Lucy Gossage is a trained cancer doctor, a 14-time IRONMAN champion, and now an elite ultrarunner as the winner of the gruelling 2025 Spine Race.

So there are probably few people more deserving of an invite to meet the Prime Minister to mark International Women’s Day.

But Gossage admits she thought all was not as it seemed when she found an email in her inbox summoning her to Downing Street on Tuesday.

“In disbelief”

In a post on her Instagram the morning after, she said: “I was invited to 10 Downing Street for a reception with the prime minister and an incredible group of women for international women’s day….and I’m still a bit in disbelief.

“When I saw the email in my inbox I thought it was spam. How on earth would anyone in Downing Street know about me and secondly, even if they did, how would they get my personal email address to contact me?

“But the email domains checked out and Google told me they’d hosted similar events before so I threw on a dress, brushed my hair and took a train to London.

“Even when I arrived, I still wasn’t sure the invitation was real until I saw other women holding their paper invitations, many just as puzzled as I was.

“I’m still not sure why or how I was invited and I’d love to know how they found my name. But what matters is accepting that it’s ok to be proud that I was.

“One thing I learned last night is that so many amazing women deal with imposter syndrome. Maybe we all need to work on accepting that it’s okay to be proud of our achievements.”

Gossage joined guests including Olympic legend Dame Kelly Holmes and actor Anna Maxwell Martin, alongside faith leaders, musicians, lawyers and others at a reception hosted by Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Sir Keir Starmer.

“Felt like speed dating”

She said: “I’m not someone who finds small talk and mingling with strangers easy but last night was different. It felt like speed dating with a group of the most incredible and diverse women you could imagine – game changers in every sense.

“On the train home I googled the women I chatted with and their achievements far outshone our brief conversations. Maybe that’s a common trait for awesome women – we often struggle to showcase or articulate our achievements. So many of them wondered how they had made the list, yet when they told me their stories, it was obvious. I guess perhaps they thought the same about me.

“Angela Rayner, Rachel Reeves and Keir Starmer all gave short, powerful speeches. But one thing Rachel said stuck with me: ‘None of us got here by chance or by fluke or as a token gesture. We all got here through tremendous hard work and courage’. And this morning, as I reflect I’m letting myself accept this.”

Gossage, 45, retired from triathlon in 2018 to focus on her job but has since pursued ultra running. She came third on her debut in the 268-mile Montane Winter Spine Race last year, winning this year’s event in January.