My Life: Alison Rose

Dame Kelly Holmes, Alison Rose, and Jessica Ennis-Hill

The physiotherapist who runs The Coach House Sport and Physiotherapy Clinic in Leeds rarely talks about her famous clients.

It is they who fall over themselves to give her the plaudits she deserves.

Jessica Ennis says ‘Ali’ helped rebuild her in the run-up to the 2012 Olympics. She has worked with the Sheffield heroine for the last nine years and helped to rehabilitate her back from a career threatening injury in 2008, to become World Champion a year later, in Berlin in 2009.

She is also the physiotherapist credited with helping to keep Kelly Holmes injury-free in the two years leading up to the Athens Olympics in 2004, helping her to double Olympic gold in the 800m and 1,500m. She still works with Dame Kelly supporting developing athletes through the On Camp With Kelly Scheme, that now has about 45 up and coming younger athletes. Other clients include the Brownlee brothers and the City of Leeds Diving team.

She is now using her expert knowledge as physio to this month’s Yorkshire Marathon.

And she is in an ideal position. Ali raced for Great Britain at the marathon at the World Student Games in 1993, at the European Championships in 1994, the Marathon World Cup in Athens in 1995 and the World Championships in 1995. But an ankle injury which required surgery  put paid to her running career.

“I suppose I’ve seen both sides and that is the best way to learn,” says Ali, who was born in Canada but moved to England as a child with her parents.

Although when she was younger she had aspiration to be a doctor, she says she was always fascinated by biomechanics and now things moved.

She studied at Edinburgh University where her running was taking off.

“Malcolm Brown started coaching me and I became a much better runner.”

Brown was then director of sports at Leeds Met and he invited her to the city in 2003.

Ten years on and Rose is regarded as one of the country’s top physios.

Working with elite athletes is a challenge as Ali knows she is just one part of a large team working to keep the athletes at the peak of their fitness.

She believes that injury prevention and a full and functional rehabilitation is the key to performance and treating injuries in the long term so that they do not recur.

Ali may be in demand from some of the country’s top athletes but she is determined to find time to help amateur athletes as well, such as those taking part in the Yorkshire Marathon, which is part of the Jane Tomlinson Run for All appeal.

“Being a marathon runner myself, I have a special interest in that event. I’ve known Mike Tomlinson and his family for years and we offered our support at the clinic. We like to support local runners as most of us are runners.”

And her advice to the participants?

“Make sure you do the right preparation, eat the right food and keep hydrated.

“It will be hard work but it is really important that people remember to enjoy it. It will be an amazing event,” she says, talking from experience.

Chance to join corporate relay

The Yorkshire Marathon on October 20 is full, however there are still a limited number of places on the James Potter Eggs Yorkshire Marathon Corporate Relay. Entry is £300 for a team of six. Relay distances range from 3 to 5.5 miles. The marathon is supported by Plusnet, James Potter Eggs, the University of York, York City Council, the Yorkshire Post, Capita Symonds, Marathon Talk, Runners’ World and Run247.com.