Hi, my name is Christina and I am a first year Sports Bursar here at the University of Glasgow studying Chemistry. Like a lot of people, coming to university was the first time that I have lived away from home and have had full responsibility over everything I do in a day – combine that with a high training schedule and it all started to get very busy very quickly!

Moving to Glasgow actually has allowed me to train more and have a higher quality of training as I am a track cyclist and now can train at a velodrome multiple times a week. This was really great, and has helped me so much, but it also means that I have been training much more than when I was living at home, and balancing this with studying has been tough.

"One of the biggest things that I have had to learn to do very quickly is prioritise my uni work or training, not both at the same time."

Typically, I am training from 10-15 hours and have about 20 hours  of lectures and labs in university a week. There are times, such as during exam season, where studying has to take priority over my training and I know that I might be more tired during my sessions. On those days, it is still important to train, and I still get the benefit but the sessions feel a lot tougher and focusing is much more difficult. And at other times, near big competitions and races, I have prioritised training and recovery. Once I have raced and come back to my accommodation, I can start to get back on track with my work – it's not particularly fun, but it's necessary!

The social aspect to university also looks a little bit different for me to how other people’s might. I still find time to go out and do things with my friends, like going on trips to different lochs or going to the cinema, but I’m not typically staying out late every weekend. I think there is a place for that but I am happy to ‘sacrifice’ this for my sport during heavy training blocks and on the lead up to competition. It is up to each athlete how they spend their free time, but this is just something that works for me. 

University in general, is a lot more relaxed than school ever was – and learning to go from a regimented lifestyle at home with a stricter structure has been interesting. I have had to be more relaxed with some aspects of my life. Sometimes I am going to get to training a bit later than I wanted because the bus was late or the trains weren’t running, and there are days where accommodation is a bit louder and you can’t sleep when you want to but having a more chilled out attitude helps. Everything will get done, just maybe not exactly when you want it to.

Christina is member of the University Sports Bursary Programme for talented athletes and a recipient of the Accommodation Sports Bursary 2023/24.

Photo by Andrew Leinster at www.andrewleinsterphoto.com