Firefighter Lorna Dodd represents Great Britain in the duathlon. She spoke to Steve Morgan
Curiosity killed the cat, but an enquiring mind – and a dose of fabled Yorkshire grit – have been the making of Lorna Dodd. In March, the Halifax firefighter will represent Great Britain in the European duathlon championships in Venice. She will be contesting the duathlon – five and 2.5 kilometre runs split by a 20 kilometre bike ride.
In the lead-up to September’s qualifiers in Bilbao, she spent three months unable to train, then suffered an Achilles tendon injury. So Lorna’s fifth place finish, in a time of 1 hour 20 minutes and 51 seconds, was impressive.
“Just two weeks before the race,” she recalls, “every step, I could feel it pulling – but the event went really well – I was actually a little disappointed by my performance – there’s room for improvement!”
The story is of a piece with the 30-year-old’s battling, can-do approach. She peppers her conversation with laughter that reflects a winning personality. It’s no great surprise to discover that, as a child, Lorna dreamed of being a lorry driver.
She has also enjoyed stints as a cinema projectionist, sports-hall assistant and instructor for Bikeability, the government’s national cycle training programme.
You don’t really know what you’re capable of until you try it, do you?
It was in the last of these, teaching cycling proficiency to primary pupils at Halifax fire station, that her path to becoming a firefighter began.
It was a stop-start process – having initially moved back into the area to pursue the retained route, she had to move out again after her home was flooded. “I always wanted to have an active job,” she says. “I didn’t like the idea of sitting behind a desk.”
STERN TEST
The March event in Venice – initially slated for September – will be a stern test of her fitness.
As she spoke to Firefighter, Lorna was recuperating from an operation to relieve her injury woes. Inactivity for the active can be frustrating, but the backing of her fire station family and that cheerful outlook will alleviate that grind.
And Lorna knows from personal experience that you get out what you put in.
As a teenager who “struggled a bit with my weight” at 16 she took a friend’s advice and joined a local running club, which worked wonders for her mindset. From running with her dog for fun, she started competitive racing at a national level. “It made me focus a bit more on what’s important, rather than what I look like,” she says.
Her interest in the duathlon – an event she first heard about while studying for a sports science degree – was piqued by a Queensbury running club member just after Lorna joined the club in 2020 – shortly before lockdown.
“We were all sat outside, shivering, and this lady had a big Dryrobe on (weather-proof change triathlon wear). I asked: ‘What’s that?’ and she said: ‘I do all these duathlons and triathlons, and I get really cold.’ I had a look online for one [duathlon] – and went up to Carlisle. It was miles away, but it was quite a good one for beginners – and my sister lives up there, so that was handy.”
FAST FORWARD
It also had the advantage of being flatter terrain – Queensbury prides itself as being one of the highest running clubs in the land. Fast forward a couple of years and Lorna will now compete for her nation in the 30-34 age-group category.
“I think we’ve sorted the time off work,” she laughs. It has been quite a journey, and one which has been a personal boon. While modest about her efforts, Lorna is keen to encourage others to back themselves.
“I guess you don’t really know what you’re capable of until you try it, do you?” she says. “My mental health hasn’t always been the best, but I find if you are sticking to a training plan, or regularly exercising, it always seems to help – providing focus, I guess.”
Right now, that focus is on getting back to fighting fires, while dreaming of lopping crucial seconds off that critical first 5k.
“At my fittest last year, I was doing that in about 20 minutes – it was 22:03 in Bilbao – I was a little disappointed in that,” she says.
FURTHER BACK
As a result, she commenced the bike stage of qualification a good deal further back in the field.
“Towards the end, I managed to catch up with the people who I would have been with – the descent was really nice – there was nobody in front of me, so I could take each corner whichever way I wanted,” she says.
Fingers crossed, March will find Lorna fighting fires, fighting fit and firmly on the path to success with a GB flag proudly on her back.
That childhood lorry-driving dream may have receded, but she hasn’t ruled out driving a fire engine. “I don’t drive ours,” she laughs. “Not just yet – but maybe next year!”
