A teenage cross country star hopes she is on the comeback trail after recording another win on a course she has dominated in recent years.

Olivia Mason has completed a hattrick of National Cross Country Championships wins as she looks to get back to her best following a challenging period which saw her performances and results hampered by anaemia.

The 17-year-old, from Branthwaite, now feels like herself again and finished first at Harewood House near Leeds to complete a milestone in her recovery ahead of a big spring and summer.

Mason has now won the race in each consecutive age group from under-13s to under-15s and now under-17s to show an impressive mastery of its twists and turns.

She said: “It was quite a hilly course and I knew that if on the second lap I got the the top of the hill in among the top three I’d have a chance of winning because from that point I knew I would have a faster finish due to my track speed.

“When I got there in that position I was re-energized because I knew I could do it.

“This has been my comeback season really after what I’d been through last year.

“It was a good confidence booster to know that I’m getting back on top of my form.”

The Border Harriers runner is set to compete in the World Cross Country Trials and UK Inter Counties Championships next at Loughborough on March 9.

The top three finishers in that event will automatically qualify for the World Cross Country Championships, with three more runners set to be selected from the rest of the field.

Mason said: “I have to move up an age group so I don’t really know how it’s going to play out but I think if I run to form and have a good race I’ll be in the mix for that top six.

“I’ll just have to see how it goes and keep myself healthy.

“If I get picked for the Worlds I’ll be competing in Denmark towards the end of March.

“If not, before that there’s also the English Schools’ Cross Country Champs where I’d be in the senior girls group.

A training camp in Portugal will then give Mason the opportunity to prepare for the track season and reflect on what has been a tough spell that now looks to be behind her.

“It was really hard going through the period when I was seeing girls beat me who wouldn’t normally and I couldn’t do anything about it,” she said.

“I learned that I can only control the controllables and I found my love for running even more.

“I think I’ve come out a better athlete and started to see things from a long-term perspective.

“I also had an injury over Christmas and I didn’t run for three weeks so I’m only just coming into form now.

“I’ve gained valuable experience and know how to deal with it and trust the process.”