SEDBERGH'S Victoria Wilkinson set a new ladies' record in winning the Tebay Fell Race which was a counter for both the British and English championships.

The Bingley AC remains on course to win both titles and overcame Saturday's wilting heat to put in another strong performance and blow away the opposition.

She placed 46th overall in a quality field of senior men runners to clock 1-21-55 over the testing eight mile (3,000ft of climbing) course which includes a punishing ascent of Blea Fell.

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Her nearest challenger was Eryri's Bronwen Jenkinson who was 87th in 1-26-24 while Ambleside's Lou Roberts was third finishing 93rd in 1-26-56.

Rossendale's Sam Tosh won the men's race in 1-12-51 with 15 seconds to spare over Bowland's Chris Arthur while Lochaber's Finlay Wild (1-14-16) was third.

Ambleside's Ben Abdelnoor continued his recent run of good form to place 12th in 1-16-35 while Staveley's Rob Jebb (1-17-16) came home in 16th and was second MV40.

Borrowdale's Mark Roberts, who lives in Kendal, turned in a typically consistent performance and was first V55 in a very creditable 45th position finishing in 1-21-38, just ahead of Victoria Wilkinson. Helm Hill's Billy Procter (1-35-15) was third V60 while Milnthorpe's Wendy Dodds (1-58-08) led home the FV65s. There were 451 finishers.

A Kendal fell runner has qualified for Team GB and will race in the world U20s championships in Italy.

Chris Richards, who runs for Helm Hill, won the qualifying trial race in the Howgills at Sedbergh to secure his place in the team for the race at Premana, on July 30.

Chris also won a recent race at Skiddaw, qualifying him for a place in the European championship race in Slovenia, as well as earning him the title of England U20 mountain running champion.

"I am really pleased. I have really surprised myself with my my racing recently," said Chris. "I've run for England before, but this is GB now, so it's the next step up.

"It's always a massive privilege to race abroad so I'm really excited about that.

"The Sedbergh race was really tough in the heat. A lot of people struggled with that.

"Some people started too fast and struggled in the middle, and others had to drop out.

"The run in Italy will be difficult as it is the world championships. I will be running against the best from all over the world.

"I am confident in my ability to run the best I can and in terms of performing to my full capabilities.

"It is a case of going out there and throwing myself into the race and seeing how I do. It's going to be a tough summer of racing."