WORCESTERSHIRE’S Emma Gooderham won individual and team honours at the Commonwealth Ultra-distance Trail Championships.

The Wyre Piddle ace was representing England in her first ultra-trail race at the competition in Anglesey, North Wales.

But Gooderham held off rivals from the home nations and other commonwealth countries, including Australia, New Zealand and Kenya, to win the race. With team-mates Helen Taranowski and Kate Bailey, who were sixth and seventh respectively, Gooderham also helped England women win team gold.

The English men managed to take team silver behind Wales.

The run covered a total of 33.4 miles over five laps along the paths of Newborough Forest and the beaches of Anglesey. The course was tough with a mixture of undulating forest trails, soft beaches and steep sand dunes.

The weather conditions were good within the forest but the strong headwinds along the beaches meant many runners struggled to find their rhythm.

Gooderham started slowly, finding her feet on the soft sand, but was soon into her stride.

She managed to take the lead shortly after the start and maintained a steady pace, finishing more than 10 minutes ahead of second-placed Angela Mudge from Scotland.

Australia’s Kirsten Bull finished third.

The race was part of the Mountain and Ultra-distance Commonwealth Championships, being held for the second time, and is due to be shown on Channel 4 next month.

After two tough races in a month, Gooderham is planning to take a well-earned rest with her family before contemplating the South Africa Marathon in November.