Alice Goodall relishes World Cross opportunity

Scottish cross-country champion looks forward to senior global debut at the World Cross in Belgrade

Following her triumph in the Scottish National Cross Country Championships and securing third place at the Inter-Counties this year, Alice Goodall still can’t believe she has been selected to represent Britain at the World Cross Country Championships in Belgrade on March 30.

The 23-year-old is one of five senior women on the GB team ready to tackle 10km in the Serbian capital next weekend. The sizeable squad sees Abbie Donnelly, Jess Warner-Judd, Lauren McNeil and Niamh Brown completing the women’s team.

In her first year as a senior woman, Goodall is trying to figure out “which direction to go in” as she has been exploring all three paths of cross country, track and mountain running.

Last year proved a successful yet busy year for the Scot as she won the European under-23 10,000m title (33:16.45) in Espoo, Finland (pictured above) as well as finishing 10th at the World Mountain Running Championships in Austria.

Growing up in Scotland, Goodall has developed a deep appreciation for the outdoors and Munros nearby, fuelling her passion for mountain running.

Having secured the silver medal at the FISU World University Cross Country Championships, the Edinburgh-based athlete has recently become the first UK signing for KIPRUN. The new partnership has provided her with a sense of relief as she tries to decide which path to follow.

AW chats exclusively to Goodall below:

What do you make of being selected to represent GB in the World Cross Country Championships in Belgrade?

I am still so speechless about it all. It is my first official year as a senior so I am kind of blown away that I have even managed to make it on the team.

We have such a strong team and the group of girls who are a part of the senior women’s team are just incredible. I am so excited to race alongside them and to especially be able to race against some athletes outside of Europe.

How will you approach the race in Belgrade?

My race tactic is always not to go out too hard which I think will be difficult considering who is on the starting line. I am just going to try and build throughout the race and, considering it is 10km, I will try to build up the pace between 5km and 6km and then just hope that my legs can stay on. Considering it is the World Cross, I imagine it is going to be quite a fast start.

What does a normal training week look like for you?

I don’t think training…