Get walking this month with Emma Achurch

This National Walking Month, Emma Achurch will be getting involved. Although in truth, she never really stops walking. As one of the most promising race walkers in Britain, Achurch is always on the go.

A sport most wouldn't pay too much attention to, the England representative is happy going under the radar as she progresses up the ladder and is grateful to her primary school teacher for opening the opportunity.

"I started race walking when I was 7 years old. My primary school teacher was into it himself and I went out and trained with him, doing the local races. I remember him saying if anybody wanted to give it a go and it was chance to miss assembly! I joined Leicester Walking Club and I've stayed with them since, then representing England a few times in Ireland when I was 13 or 14. It really spurred me on. Since then I've represented GB in China at the World Cup and have managed to get a few Great Britain vests since then."

Something most of us take for granted, walking is a perfect way to be physically active during every part of the day. This month, Living Streets are urging more people to get out and about for as little as 10 minutes a day. And Achurch believes that is all it takes to notice a difference.

"It doesn't have to be a power walk, what really helps me when I'm studying is to break up my day and get a nice little walk during the day. It helps psychologically and it doesn't have to be big, it can just be round the block or round the park, it's just finding a form of physical exercise that can slot into the day. Start small with maybe 10 minutes, then increase it to half an hour and see where it goes from there really."

The GO GOLD Ambassador has had four years on the programme and without that funding, she may not have reached the heights she is currently at.

"I've been on the programme for four years and have had a lot of LRS involvement since I was 11. I still get supported at uni, funding goes towards equipment, getting to races, physio. It's good to know that I can do and it wouldn't be possible without the help of LRS and GO GOLD. It's good to know other people are willing you to do well and they're willing to support me."

And that support could hopefully take the current London School of Economics student all the way to the pinnacle of her sport. "Potentially – hopefully – Tokyo 2020 could be on the cards!"

To read Emma's blog, visit http://www.lrsport.org/profiles/emma-achurch.

For the full interview, see the video below.