Ultra runner Sharon Gayter qualified for the European 100 kilometres championships with a solid run in the Anglo Celtic Plate in Dublin.
The Guisborough athlete was third British woman home in 8hr 45min 11sec. It was five minutes outside her target, but five inside the qualifying time for the European event in Holland in September. New Marske Harrier Sharon received the bronze for finishing third in the national championships, which doubled up with the Plate.
She said: "Overall I was satisfied with my run. It was my fastest 100km race since I last ran in Dublin in 1999 and I finished in 8hr 27min. It was some way short of my best time of 8hr 12min, which I set in 1995 before I really specialised in 24 hours, but this was a definite improvement from recent times.
"My only disappointment was that my performance was only good enough for third place in the nationals, because I have always won gold. But it's really good news for the Great Britain team as it has been five years since a women's team has qualified, and the top three women finishers all achieved the selection criteria."
The other qualifiers were Sue Bruce, who clocked 8hr 14min, and Lizzy Hawker, 8hr 40min.
Sharon said: "England took the first three places in the men's event and so won the individual and team honours in both men's and women's events. England have never lost this event and kept the tradition going."
The official announcement of the team for the European 100km championships will take place in June, while Sharon already has a verbal confirmation of her selection for the World-European 24 Hours in Austria in July.
Sharon has dropped out of the Surgeres 48-hour race in France in May at the request of the national selectors, in order for her place to be confirmed in the world 24 hours team. However, she will compete in a 12-hour race in Tipton on the same weekend when she will make another attempt at breaking the British record set by Teessider Eleanor Robinson.
