REBECCA Hilland has soared into the top ten of the UK Rankings for 10k after smashing her personal best over the weekend.
The 36-year-old Team Bath AC runner clocked a time of 33mins 45secs in the Hytteplanmila 10k in Royse, Norway, to slash 57 seconds off the time she ran in the same race last year.
That was in the early days of the former GB junior international’s comeback after a long break from the sport and since then Hilland, who lives in work in Norway, has gone from strength to strength culminating in her first GB senior vest this summer at the European Mountain Running Championships in Italy.
“I was very happy to run a big PB which I think puts me in the top 10 in the UK for 10km on the road this year,” said Hillland.
“I was a little unsure in the days before the race whether I would be able to get to the start line as there are currently train strikes, but fortunately my husband was okay with driving seven hours across the snowy mountains to east Norway to get there!”
Hilland’s 10k performance comes barely three weeks after she recorded a PB of 75mins 38secs in the Cardiff half marathon, a time which clipped 17 seconds of her previous best set in Oxford last year. Before that she also won the Oslo half marathon in 76:46.
The Cardiff performance puts the former Bath Royal High School student 28th in the UK. In the South West those marks put her second quickest for 2016 in both the 10k and half distances.