A WOMAN who took up running only ten years ago won a gold medal at the fifth World Masters Mountain Running Championships at Keswick on Saturday - aged 70, writes Mike Addison.

Kendal's Heather Goodman (pictured right) was first female V65 runner in this prestigious event held in England for the first time.

Despite rarely competing in fell races, Heather left women five years her junior trailing in her wake as she blazed a trail up Lonscale Hill from Fitz Park.

"I don't do a great deal of fell running because I can't really see in front of me," said mother-of-two Heather, of Greenwood, Kendal, who keeps in trim by training 40 plus miles a week. "I have had two cataract operations and I find it difficult to quickly assess the ground in front of me."

But she thoroughly enjoyed Saturday's event that attracted over 1,000 runners to the Lake District from 27 different countries.

She ran over the "short" course that featured a "never- ending" climb up a gully on Lonscale Hill and won by exactly four minutes from Hetta Morath of Abbey Runners with Cumberland Fell Runners' Janet Sutcliffe finishing third.

Heather is a former member of the British canoe slalom team and represented her country in the Olympics at Munich, Germany, in 1972.

She has also done a lot of sailing and it was while getting fit for the boat that she took up running and has had a lot of success in cross country races.

Garsdale fell runner Mike Walsh had focused his training on the event after overcoming an Achilles injury earlier in the season and his efforts were rewarded as he came away with a silver medal in the V55 category.

Mike, 56, who is a warehouseman at the Roofbox Company, Sedbergh, had been second out of the field and was third to the summit behind Germany's Reinhart Vogler and Leeds City's Brian Hilton.

He overhauled Hilton on the descent but was unable to make any headway on Vogler who went on to win by a margin of 37 seconds.

"I have probably not had as many races where I have felt quite as satisfied at the finish," said Walsh, who is a former V50 English champion.

A third Kendal runner Craig Roberts picked up a bronze in the V40 race after finishing fifth in Germany in 2003 and fourth in Italy last year. He finished behind Italy's Franco Torresani and CFR's Alan Bowness.

"The plan was to go with the pace whatever but it was just that quick and the Italian and Alan Bowness were away from the off," said Craig.

Craig picked his way through the chasing group and then tagged on to Lancaster and Morecambe's Mark Croasdale who he overtook near the summit and held off on the descent.

RESULTS: Male V40: 1 F Torresani, Italy, 50-39; 2 A Bowness, CFR, 51-53; 3 C Roberts, Kendal, 52-50; 4 M Croasdale, Lancs & Morecambe, 53-21; 5 G Hull, Leeds City, 53-55; 6 P Dugdale, Kendal, 54-15; 78 M Addison, Helm Hill, 1-04-24; 80 J Fish, Ambleside, 1-04-37; 96 J Bagge, Helm Hill, 1-06-27; 132 F Livesey, Howgill, 1-09-55; 135 D Jones, Hoad Hill, 1-10-18; 137 R Cannon, Helm Hill, 1-10-56; 177 D Whitehead, Kendal, 1-21-48. Male V45: 1 D Neill, Staffs Moorlands, 52-51; 2 C Donelly, Cambusland, 55-13; 3 K Harding, Tring, 55-22; 4 F Kolinek, Czech Republic, 56-04; 5 R Gallagher, Carnethy, 56-29; 32 S Addison, Helm Hill, 1-02-46; 82 A Hinde, Settle, 1-08-26; 89 M Wynne, Settle, 1-08-57; 90 G Pinder, Hoad Hill, 1-08-59; 99 S Oxley, Settle, 1-09-53; 109 J Dickinson, Kendal, 1-11-55; 110 L Ormerod, Settle, 1-12-01; 137 E Nixon, Eden, 1-16-28; 143 P Smith, Settle, 1-17-56; 154 W Percival, Ambleside, 1-19-28; 181 N Walker, Kendal, 1-32-14. Male V50: 1 N Gates, Brighton, 56-56; 2 S Jackson, Horwich, 58-49; 3 T McGaff, Cheshire, 59-13; 4 E Davies, Mercia, 59-51; 5 P Stewhauser, Italy, 1-00-11; 27 P Clark, Kendal, 1-04-40; 53 M Berry, Black Combe, 1-08-40; 82 G Dobson, Kendal, 1-13-30; 127 J Broxap, Kendal, 1-21-12; 144 G Settle, Settle, 2-06-26. Male V55: 1 R Vogler, Germany, 44-38; 2 M Walsh, Kendal, 45-15; 3 B Hilton, Leeds, 45-22; 4 B Grant, Harrogate, 46-15; 5 T Scott, Fife, 46-53; 31 M Cronshaw, Kendal, 54-34; 86 D Ablitt, Ambleside, 1-04-33. Male V60: 1 R Wilby, Scotland, 47-53; 2 A Bland, Borrowdale, 49-03; 3 D Williams, Eryri, 49-09; 4 E Davies, Eryri, 49-11; 5 K Carr, Clayton, 49-15; 59 A Stafford, Kendal, 1-05-01; 63 N Hakeman, Dallam, 1-06-14. Male V65: 1 P Covey, Pudsey, 50-05; 2 K Scheiber, Switzerland, 50-11; 3 N Bush, Ilkley, 52-48; 4 G Pedrazza, Italy, 54-36; 5 B Daniells, Milton Keynes, 57-12; 25 K Heywood, Kendal, 1-07-40; 32 J Edward Taylor, Ambleside, 1-11-52. Male V70: 1 B Baggia, Italy, 52-51; 2 A Menarry, Durham, 56-53; 3 L Sullivan, Clayton, 57-07; 4 A Unterkircher, Austria, 57-08; 5 D Naylor, Swansea, 58-08; 17 H Catlow, CFR, 1-07-07.

Female V35: 1 A Mudge, Carnethy, 59-27; 2 A Buckley, 1-02-52; 3 S Ridley, Edinburgh, 1-03-17; 15 P Lernelius, Kendal, 1-18-12. Female V40: 1 S Newman, Calder Valley, 1-03-55; 2 R Pickvance, Les Croupiers, 1-04-25; 3 J Hargreaves, CFR, 1-04-55; 8 E Dugdale, Kendal, 1-09-10. Female V45: 1 C Greasley, Cheshire, 1-05-23; 2 S Beconsall, Bingley, 1-05-34; 3 K Beaty, CFR, 1-06-15. Female V50: 1 M Laney, Clayton, 1-04-30; 2 V Peacock, Clayton, 1-06-44; 3 B Paulu, Czech Republic, 1-07-24; 7 W Dodds, Clayton, 1-13-42; 23 V Gill, Black Combe, 1-26-33. Female V55: 1 A Brentnall, Pennine, 57-16; 2 C Colam, Keswick, 58-54; 3 M Oliver, Eryri, 1-00-32. Female V60: 1 G Schmittner, Germany, 56-30; 2 B Berghaus, Germany, 1-00-29; 3 E Statham, Stone Master, 1-01-07. Female V65: 1 H Goodman, Kendal, 1-06-55; 2 H Morath, Abbey, 1-10-55; 3 J Sutcliffe, CFR, 1-13-22.

SENIOR OPEN RACE: 1 R Lightfoot, Netherall School, 54-47; 2 M Fanning, Borrowdale, 55-13; 3 A Hart, Hunters Bog Trotters, 57-22; 57 K Fursey, Black Combe, 1-17-53; 76 C Sibbald, Black Combe, 1-23-04