FORMER Radley athlete Hatti Dean said she had not been sure what to expect after winning the McCain Liverpool Cross Challenge and European trials.

The 29-year-old, who held off Gemma Steel in a close finish at Sefton Park, missed a month of training this autumn with injury, but showed her class when it mattered.

Running for Hallamshire Harriers, Dean’s victory sealed her place in the British team for the Spar European Cross Country Championships at Velenje, Slovenia on Sunday, December 11.

Dean clocked a time of 27mins 05secs over the 8.1km course, winning by four seconds from Steel, with Freya Murray snatching third from Hannah Walker on the line, although both were given the same time.

“I knew Gemma was in good shape but she's not always been up against such good quality competition until today,” admitted Dean, who had a month on the sidelines due to injury prior to spending time at the UKA/London Marathon altitude camp in Kenya.

“I had no idea what shape I was in. I felt really good in Kenya but I wasn’t doing track sessions, just a lot of mileage and sessions on the roads, so I didn’t have real markers.”

Meanwhile, Oxfordshire cross country champion Steve Naylor (Woodstock Harriers) finished 49th in the men’s race, completing the 9.8km course in 31.16.

Naylor, who was making his comeback from injury and running his first race since October 9, made good progress through the field to sneak into the top 50.

“Despite a bit of tiredness and exhaustion from my first race back, there was no re-lapse of the injury which has to be a big positive to take from the weekend,” said Naylor who will now compete for Bedford & County.

Naylor, who is the defending Oxford Mail Cross Country League champion, confirmed he will be racing round two at Culham on Sunday.

Woodstock’s Steve Frear, who won round one of the Oxford Mail League, finished 101st in 32.45 at Liverpool, while representing the Royal Air Force.

Clubmate Jess Webb came 66th in the ladies’ race, clocking 32.45 – a great effort in onlyher second cross country event.