Sky Scholar and runner Jessica Judd set for cross country challenge at European trials in Liverpool

Qualifying for the European Cross Country Championships in Italy in December is one of the goals for Jessica Judd this weekend.

The 21-year-old Sky Academy Sports Scholar needs a top-four finish on Saturday in the trials at Sefton Park in Liverpool with several inches of mud, a frosty 2 degrees and hundreds of sharp elbows awaiting her.

But for a 1500m runner rediscovering her love for the sport after a miserable summer and now being under the guidance of her coaching dad again, making the finish line in one piece is No 1 priority!

Jessica outlines the challenges awaiting her....

The past few weeks have been great and training has been going really well. It's been tough balancing training with studying but so far I think my training is where I'd like it to be.

I have had a couple of cross country races already this season which have gone fairly well. I've made a couple of mistakes in some races and some training sessions but at least I have learnt lots before the main races start. 

The Liverpool Cross Challenge is this weekend and is the biggest race for me before Christmas. It's longer than I've raced all season at 8k which is going to be tough. The furthest I've raced this year is 6k so it is a bit daunting.

Also, the weather hasn't been that great recently so I'm fairly sure it'll be muddy. I'm not great at racing in the mud so it will be interesting to see how I cope! The top 4 U23s will go on to represent Great Britain at the European Cross Country Championships in December. Obviously I would love to be on that team but running over 8k is a challenge for me and I will just have to see how I do on the day. All I can do is try my best.

I have been training really hard and that has given me confidence for this cross country season so regardless of how this weekend goes I know I have more opportunities this year to perform well. 

I'm excited for Liverpool just because I get to see my dad and sister on the Friday night at the hotel we are staying at ahead of the race. I don't get to see them that much due to being at Loughborough University. I am excited to have dinner with them. It will probably be lots of pasta in preparation for the extra distance I'll have to cover in the race!

The day of the race I'm always quite nervous and struggle to eat breakfast so I find it easier to unwind and chat the evening before.  

When I'm racing on Saturday I'm sure there will be parts that will be really tough. I think my training this year has prepared me for the cold and wet days and I'm used to just slogging out sessions on my own in Loughborough.

The only other person I train with here is my boyfriend and he tends to be so far ahead that for most of the session I've just got myself for company. This is horrible for training but really good race preparation as it means I am used to feeling terrible and just having to get on with it.

It has definitely made me tougher as I have no-one to moan to about how bad I'm feeling so now I just put up with it. The mud is always something I struggle in, but I did do a cross country race in Blackburn which was horribly muddy so at least that's some sort of preparation. It will be interesting to see how I handle Saturday's race. Whatever happens I can treat it as a really good learning curve. 

Unwinding after a race is always the best bit. During the race I'll just be thinking of getting to that finish line so I can get a hot chocolate and warm myself up. I am always pretty strict on my diet the week of a race so I know come Sunday I'll be eager to eat every treat going!

Hopefully the race will go OK and I can have a nice restful Sunday before knuckling back into full training.

This week has been my easy week so that's one good thing about racing - the training load gets a lot easier! I am making the most of this as I know next week I will be back training harder than ever though.

WHAT'S COMING UP FOR OUR SCHOLARS....

NOV 26: Jessica Judd, European Cross Country trials, Liverpool

DEC 9 -11: Elise Christie, World Cup short track speed skating in Shanghai

DEC 16 - 18: Elise Christie, World Cup short track speed skating in Gangneung, South Korea