Firstly, many thanks for checking out my Pledge Sports page.

A LITTLE ABOUT ME

My name is Brodie Murray and I’m a 17 years old cross country skier, based in the North East of Scotland.

I train and compete as part of the British Nordic Ski Team, and during the day I go to The Gordon Schools in Huntly, close to my training centre, where I train during and after school as well as at weekends.  I also manage to fit in 2 jobs as a leisure attendant at the local ski centre as well as another similar position at a local swimming pool.

Cross-country skiing is one of the most demanding of all Olympic sports, with skiers propelling themselves at speeds that exceed 20-25 km per hour over distances as long as 50 km. Yet the difference between winners and losers in these grueling races can be decided by just the tip of a ski.

I train 6 days a week, which includes strength and conditioning, core, endurance & stamina, technique as well as overall fitness.  In total my training target for this year is over 600 hours.  It’s very tough, but if I want to succeed I know I have to work hard every minute of the day at school as well as on my training programme.  My training combines both on and off-snow routines and I train throughout the year on tarmac roads, in the warmth of the gym and long endurance running in the local hills and forests around where I live.

I have been skiing since the age of 7 and from the day I started I knew this was the sport for me.  At the age of 12, I was selected for the British Nordic Development Squad and I’ve continually developed and progressed since.   2015/16 saw me able to compete at international level for the first time and in a sport that is dominated by the Scandinavian countries, I managed to get within 12% of the winning athletes of the same age race, therefore with a little more experience and some more hard work on and off the snow, I know I can get even more competitive in years to come and challenge for a podium.

WHY I NEED YOUR SUPPORT

This year is a very important year for me,  I’m looking to take my first step on the Team GB ladder.  In February, the Winter European Youth Olympics are being held in Erzurum, Turkey and I have a good chance of selection qualification for the Team GB youth team to go out there.  After recently attending a Rio Olympic and Paralympic homecoming event in Edinburgh, I’m pretty fired up to succeed.

But, in order to achieve qualification for selection, I have to compete at a number of international races and achieve the selection criteria results needed and then, if successful, as the Youth Olympic Games are at high altitude, I have to attend a holding camp prior to the Games in February to get used to the lower oxygen levels.  All this comes at a high personal cost and I’ve relied heavily on bank of mum and dad for these past 10 years as the sport does not receive funding support from UK Sport or the National Lottery.  Hopefully that’s where you can help.

MY TARGET

My total race and training programme will cost in the region of £7,000 for this winter season.  I’m looking to self-fund 50% of that myself and then raise the rest of the funds through this crowdfunding campaign as well as some potential grant funding.  My target for this crowdfunder is £1,500 which would be an enormous help.

Between my Facebook friends, Instagram followers and people I know, I’ve built up a contact list of over 3,000 contacts so if just a few of you could contribute as little as £10 each, it would make such a huge difference and go a long way to me achieving my Olympic dream.

For further details, please check out my website at www.brodiemurray.com

And once again thank you for your support.