Thanks to all my sponsors
Julie would like to send a big thank you to UK Lottery, Total Fitness Bath, Bath Orthodontics, Speedplay and Speedo for their continued support for the 2005 season. Julie can now go into the next phase of her career knowing that she will be using the best products available out there.
Click on the sponsors link to find out more about them
Update - December 2004
After a bit of down time to recuperate both mentally and p hysically after the Olympics, Julie is now starting to get back into serious training. She is back to full flight both in the pool and on the bike, and the run is progressing...be it a bit slower than she would like, after her foot operation. She remains positive about what lies ahead, and is excited about the continuing her triathlon career, as well as possibly having a little dabble in some other things. Watch this space to learn more in the near future.
New Sponsorship - December 2004
Exciting new sponsorship in the works for 2005! Julie is currently in talks with Specialized, one of the leading Bicycle companies in the world. Julie is very excited about the prospect of being a part of the Specialized Family. She will be honored to continue the great racing legacy it has created over the years with such greats as Mario Cipollini and the all-Italian Domina Vacanze pro cycling team, and Hawaii Ironman Champion Peter Reid. Specialized are also introducing a great new li ne of women's products which Julie cant wait to get here hands on. This could also be a great opportunity for Julie to try some different things. Look out for Julie trying out some road racing on a new full carbon Tarmac S-works, and even some off road triathlons testing out one of specialized plethora of great Mountain bikes.
Update - September 2004
It has been a while since we last updated the site. As you will all know the Olympics has come and gone. It obviously didn't go totally to plan for Julie, but she made the most of the great opportunity to represent her country at the highest level, and enjoyed the whole Olympic experience.
Those of you in the UK will no doubt have heard a lot of rumors flying around as to what was going on leading up to the race. And those in the US have probably been oblivious to it all, an d are therefore a lot better off!
To set a few things straight, Julie has never had anything to hide and has been totally honest with people, if they ever enquired about what was going on. She did pick up a foot problem leading into the games. It was painful and somewhat limiting, but Julie was getting great medical advise from both the team Doctor and the Head BOA team doctors out in Cyprus. She still managed to maintain the training that she needed to do going into the race, and with the help of some injections felt that she was fit enough to race. A week before the race she, in fact, did a bike/run session with similar results to that done a week prior to her 8th place finish at Worlds earlier this year. This showed her and her coach Richard that she was ready to "rock and roll" in a weeks time!
As for the race itself, that didn't go to plan either. I think most people predicted a strong swim/biker winning the race. And that would have been the case had Kate Allen not ran unbelievably well. Julie was disappointed with her swim. After having a great start and being on Sheila T's feet for the 1st couple of 100, she just couldn't hang with the pace. In hindsight, this is where she lost her race. She came out of the swim too far back from the leaders, and in a group that never seem to want to work! Once the groups came together with Michelle, (and now Kate Allen), Julie knew that her chances of getting a medal were over, so she did in fact go back and ask team mate Michelle if there was anything she could do to help. The response was get to the front and drive on. That is what she did. It was tough going pulling 20 odd cyclist round 2 laps, without a lick of help!! Hence her legs were somewhat spent for the run.
Since her return to Bath, she has been enjoying much needed time at home, and out on the town with me (husband) and friends. Trying to enjoy life outside of triathlon!!
Needless to say we can't keep her off her bike, and hence the little bike crash she had a few weeks ago now ! Nothing serious though.
Her foot has continued to bother her, and having somewhat limiting her recent surfing experiences, is now looking at the possibility of needing surgery. Nothing she can't handle though!!!
Thanks for all the continued support. A special thanks to everyone who took place in the Friends for Athletes program. As a result of your generous help, Julie was able to send three of her support staff out to Athens to watch the race!
Windsor Triathlon - June 2004
Julie claims her first victory of the year at the 2004 Windsor Triathlon. The weather was absolutely gorgeous. The age group race started around 6 a.m. and the Elite Women started at 9. Julie led a group of four during the swim, but shortly after T1 Julie and Anneliese Heard broke away from the other two. They were able to build their lead and came into T2 over 3 minutes ahead of the chasing pack.
Julie exited T2 slightly ahead of Anneliese and never looked back. A solid run split of 37:20 was enough to hold off Catriona Morrison and Helen Lawrence who ran through to take 2nd and 3rd.
Julie was very pleased with her performance and the win. She has trained hard right up to this race and was using it as more of a training race. She looks forward to her next race in Minniapolis on the 17th of July.
New Sponsorship Deal - June 2004
Julie is very excited about her new sponsorship deal with Oakley. She has been training and competing in Oakley sun glasses for over 6 years. Oakley offers the latest in technology and style. So be on the lookout for Julie in a new pair of cool Oakley shades!
Madeira, Portugal World Championships - May 2004
In a random turn of events, Julie got called up as one of the reserv es to compete at the World Championships in Madeira. This race was also the second of two Olympic selection races for Great Britain.
Julie put in one of her lifetime best performances and finished in 8th place. She was also the first Brit to finish the course. This performance has earned her a spot at the Olympics!
Julie is extremely pleased and will now focus on staying injury free and continuing to improve her fitness.
Ishigaki, Japan ITU World Cup - April 2004
After a couple of setbacks (no running for a number of weeks) with a knee injury, Julie set off to an Australian training camp to prepare for the ITU World Cup in Japan, which was the first of two British Olympic selection races. The weather was good in Oz and training went really well.
The World Cup did not go 100% to plan, as none of the lead pack were really willing to wo rk hard on the bike, which meant that the triathlon ended up becoming more of a run race. Although disappointed with not qualifying for the Olympics, Julie obtained her best World Cup finish in a number of years (12th) and proved that she is well on her way to top fitness. She is looking forward to the rest of the season and is now in Spain preparing for European Championships.
New Sponsorship Deal - Jan 2004
Julie is very excited about her new sponsorship deal with Bath Orthodontics. Dr Eric Tonge, one of britains leading orthodontists, has provided her a car to zoom around the streets of Bath in! In return she hopes to help get the Bath Orthodontics name out there, and to encourage people that it is never too late to get a great smile! Too find out more about them check out their website and even book in for a free initial consultation.
Update - December 2003
After a disappointing second half of the season due to illness, Julie is looking forward to having another solid winter training to get ready for the Olympic selection race in April. She is heading to Lanzarote for a two week training camp with coach Richard Hobson and a number of other British triathletes.
Some exciting new sponsorship negotiations are underway. More details to follow.
Read some archived news
June 2003 - August 2003.