Denise Park is a Chartered Physiotherapist with a private practice based in Clitheroe, Lancs. She started working with fell runners in 1989 and became Physiotherapist to the England Mountain Running Team in 2004. SHE IS ALSO THE FRA ACCREDITED PHYSIO AND HAS WRITTEN IN THE FELLRUNNER MAGAZINE SINCE 2005. ALSO IN 2004 she started working closely with Anna Pichrtova, an Olympic athlete from the Czech Republic.
Anna became World, European, and Masters Mountain Running Champion, and in 2008, became World Long Distance Mountain Running Champion when she won the Three Peaks Race, breaking the then female record. Denise continues to work closely with Anna (who is now Anna Strakova).
Denise has worked with some of the top fell and mountain runners around the world, including eleven World Champions and the current Three Peaks Race female record holder, Victoria Wilkinson, who won the race in 2017 in a time of 3 hours 9 minutes and 19 seconds. Aswell as being an amazing athlete, Victoria is a sports masseur who works alongside Denise at her Clitheroe practice.
Denise has attended many international events in an official capacity, and in 2009 received recognition from the World Mountain Running Association for her work with elite athletes – the only physiotherapist to have ever received this accolade.
Over the last few years, she has carried out research into the nature of injuries experienced by fell and mountain runners and has written a chapter in a medical textbook on extreme sports injuries. In 2020, she also published a book in conjunction with Steve Chilton in memory of her late partner - "Fell and Mountain Running: Through the eye of a lens. A tribute to Pete Hartley: fellrunner and photographer."
Denise’s practice consists of two physiotherapists, Denise and Russell Wrigley, sports masseur Victoria Wilkinson, and hypnotherapist Tracey Hugill.