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03/05/2025 00:00, In Blog /

On Tuesday 15 April, we made the journey to Portugal alongside a host of our NDP, Transition and Performance Programme athletes for our 2025 warm weather training camp. 

The weather was a true testament to the title of the training camp, reaching peaks of 26 degree Celsius, athletes could be found training in the throwing cages, out on the tracks and running through the trails at the Sports Complex, Vila Real de Santo Antonio under the heat radiating from the sun.

Athletes followed a strict training routine starting off the day with breakfast at the hotel between 8:00am - 9:00am after which they would walk down to the Sports Complex to warmup for their training. The session tended to take place between 9:00am - 13:30pm at which point the athletes would return to the hotel for lunch. Some athletes depending on their training schedule would then head back to the Sports Complex for a double training day in the evening. By 18:00pm the majority of athletes would have been back at the hotel relaxing either taking a dip in the pool or partaking in card games before dinner at 18:30 - 19:30.

Throughout the day physio sessions were made available to all athletes thanks to the attendance of Welsh Athletics’ two physio therapists Adam Rattenberry and Dave Rowe who ensured all the athletes understood how to keep their bodies healthy and fit whilst undergoing intense warm weather training. They would also run workshops during the training camp to teach athletes the importance of looking after their bodies and getting a good amount of sleep.

The camp provided our younger athletes with an amazing experience training along side some of our top senior athletes. The senior athletes were brilliant role models showcasing the importance of hard work, dedication and the work ethic required to make it at the elite level. 

During an interview with one of our younger NDP athletes Darcy Coslett (Llanelli AC), when asked about her experience of the Portugal training camp she shared:

Very good, I have enjoyed the warm weather and training with some very top athletes and sporting coaches.

When asked about her highlight of the training camp she said:

being able to train with experienced athletes like Hannah (Brier).

Rhys Williams, Welsh Athletics Pathway Lead and National Talent Development Coordinator for Sprints shared his thoughts on the camp:

Building on the success of last year's Performance Training Camp, we once again brought together athletes from across our Performance programmes for this years training camp.

 

It was fantastic to see athletes from the different event groups sharing valuable insights and developing various technical, tactical and behavioural aspects of their event, on a daily basis.

 

Camps like this are key to developing not only physical performance but also a strong, connected performance culture within Welsh Athletics.

The performance team who had organised and run the training camp, received lots of positive feedback, including from one parent who wrote:

I just wanted to send a huge thank you from both myself and Harry. He has had the most amazing time, he's only just stopped talking since we picked him up!

The experiance has solidified how keen he is to 'make it'. He's loved 'living like an athlete and mixing with like minded people.

As a teacher, I know how much hard work goes in to planning these things, and as far as I can see, it's been a huge success.

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