A KENDAL AC runner has capped off a remarkable month by adding a bronze medal in the World Mountain Running Championships to a silver she picked up at the European Championships earlier in July.

Sarah Tunstall, from Kirkby Stephen, came home in third in the 13km race in Premana, Italy.

Tunstall clocked 64:16 on the two-lap course on Sunday (July 30) to finish behind winner Lucy Murigi Wambui of Kenya, and second-placed lady Andrea Mayr of Austria.

It was a remarkable achievement for Tunstall, who at the beginning of July came second in the European Mountain Running Championships in Slovenia.

"I was delighted," she said. "I didn't know what to expect given only the three-week gap between the championships and I would normally practice a lot more transitional work between the downhill and up. "However, I planned my race tactics and felt I paced it really well on a very tough course.

"It is hard to describe quite how electric the atmosphere was in Premana. It was estimated there were more than 5,000 spectators there, the course was lined pretty much the whole way, with only a few quiet sections to regain any thoughts.

"The passion, noise and support along the whole course will stay with me a long time. The way Premana embraced and celebrated Mountain running on Sunday makes crossing the finish line and standing on the podium even more unforgettable."

Tunstall's fellow Kendal AC runner Rebecca Robinson was also running in the senior women's race. Unfortunately, Robinson suffered an early fall in the race, but fought back to finish 32nd by the end.

Chris Richards, from Kendal, was competing in the junior men's race. He followed up his 15th position in the European Championships with a 16th-place finish in Prenama.

In the junior women's race, Scarlet Dale, from Hutton Roof, finished in a very strong seventh place.