My name is Siân, and after a lifetime of loving athletics, I’m finally getting the chance to chase a dream I thought I’d lost.

At 21, I was competing at elite level and building the career I had always imagined — until a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis forced me to retire from the sport I loved. Overnight, everything changed. Training became impossible, pain became constant, and the future I’d worked for slipped away.

Fast‑forward to today. I’m 42 years old, on new medication that has transformed my condition, and — unbelievably — I’m back. Not just back running, but back competing at a level I never thought I’d reach again.

Earlier this year, I became the European Masters Indoor Champion over 800m, and now I have the chance to compete at the World Masters Athletics Championships in Daegu, South Korea this summer. This is the highest stage in masters athletics, and an opportunity I never imagined I’d have a second time in my life.

Alongside training, I work full‑time as a primary school teacher, I’m also a mum of two, so funding a trip like this is a real challenge — but I’m determined to make it happen.

But unlike elite sport in my twenties, there is no funding. To represent my country and compete against the world’s best, I need to cover:

• Flights

• Accommodation

• Competition entry fees

This is why I’m asking for help.

Every donation — big or small — brings me one step closer to standing on that start line, wearing my kit, and proving that chronic illness doesn’t get the final say. I’m training harder than ever, and I truly believe I have a chance to bring home a World Championship medal… maybe even a world title.

If you’re able to support me, I would be so grateful. Your kindness doesn’t just fund a trip — it fuels a dream I fought years to reclaim.

Thank you for helping me write the comeback story I never thought I’d get to tell.