES
In 2012 she was considering moving to road races to extend her career even further, but feels her results on the track have been good enough that the move could still be some time away. "I've done better than I expected but for the moment I'll play it by ear, although competing on the roads also seems to lend itself towards my style of running. At the same time if I'm still performing well on the track, why shouldn't I stick with it? I don't want to change just for the sake of it. It's something I'll have to think really seriously about." (femalefirst.co.uk, 02 Apr 2012)

Sport Specific Information
Why this sport? There was a teacher at school named Frank Green who inspired her.
General Interest
Hero / Idol Paula Radcliffe. (greatrun.org, 29 Jun 2011)
Ambitions To qualify for the final at London 2012. (greatbritishlife.co.uk, 18 Apr 2011)
Awards and honours She will be Team GB captain at the London 2012 Olympic Games. (thehoneyballbuzz.com, 14 Apr 2012)

She became the oldest athlete to have won gold at the European Indoor Championships by four years after finishing first in the 3,000m. (telegraph.co.uk, 02 Jun 2012)
Sport Specific Information
Training Regime "I tend to mix up my training quite a bit. While a lot of my training is done on my own I also enjoy running with other people, especially clubmates from Preston Harriers. I’ve also been running with Matt Livingstone from Preston Harriers for around 20 years now." She also sleeps in an oxygen tent to maximise her performance.
International Debut
Competing for Great Britain
General Interest
Sporting philosophy / motto "Never wonder 'what if?'" (steeplechics.com, 21 Jul 2011)