Rebecca Flaherty interview: Meet the Bradford Grammar School pupil representing Great Britain alongside Alex Bell at the World Cross-Country Championships

But she became so good at it so quickly that on Sunday she flies out to Bathurst, a city in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales in Australia, to represent Great Britain and Northern Ireland’s Under-20s in the World Cross-Country Championships.

The 17-year-old Bradford Grammar School pupil joins a 17-strong British team headlined by Olympic finalist Alex Bell from nearby Leeds.

It is the highest honour Flaherty has received and a portent of bigger things to come, given she only started taking running seriously five years ago.

“I just loved all sports, I played so many, I was up for anything,” Flaherty tells The Yorkshire Post of her earlier passions.

“I still play hockey for the school, but when I was younger I did football, tennis, netball, even a bit of swimming – anything I could sign up to. I’m really lucky that I’m at a school that has got so many options.

“I was brought up being active, being outside and in the fresh air has always been part of my day, so I’m always up for a run.

“Running is something we did together as a family.

“I’d always enjoyed it, but it probably got more serious around Year 7, Year 8 (roughly 12 years old) when I started doing the nationals and English Schools Championships.”

Her mum ran the London Marathon in two hours 57 minutes last year, while her brother Alex is a keen runner. It is another Alex, though, who Flaherty plans to pick the brains of in Australia.

Pudsey and Bramley Athletics Club runner Bell reached the 800m Olympic final in Tokyo in the summer of 2021 and later that year helped Great Britain and Northern Ireland win gold at the European Cross-Country Championships.

The 30-year-old will run for GB&NI in the new mixed relay event.

“It’s amazing to run with Olympians,” said Flaherty. “I did the Europeans with Jess Judd and it was great talking to her about her experiences and advice and I’ll definitely do the same with Alex.”

It was at those Europeans in December that Flaherty finished as the second British runner home, almost guaranteeing her a spot at the world championships.

The race to be the best cross-country team on the planet takes place next Saturday (February 18), with four-strong teams running the 6km course, with a nation’s top three times counted towards the total.

“I’m hoping to just get experience out there,” says Flaherty, who runs with a group in Keighley connected to her parent club Bingley Harriers. “I’ve never done the world championships before, it’s a huge trip away, I’ve never been to Australia before.

“I’m only 17 in the Under-20s, so I just want to get the experience, enjoy the whole trip and measure myself against some of the Kenyans and Ethiopians.

“I’m not setting a main goal because who knows.”

As any teenager representing their country will attest, the carrot of the Olympics dangles enticingly in front of them.

But Flaherty remains open-minded about the options she has created, and does not seem the type to pressure herself.

“The ultimate dream would be to go to the Olympics but you just never know in a sport like this,” says Flaherty, who is trained by Karen Glerum, a former runner from the Netherlands.

“I’d hope to make a couple more GB Under-20s teams in the next few years, and then when I go to uni, see what happens there.

“Sport will have a factor in which university I choose but for me academics is the most important. I’m going to apply for Oxford to study bio-chemistry, but I also want a good running community because it helps so much to run among friends.

“Oxbridge is very strong for running.”

Given there is no cross-country in the Olympics, what distance does this teenager who runs five or six times a week, see herself doing?

“I’m definitely aiming more towards the longer distances; 5,000m, 10,000m. I could see myself eventually going into the marathon.

“It’s not something I want to do immediately, especially being so young, but in the future I definitely could.”

She certainly has the backing of Bradford Grammar School, whose alumni includes Olympic, European and world champion triathletes Jonny and Alistair Brownlee, and long distance and cross-country runners Richard Nerurkar and Emile Cairess.

Dr Simon Hinchliffe, headmaster at Bradford Grammar School, said: “We’re very proud of Rebecca and all she’s achieved so far during her time at BGS.

“She works incredibly hard to balance her academic studies with her training and we’re delighted to see her rewarded for her efforts.”