"A top-20 finish would be good" - Twell
Time has come for Twell
The domestic races have been won, and now it’s time for Steph Twell to step up to world-class. The Aldershot athlete’s improvement curve has been dramatic over the last 12 -18 months, to the point where she must now be considered in the top 3 European cross country runners.
She is head and shoulders the UK’s best endurance athlete over the country right now. Her confidence must be high having swept all before her in the domestic UK scene this winter, and also given the best African runners a scare at the Great North Cross in January. So, as she heads to Amman for this weekend’s World Cross Country Champs, Twell is philosophical about not letting expectations get in her way – neither does she want to get too carried away on predictions.
I always say that I want to finish as high as possible. I just want to get the best out of myself on the day. A top-20 finish would be good, but who knows how much better I can do? I should be able to finish higher than that but I don’t want to put a marker or a boundary down.
Speaking to Simon Hart of the Telegraph, in an article previewing her chances, Steph also states:
“I’m ready to have the race of my life out in Jordan. This is quite an unfamiliar time of year for me to be running because in the last few years I’ve been injured, but this time I’m fit and healthy and training well, so I’m ready to go out there and rock and roll. I feel like I’m in the shape of my life.
Whatever happens on Saturday you can be sure that Twell will finish with a smile on her face, and we just have a sneaking feeling that her top 20 talk might be closer to top 10!
