Four Borderers selected for UK team for this year’s World Mountain and Trail-Running Championships
Borderers make up just short of half of the nine Scots selected to represent Great Britain and Northern Ireland at next month’s World Mountain and Trail-Running Championships in Spain.
Moorfoot Runners’ Scout Adkin and younger brother Jacob will double up at that event at Canfranc and compete in both uphill and up-and-down races, and their clubmate Thomas Hilton and Gala Harriers’ Isla Paterson have been named in the UK’s under-20 squad.
The elder Adkin, 32, will be accompanied by Edinburgh’s Kirsty Dickson in the uphill race and her sibling, 29, will be joined by her fellow Carnethy Hill-Running Club member Matthew Knowles in the male version and by Glasgow’s Andrew Douglas in the up-and-down race.
Lining up alongside Hilton will be Lasswade’s Rowan Taylor and Paterson will have two fellow Scots keeping her company, Aberdeen’s Hania Czebreszuk and Edinburgh’s Jessica Taylor.
Selection of that nine-strong Scottish contingent followed trials south of the border at Whinlatter Forest in Cumbria earlier this month, with automatic call-ups for the first two athletes to finish in each category and other team places being allocated on a discretionary basis.
The younger Adkin won his 6.4km uphill race, with 905m of ascent, in a time of 37:44 and was runner-up in the 14km up-and-down race, featuring 750m of climb, but his sister was ruled out of contention for victory in the women’s versions by a fall.
Hilton and Paterson both won in their classes in a junior up-and-down race over one 7.9km loop of the senior course, in times of 30:59 and 37:12 respectively, with the latter placing 19th overall.
The squad of 22 announced last week will be part of a 38-strong party also including a team of seven to take on a long trail race and nine to tackle a short one.
This year’s championships take place over four days from September 25.