SLAD athlete Kate Goodhead (pictured) believes she is ready to join the top brass of mountain running after her impressive performance at the World Championships in Italy.

The 27-year-old Great Britain star raced to a career-best 12th place from a top-class field on the 8.8k uphill course in Ponte di Legno.

She said: “I reckon that is my best-ever performance and I now know how I can get even better.

“At the halfway mark I was just behind the leaders but then we hit a really steep climb and I lost ground on that section.

“I realise I have to work on my strengths so that I can cope better on the steep climbs and that will make me even better and at the moment I feel on top of the world.”

After finishing runner-up in the UK Mountain Running Championships in Glenridding, Goodhead improved to finish top Brit in Italy.

“Initially I was aiming to make the top twenty but now I am close to being in the top ten in the world,” added Goodhead.

Next year Goodhead is aiming for a top-six finish at the European Mountain Championships in Bulgaria and will prepare for the challenge in Austria next May.

Goodhead is targeting the Bristol half marathon at the end of this month and then the Stroud half in October and will also run some cross country after Christmas.