Victoria Wilkinson

Wilkinson displayed significant talent as a junior, winning national fell running titles at under-16 and under-18 level. She also finished second in the English Schools Cross Country Championships in 1996. At that time she was coached by her father Chris who was also a runner and cyclo-cross competitor who had won the Three Peaks Cyclo-Cross in 1972. Victoria was also advised by Keith Anderson and others.Bill Smith, "Profile: Chris and Victoria Wilkinson", The Fellrunner, Oct 1996, 20-23. Her most notable result as a young athlete was victory in the junior race at the World Mountain Running Trophy in 1997.[http://www.wmra.ch/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=565&Itemid=4&year=1997&discode=3181&cat=i WMRA: World Mountain Running Trophy 1997.]

A knee injury interrupted Wilkinson’s running career and she turned her attention to cyclo-cross, in which she competed at the World Championships."Wilkinson Happy to Endure Hardship on Painful Ride to Top of the World", The Times, 30 Jan 2004. She was a winner of the national cyclo-cross series[https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/cyclocross/article/cyx20101211-report-Cyclo-Cross-National-Trophy-Round-5-0 British Cycling: Cyclo-Cross National Trophy.] and had four consecutive second-place finishes in the British National Cyclo-cross Championships between 2002 and 2005.[http://www.velouk.net/2014/01/06/preview-national-cyclo-cross-championships/ VeloUK: Preview: National Cyclo-Cross Championships.] She finished fifth in the World Cup series race at St. Wendel in Germany in 2003.[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/cycling/2425504/Cycling-Hammond-back-in-Britain.html "Cycling: Hammond back in Britain", The Telegraph, 21 Nov 2003.] Some years later, despite limited experience on the type of course, she won the Three Peaks Cyclo-Cross in 2012.[https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/cyclocross/article/cyx20121002-3-Peaks-Jebb-Wilkinson-Interviews-0 British Cycling: 3 Peaks - Jebb & Wilkinson Interviews.]

Around 2006, Wilkinson returned to more frequent racing as a runner. She has represented her country multiple times in both the World Mountain Running Championships and the European Mountain Running Championships. Her results in the global championships include eleventh place in both 2006[http://www.wmra.ch/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=565&Itemid=4&year=2006&discode=3151&cat=i World Mountain Running Trophy 2006.] and 2016.[http://www.wmra.ch/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=565&Itemid=4&year=2016&discode=3151&cat=i World Mountain Running Championships 2016.] At the European level, she was fifth in 2008[http://www.wmra.ch/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=567&Itemid=4&year=2008&discode=3151&cat=i European Mountain Running Championships 2008.] and sixth in 2015.[http://www.wmra.ch/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=567&Itemid=4&year=2015&discode=3151&cat=i European Mountain Running Championships 2015.]

Wilkinson won the Šmarna Gora Race in Slovenia in 2007, the victory giving her enough points to finish second overall in the World Mountain Running Association Grand Prix that year.[http://www.iaaf.org/news/news/rare-defeat-for-pichrtova-wmra-grand-prix IAAF: Rare Defeat for Pichrtova.] She competed at the Commonwealth Mountain Running Championships in 2009[http://ultramountaincommonwealthchampionships.org/RunnerFromSkipton.htm Commonwealth Championships: Runner from Skipton who Grew up in the Mountains and Called it Home.] and 2011,[http://www.iaaf.org/news/report/commonwealth-mountain-and-ultradistance-champ IAAF: Commonwealth Mountain and Ultradistance Championships – Report.] finishing fifth on both occasions.

She also raced cross country, finishing second in the UK Cross Challenge series in 2006-2007[http://www.britishathletics.org.uk/EasysiteWeb/getresource.axd?AssetID=12669&type=Full&servicetype=Attachment British Athletics: UK Cross Challenge 2006 – 2007 Final Rankings.] and ninth at Cinque Mulini in 2009.[http://www.iaaf.org/news/news/solid-return-to-form-for-shaheen-kalovics-fin IAAF: Cinque Mulini 2009.] In 2010, Wilkinson was first in the Yorkshire Cross Country Championships,[http://www.northernathletics.org.uk/download/county-cross-country-results-2010/?wpdmdl=5369&ind=hhTgVgi25D9MtWmcdG1aNoNTASCCcu8EiW1_5aWrsLTW6-scq--L04ZnjaYoCUfS2fs4kde7PAUdlt4bcs9s9Q Northern Athletics: Yorkshire/Humberside Cross Country Championships 2010.] second in the North of England Championships[http://www.race-results.co.uk/results/2010/naxc10l.htm Northern Athletics Cross Country Championships 2010.] and fifth in the English National Championships.[http://englishcrosscountry.co.uk/images/pdf/nats10/results/swomen.pdf English National Cross Country Championships 2010.]

