The championships were held in Stacksteads over a course of one and a half miles, with a 700ft climb, and Emma emerged victorious, beating Sarah Hodgson of Lancaster and Morecambe and Rebecca Swindle of Rossendale to the gold.

The run was incorporated in the Fell Runners Association Championship, which covers the whole of the North of England, and Emma is currently running in third place after three events.

She is also contesting the British Open Fell Association Championships, in which she is also currently in third place in the Under 17 age group after three races.

All this has come on the back of an excellent winter, in which she won all four of the Under 14 races at the famous Bunny Runs in Haworth, where she also led the club to team gold – a feat the senior team matched.

Emma also took the overall individual silver medal in the Mid Lancs League Cross Country Series, which consisted of six races throughout the winter.

Again she led the team to joint silver in the Under 14 team event.

And Emma was also one of the Pendle Schools' girls team that won the Lancs Schools' Cross Country in January – she is clearly one to watch for the future!

One former Pendle AC member is also one for the future – and a current star!

Sophie Hitchon won the hammer at both senior and Under 20 age groups at the Northern Athletics Championships.

The UK Under 20 record holder threw 58.42m to win the younger section, and the 16-year-old Blackburn Harrier then managed 59.39m to win the senior event by over three metres!

Also at the Championships, Pendle's Eleanor Markendale took the Under 20 long jump with 5.74m, and just missed a second medal with fourth in the 100m hurdles, in 15.39 seconds.

Meanwhile, Bradley Roscoe and Dillon Berry starred for Pendle at the recent Lancashire Partnerships Athletics finals.

Both took top spot in the standing long jump for boys, while Lauren Gardener and Mawgan Naylor both came first in the team chest push for girls.

And all four contributed to Pendle finishing fifth of 12 sides in Chorley.

The team was made up of pupils from Sacred Heart and Trawden Forest primary schools, who took the top two spots at last month's Pendle Sportshall Athletics tournament.