In this episode I speak to Jess Judd, British 5000m champion and soon-to-be Olympian. Jess is on the plane to Tokyo any minute now, I think, and I’m so excited about watching her race while she’s there – she’s due to be running the double: the 5000 metres and the 10,000 metres. She talks to me here about her modest start with running, her dad’s love of the sport, and how his enthusiasm was infectious. How she took to it like a duck to water, falling in love with both track and cross country. I ask her what it’s like to be picked for the Olympics, and how she trains for it given the demands of a very busy schedule: she’s also currently studying for a PhD, and she has the not insignificant task of planning a wedding alongside that. She tells me about that, about her thoughts on equality in cross country, how she gets used to race day nerves and performing in front of crowds, and what it was like to meet her hero Jo Pavey. Jess is sponsored by HOKA, so I also ask how that came about, and what kit she enjoys running in the most. She’s an extremely talented runner, and we can’t wait to see what happens in the next couple of weeks. Fingers crossed for Jess!Podcast listeners can claim the best discount we have for membership to Women’s Running, which is 35% off. That’s less than £2.95 a month! And for that you get our brilliant magazine, and you also get loads of money off the sorts of stuff you love, like kit, nutrition and class memberships. Enter WRPOD at the checkout for your discount. Come and join Women’s Running – we’d love to have you with us!Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=67575412)