PITREAVIE AAC star Emily Nicholson will race for Great Britain at the World Mountain Running Championships today.

The 16-year-old Woodmill High pupil from Limekilns was successful in claiming a first GB role in the women’s under-20 team for the event in Sapareva Banya, Bulgaria despite only returning to action six weeks before the trials after six months out with injury.

Emily, a member at Pitreavie since she was nine, developed hamstring tendonitis last December and only resumed limited running sessions in June.

Running five miles per week at her peak – compared to her contemporaries, who were running 20 – she managed to regain fitness to take part in the GB trial for the championships in Keswick on July 31 and produced a sparkling performance to take third place.

That was good enough to claim her place in the team for the annual championship.

Mountain running has become increasingly competitive and high-profile and the talented teen has been working recently with dedicated mountain running coach Sophie Dunnett, as well as the endurance coaching team of John Wands and Bill Lindsay at Pitreavie.

Emily’s proud mum Penny Hicks said: “She has represented Scotland three times in mountain running and was a silver medallist in the British and Irish Mountain Running Championships in September 2015 but she has never got a British cap.

“She is the only Scot in the team and the youngest by two years. The GB team is six senior men, four senior women, four junior men and four junior women.

“She’s really excited about it as she only started running again six weeks before the trial. It is a really high-level competition and her coach has told her to enjoy the experience as it really is a bonus.”

Emily flew out to Bulgaria with her GB team-mates on Wednesday and the competition will take place today.