Many club members may not know the hidden stars in our membership.

Celebrating Dylan Harris 2021

Imagine being in a league that defines what and who you are… a diamond.

At first many of us struggle to see our strengths but we can only imagine how difficult that must be when you also have a physical disability to contend with. Disability in athletics is very rarely celebrated if at all and I believe that this is something we need to change. Starting with ourselves as individuals and as a club. So, we should be sure to acknowledge what an inspiration they can be and help them to celebrate their journey, because at the very least they need to be reminded of how amazing they are on and off the track. just like our very own fellow athlete Dylan Harris.

For those of you who do not know him Dylan is 24 and is a T38 para- athlete and competes in 100m, 200m and 400m. Dylan has Cerebral Palsy and also has a hearing impairment. At times Dylan also struggles with confidence he has not let this stop him powering through his journey in life on and off the track.

Dylan’s track story changed when he paired up with Coach Roddy. Roddy was approached by Dylan’s parents for help with strength and conditioning and ever since then their relationship has grown. You only have to look at them to see the trust that has been built in order for them to have the bond they have.

Dylan found his love for running as a child after winning a race against his brother and he has never looked back and since then he has gone on to achieve big things, making himself, his coach and the club proud.

Dylan has shared some of his difficulties regarding training and competing with having cerebral Palsy, muscle pain being one of his most frustrating complications and knowing that there’s no cure can sometimes make some days more difficult than others. He pushes through by taking one day at a time. He finds this is the best way especially when it comes to other things that are out of his control, like not having enough time to be ready to compete for due to the way the governing bodies have the rules and regulations set. This is a common issue with all para-athletes. Even though Dylan has a hearing aid he still sometimes has difficulties hearing and being able to respond when the environment is loud. Nevertheless, this has not stifled his love for communication, when he is not competing and training, he enjoys a good laugh and a chat.

After reaching all of these achievements:

4 silver medals in the England athletics disability champs

1 bronze medal in England athletics disability champs

2 bronze medals in Berkshire champs

1 gold medal in Berkshire champs

100m and 200m finalist in 2016 para-athletics Euorpeon Championship

Also took part in the Paris Handisport Grand Prix and wore a Reading AC vest on a European event.

Dylan also received the Reading sports personality Adversity Award in 2016

Dylan has come to see that he is his own inspiration as it’s concentrating on himself and where he needs to be that has helped him to achieve the things that he has. This now includes getting a 100m PB at the London Marathon Community track

Running his first 400m of this season

Getting another 100m PB at the end of June

Competing in the Diamond League 400m mixed category at Gateshead International Stadium

And in the English disability Championship at Bedford which was streamed live via YouTube.

There is much more to come from this delightful young gem so be sure not to miss it. He is a joy to be around, he is always polite and never forgets his manners. He is very supportive of his training group and says that the only advice he has to offer is to trust the process, there will be negatives and positives but always be yourself and always be ready to train and to race.