Macclesfield mountain athlete Olivia Walwyn has been running up and down every local peak as she prepares to represent Great Britain in the European Mountain Running Championships.

Olivia, aged 26, the librarian in The King’s School’s Fence Avenue Resource Centre, hopes to build on her seventh place spot in the Commonwealth Games, held at Keswick last year.

She flies out to Sophia on July 2 for the race two days later, in what will be her second appearance in a Great Britain vest, having previously represented England three times.

Olivia said: "With so many talented athletes, particularly from the Alpine countries such as Switzerland, France and Italy, in these European Championships, I am hoping for a top 20 place and, perhaps, help the GB team into a medal winning position."

Olivia, from Great King Street, trains six times each week, her lithe 5ft 10in frame a regular sight on Tegg’s Nose, Kerridge, Shutlingsloe, Shining Tor and Kinder Scout, as she thinks nothing of taking on an eight-mile run every evening.

She said: "You must love the outdoors, have good endurance, be determined and have the courage to run fast downhill."

She added: "I have only really recently picked up my speed going downhill and, of course, it can be dangerous, as I should know taking a fall only last month and having to have four stitches in my chin."

She continued: "It isn’t really a sport where you can look at the view. I tend to concentrate on what I am doing and when I am racing purely on catching up the runner in front.

"It’s different when you are training when, to some extent, you can enjoy the scenery, but really you still need all your concentration just on running fast and maintaining your footing."

An English and philosophy graduate, Olivia has a quiet determination and iron temperament, and is only taking one step at a time.

"My ambitions are just to do as well as I can in the European Championships, and after that we will see what happens."

She added: "I know I have the support of all the girls at King’s School and when I ran in the Commonwealth Games, some of the girls put posters of me all over the Resource Centre, which certainly drew some interest."