Borderer Scout Adkin still in pole position in mountain-running world cup going into last three rounds

The Peebles 31-year-old is now on 338 points from 12 rounds, up from 268, but her lead has been cut from 83 points to 15 after her closest challenger, Kenya’s Valentine Jepkoech Rutto, took her total to 323, up from 185, after also picking up a first place at Premana in Lombardy.

Moorfoot Runners senior Adkin finished Saturday’s 8km Giir di Mont uphill race first in 47 minutes and 52 seconds, just six seconds in front of Italian runner-up Francesca Ghelfi, with Austria’s Andrea Mayr third in 48:31 and Rutto, 33, fourth in 48:46.

Rutto won the day after’s 32km follow-up in a new female course record time of 3:58:28 to keep her title challenge on track, however, with Italians Roberta Jacquin and Martina Cumerlato second in 4:07:45 and third in 4:08:47.

The Borderer’s first-placed finish follows a first in round one of the cup in Romania at the start of May, two seconds in Italy later that same month, a first in round four in Poland in June, two seconds in rounds seven and eight in China in July and a second and fifth in rounds nine and ten in France the weekend before last.

Rutto’s fellow Kenyan Joyce-Muthoni Njeru remains third in the cup standings, now on 223 points after finishing eighth on Saturday in 50:22.

Adkin – world cup runner-up to Njeru, 28, in 2023 ahead of winning by a whisker last year with 339 points to Njeru’s 338 – is one of only two Britons in the leaderboard’s top ten, along with Warwickshire’s Elle Twentyman, seventh with 92 points.

Another Kenyan, Paul Machoka, is top of the men’s leaderboard on 265 points after finishing third on Saturday in 40:17 and fourth the day after in 3:19:15.

Round 13 of the cup takes place at Zinal in Switzerland on Saturday, August 9, and a two-legged final in Slovenia follows at Kamnik and Ljubljana on Saturday and Sunday, August 23 and 24.

August will also see Adkin representing Scotland in the 14th mountain-running senior home countries international at Whinlatter in Cumbria on Sunday the 17th, a 14km up-and-down race, along with her younger brother Jacob, 29.

Her teammates are Catriona MacDonald, of Glasgow’s Bellahouston Road-Runners; Emily McNicol, of South Lanarkshire’s Law and District Amateur Athletic Club; and Holly Page, of Edinburgh’s Carnethy Hill-Running Club.

Accompanying her brother – also in action in Saturday’s uphill race in Italy, finishing as 11th male competitor in 41:54 – are Deeside Runners’ Robbie Simpson, East Sutherland Athletics Club’s Ross Gollan and Lothian Running Club’s Moray Pryde.