I’d love to be the fastest lady on another track

I've always fancied myself as the next Lewis Hamilton and I've just put my skills to the test with a day of go-karting. I went with my boyfriend and his mates — I was the only girl there — but still got the third-fastest lap which I was pretty proud of.

Christmas isn't too far away, mum. . .

My boyfriend and I like going to the cinema as well — the most recent film we've seen is Paranormal Activity 2. I didn't see the first one but have to say this one freaked me out a bit.

In stark contrast, next on the list is The Social Network, the film about the guy who set up Facebook, which I'm hoping won't play on my mind quite as much as Paranormal Activity 2.

Away from training, go-karting and trips to the cinema, I'm cooking a lot more with varying degrees of success. Unfortunately I have a tendency to cook food which is either too bland or too salty so, as of yet, I've not put my boyfriend through my efforts.

However, my one success has been jerk chicken with plantain. It's a recipe I've stolen from my dad as he's the chef in our family. If I get too hungry and can't be bothered to cook for myself, I know I can always go home to eat.

Now that I'm back at university, I spend most of Monday to Friday based at my uni accommodation in west London and tend to head back east for weekends.

It's a nice mix as it means I really look forward to heading back to the family home.

On the subject of university, I've got a 10,000-word dissertation to write by April. It's on what stops black boys in Britain fulfilling their sporting potential after secondary school.

I've just started the research and what's worrying is there's very little information on it but I'm looking forward to setting up interviews, getting stuck into the research and producing my findings.

It's a topic I'm genuinely interested in which will make the work that much easier.
As far as my athletics training is concerned, this is the part of the year where it's particularly nasty — I'm spending lots of time in the gym but, as this season has proved, all the hard work now is worth it as you're really able to see the results when the new season begins.

The weather's suddenly got a lot colder but it doesn't affect me too much — I'm happy to train in all conditions, especially now I've got all my Nike winter training gear.

Plus, I like listening to music while I'm training as it helps to get me in the mood. For a long run, which I'm doing lots of at the moment, I'll listen to something fast tempo, soulful house music perhaps but, if it's just a warm-up, I'll slow the tempo down a bit but not for long.

Perri Shakes-Drayton is an ambassador for McCain Foods, Principal Partner of UK Athletics. For more information go to www.mccaintrackandfield.co.uk