ATHLETICS: Hebden's Victoria Wilkinson is facing an uphill task on Saturday and she is looking forward to the challenge.

The 36-year-old is part of the Great Britain team for the European Mountain Running Championships in Madeira, Portugal.

She was flying out with the British team today and is expecting to train on the course tomorrow in preparation for the event which will see Austria's Andrea Mayr bid for a third-successive individual title.

"It is an uphill only race which suits me," said Wilkinson. "I have only seen pictures of the course but it looks to be heavily wooded with varying terrain. I will be particularly interested in studying the last part of the course when we get a chance to train on it."

Wilkinson, who won the selection race after making a successful return from a painful foot injury, believes Great Britain have a good chance of a team medal.

She said: "We have four strong runners and if we can all finish within about 30 seconds of each other, hopefully all inside the top 20, we will have a good chance."

To prepare for the event, Wilkinson has been training around Threshfield and has run just one race since clinching her first international vest for three years, finishing second in a fell race in Scotland.

"I feel fit and ready to go," she added, as she prepared to join up with the Great Britain team.