Debbie is a member of the Hythe Aqua Masters Swimming Team and also a top mountain bike specialist.  Masters swimming is not only an excellent sport in its own right but also provides an excellent training platform for other sports.

Debbie is pictured after taking part in the gruelling Marin winter Series cross country mountain bike race. The Marin Winter series comprised four individual races at different venues in the Thetford area, between Nov '07 to Feb '08.

Each race was capped at 500 riders, (sold out well in advance due to its popularity across the country), of which around 30 were ladies over age 18, racing with me through the forest, with a 2 hour cut off, to get the most and fastest 6-7 mile laps. A few of the 500 were mad enough to do the 4 hour version.

The series win was decided on the best 3 results of the 4 races and was closely contested in the 2 hour ladies category. With myself and 3 or 4 young whippersnappers in the running, it was anyone's series, all hinging on the result of the final round. Thankfully on the day I managed to clinch it.

Though I don't swim or ride as much as I'd like, the two disciplines seem to work well with each other. I'm not sure how the biking helps the swimming, other than base fitness, but I'm sure swimming helps with breathing in bike races.

As relatively few ladies race mountain bikes at a national level, (especially as they get more mature!) I have been lucky enough to enjoy success at various races across the country over the last 10 years or so. The courses are not always as flat as Thetford!

Debbie Burton