Dan Awde has been left humbled after an online campaign to raise funds for the 400m runner reached his £2,500 target. The Woodford Green with Essex Ladies runner missed out on funding from UK Athletics earlier this month but had already launched his Talentbacker initiative.

He had 28 days to receive the £2,500 he needed for warm weather training in America and other expenses.

And, last week, the Woodford Green resident achieved his total.

“Reaching that target was really humbling,” he said. “I have not met many of the people that have sponsored me but they have chosen to do it to help me and that is a great feeling.

“It has been great to chat to some of the people through Twitter who have sponsored me as well. It just shows that the support for athletics is out there.”

The 26-year-old switched from the decathlon to the 400m at the start of the 2014 season and quickly adapted to training for just one event.

His first season as a 400m runner culminated with gold at the Commonwealth Games in Scotland as part of England’s 4x400m relay team.

That success, coupled with a bronze medal at the Sainsbury’s British Indoor Championships, left Awde anticipating UK Athletics funding.

“I was a little bit surprised not to get anything,” he said. “It was frustrating after the year that I had and what I had achieved for the team. I was left scratching my head a bit to be honest.

“They have their reasons though, and you have to respect that decision. I had already started the funding campaign before their announcement just in case and it proved the right thing to do in the end.”

Awde has enjoyed his first year as a 400m athlete and is already targeting medal success at next year’s British Championships, the European Indoor Championships and the IAAF World Championships.

Further to those events, he has his sights set on the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

He said: “After deciding to swap from the decathlon I wasn’t sure how I would feel training for one event but I have really enjoyed it. I am feeling like an athlete rather than being a bit all over the place.

“There are a lot of different strands to the training and our coach Chris Zah has been fantastic as well.

“The warm weather training next year is very important in the build up to the season.

“I should be going out to California or Florida in early March and that will hopefully set me up for a good season and then the Olympics.

“The money raised has allowed me to make these plans. So I am very grateful to everyone who donated.”