Hatti Dean will get the chance to shine on the biggest stage of them all for the third year in a row, after she was called up for the British senior women's team for the World Cross Country Championships in Mombassa, Kenya.

Dean, who reached the qualifying mark at the world trials in Bath two weeks ago, was surprised to learn of her call-up, after the short-course race was dropped from this year's programme.

She said: "There was far more competition for places this year, and as they dropped the short course, I never really thought I'd get into the team again.

"I came second in the trials a couple of weeks ago, and that confirmed my call-up."

Dean is rapidly become a seasoned pro at international level, but she admitted her surprise at being selected again.

"It's weird really, because every year I consider myself lucky to get in.

"I keep thinking it's going to be tough to emulate last year, but it's becoming a regular thing for me. This will be my third world championships in a row now.

Dean heads out to South Africa shortly for two-and-a-half weeks of warm weather training as the team try to prepare for the scorching conditions likely to face them in Kenya.

She said: "It's going to be boiling hot. When I ran it last year, I set out with the intention of not starting too fast, but you end up just running your socks off.

"Despite the heat, you can't really afford to relax, because otherwise you're passed by others very quickly."