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Double Olympic Champion Dame Kelly Holmes visited the high performance athletics centre at Loughborough University as part of her 'On Camp with Kelly' mentoring programme.

The camp has been running for the last five years and now mentors 56 athletes, including a number from Loughborough.

Kelly set up the scheme to help talented young female middle distance runners to achieve their dreams by supporting them a difficult period in their athletic life.

Kelly said participants in the mentoring education programme could largely be divided into three groups – girls recovering from injuries, girls who were racing consistently but needed an extra confidence boost, and girls who had been selected for major championships this year:

"We're here at Loughborough University getting a lot of the girls together to give them some inspiration and move forward their career."

'On Campus with Kelly' is run by a team of individuals with athletics background, from management to ex-elite performers.

The structure provides training support, access to physiotherapists, doctors and masseurs, and an often just someone to chat to for a bit of reassurance:

"It is really a team. It's a family really. All the girls know who they can call and I'm only on the end of the phone."

Talent in Loughborough

Kelly says it's great to see that her visions is paying off, helping a number of female athletes improve:

"We're keeping the athletes in sport. We're the only initiative in athletics and in sport that’s actually proven to have kept a number of people in their sport over a period of time.

"The outcomes are that people are progressing, we are seeing some great performances. I always stress that I'm not their coach, I'm their sort of back-up support team for their coach."

Kelly is not surprised Loughborough University will play a key part in Great Britain's preparations for London 2012, providing a base for Japan:

"I think Japan will love the fact they’ve got these tremendous facilities, and hopefully it will inspire the other athletes and sports people around during that time of the Olympics.

"I think also we've got a great group of girls that actually study here in Loughborough and I think they find it conducive to their training in terms of the network of people that they've got that are sporty like-minded individuals going through the same stresses and demands..."

She was very excited to be one of the lucky athletes to be accepted onto the project, but not quite as excited as her mum!

Stevie was part of month-long trip to South Africa paid for by the camp which she describes as an "amazing experience".

"I've got personal bests this year, a PB in all my events this year. I'm still waiting to run faster but it's just helped me tremendously."

Another 1800m runner, Claire Tarplee sustained a calf tear injury earlier this year.

Kelly's camp has paid for the medical and physio treatment she has needed to build back her strength, something Claire is very grateful for, "She's a massive, massive inspiration to us."

Stevie agrees, "Everyone can just relate to her – anything we've got, she's had. She's just got a story to tell. She's really supporting, she's just amazing."