CITY athlete Mike Wilsmore is hoping to spend part of this winter training in Kenya to try and take his career to the next level.

The Tamar Trotters runner has been granted three months unpaid leave from his job as a musculoskeletal physiotherapist at Derriford Hospital.

He plans to use it to fly out to Kenya in early December and return for the British Indoor Championships on February 11/12, 2017.

England international Wilsmore believes training at altitude and with some of the best runners in the world might be able to push towards the top of the Great Britain rankings.

This season he is ranked 32^nd in the UK 1,500m ranking with 3:44.40.

“I feel it (going to Kenya) would be a great step forward to help me push on from an England international to being in the running for selection as part of the Great Britain team in coming years,” said Wilsmore.

“While I am there I plan to link up with other runners from across Europe and Kenyan athletes and train with them.

“The opportunity will allow me to learn from the best and help me and my coach fine tune our training to make sure we reach my potential.

“Many of the athletes I currently compete against are full-time and train at altitude and/or use altitude tents.

“This project would allow me the chance to train in a similar manner where I can optimise my training, nutrition and rest to get the best from myself.”

Wilsmore is 31 years-old now but did not really commit to running seriously until his mid-20s due to a career in the Royal Marines.

Now he feels he is in the best shape of his life and wants to make the most of it before it is too late.

Wilsmore is saving desperately to try and fund the trip, but has appealed to the sporting community to see there is anyone out there willing to support him in any way.

His goal is to raise £1,500 and he has set up a web page to try and attract support. He has thought of a number of ways to try and raise money, including offering social media thanks, emails, postcards and presents from Kenya for a small fee as well as selling training sessions with him, meet and greet packages and even his shirt number from the British Indoor Championships.

You can find out ways you can support him HERE.