A successful up-and-coming long distance runner has spoken out about her St Albans grass roots, thanking those who supported her from an early age.

Tina Muir, 28, grew up in Marshalswick and went to Beaumont School, enjoying swimming with the Costa Swimming Club at Westminster Lodge before she started long distance running at 14.

Before long, Tina had been offered a sports scholarship to take a corporate fitness degree at college in Michigan - at Ferris State University.

She broke five university records while training and learning there, and was included 11 times in a high-profile but hypothetical amateur sports team called All-America, for being one of the top 30 at the national meet in division two.

Last year, she competed with the GB team at the World Half Marathon Championships in Cardiff, and the European Athletics Championships in Amsterdam, and now has her sights on the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in Australia for 2018.

Missing out marginally in the Olympic trials for both 2012 and 2016, Tina is also hopeful for 2020 - but described it as a “long way off”.

She said: “Overall, running is the only thing in life that truly what you put in is what you get out, if you put in the work, you will get the rewards.

“I love that about it, the more I commit, the more I prepare, the more success I seem to have.”

Coming back about twice a year to see her family in the UK, Tina said she loves to go back to Westminster Lodge and look at the view over the field behind the gym while she trains - it reminds her of where she began, running cross county around the green.

She said she would like to thank Everyone Active at the centre for their support over the years, by letting her use the pool and gym for her training.

Workouts for Tina are every day of the week, running a total of 90 miles in seven days, as well as two hours of pool time and two hours strength training each week.

For new runners, she stressed that not every run is enjoyable - “it doesn’t get easier, it doesn’t get better, you just deal better with it”, but after a run you feel “confident and proud and excited”.

Tina has also recently started a new business, Running For Real, in which she aims to create a community for runners to share their experiences, tips, and achievements with each other.

To see her website, click here.