In the 2010s, Wilkinson has been prominent in fell running. She was the inter-counties champion in 2010.[http://www.welshathletics.org/competitions/events/mountain-running/2010/05-may/mccain-uk-mountain-running-challenge-inc-inter-counties.aspx Welsh Athletics: McCain UK Mountain Running Challenge inc. Inter-Counties.] She won the British Fell Running Championships in 2013 (jointly with Helen Fines)[http://www.veganrunners.org.uk/helen-fines-best-season-2013/ Vegan Runners: Helen Fines’ Best Season 2013.] and 2014 (jointly with Jackie Lee)[http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/11481566.Hebden_s_Victoria_Wilkinson_is_crowned_British_and_English_champion/ "Hebden's Victoria Wilkinson is Crowned British and English Champion", Telegraph & Argus, 18 Sep 2014.] and the English Fell Running Championships in 2013 (jointly with Helen Fines),[http://www.veganrunners.org.uk/helen-fines-best-season-2013/ Vegan Runners: Helen Fines’ Best Season 2013.] 2014,[http://team.inov-8.com/english-fell-running-championship/ Inov-8: 2014 English Fell Running Championship review.] 2015,Ian Hartman, "English Fell Running Championship 2015", The Fellrunner, Autumn 2015. 2016 and 2017.[http://fellrunner.org.uk/championsenglish.php Fellrunner.org.uk: English Champions.]

In 2014, Wilkinson won the Three Peaks Race, thereby becoming the first woman to win both the running and cyclo-cross versions of that event.[http://www.cravenherald.co.uk/sport/11185057.Wilkinson_wins_Three_Peaks_Race_but_misses_out_on_cash_bonus/ "Victoria Wilkinson Wins Three Peaks Race but Misses out on Cash Bonus", Craven Herald, 1 May 2014.] In the running version, she set a new women's course record of 3:09:19 in the 2017 race.[http://barlickfellrunners.org.uk/index.php/archive/1709-three-peaks-fell-race-29-april-2017 Barlick Fell Runners: Three Peaks Fell Race - 29 April 2017.]

She set a new record at the Tour of Pendle in 2017, taking thirteen minutes off the previous best women's time which had been set by Angela Mudge in 1997.[https://www.fastrunning.com/events-and-races/events-news/jonathan-hopkins-wins-brighton-10k-round-british-racing-weekend/9729 Fast Running: Jonathan Hopkins Wins Brighton 10K and Round-up of British Racing this Weekend.]

Wilkinson's victories in 2018 included a new fastest time at the Kentmere Horseshoe in July[https://twitter.com/inov_8/status/1023936650404159490 Inov-8 on Twitter.] and a win at Burnsall in August where she broke the long-standing record which had been held by Carol Greenwood since 1983.[https://www.facebook.com/burnsallsports/photos/a.1159827950823021/1159885237483959/?type=3&theater Burnsall Feast Sports & Classic Fell Race on Facebook.] Wilkinson followed this with a new record of 1:43:01 in the Ben Nevis Race[https://www.inov-8.com/blog/ben-nevis-running-record/ Inov-8: Victoria Sets New Running Record on UK’s Highest Mountain Ben Nevis.] and two weeks later earned the silver medal in the Ring of Steall Skyrace at the Skyrunning World Championships.[http://www.skylinescotland.com/news/2018/09/15/Kilian_Jornet_and_Tove_Alexandersson_crowned_SKY_World_Champions/ Skyline Scotland: Kilian Jornet and Tove Alexandersson crowned SKY World Champions.]

In 2022, Wilkinson won the over-40 category at the World Masters Mountain Running Championships.[https://www.irunfar.com/this-week-in-running-september-5-2022 iRunFar: This Week In Running: September 5, 2022.]

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Category:1978 births

Category:Living people

Category:English female long-distance runners

Category:British female long-distance runners

Category:British female mountain runners

Category:British fell runners

Category:British cyclo-cross cyclists

Category:English female cyclists

Category:British female cyclists

Category:Place of birth missing (living people)