"In the beginning it was just pretty unreal to be honest. I had to keep pinching myself." And it's no wonder - Felicity Milton's sudden appearance on the athletics scene has been described by some as one of the sport's most exciting recent discoveries. In September, she turned up for pre-season hockey training at Durham University determined to boost her fitness after months out injured. Her aim was to concentrate on speed work and with that in mind she headed for the athletics track.
 | | Felicity will run in Kenya at the end of March |
It was there she was spotted by the university's athletics team and when the cross country team was short of numbers for a relay in Manchester, she went along to run for them and clocked up a very impressive performance. World championships It started a rollercoaster series of events which has included running for the Great Britain and Ireland senior women's team in the European Cross Country Championships in Italy in December and being chosen for the Great Britain team for the World Cross Country Championships in Mombasa, Kenya, at the end of March. All that with still only a handful of races under her belt, plus an incredibly hectic schedule to juggle, which includes training and academic work. The 20-year-old is in the second year of her engineering degree having already won a prestigious award for her work in the field. She will have to fly back from warm weather training in Durban, which comes ahead of the World Cross Country Championships, as part of the process of applying for a scholarship to spend the third year of her degree studying in America. Despite all that, she is keeping her feet on the ground. She said: "I am loving it and really enjoying it all. It is just a case of juggling everything. "I just love sport. The essence of it is that it's a challenge. With the challenge comes huge satisfaction when you achieve your goals. I think the tougher the race and amount of competition, the greater the satisfaction in the end.
 | | Max says Felicity is a joy to work with |
"I am quite a grounded person. It's just the support you have - if your family and friends are behind you." Adrenalin surge Felicity did some running when she was younger but concentrated on other sports after the age of 14 and it was not until the end of last year she returned to it. She said: "Before I start a race I feel like my legs can't move. I get really lethargic just before a race. But when I start I get a massive rush of adrenalin. When you feel you are running your heart out and fight through the pain barrier. "If you think positive you do get a surge of adrenalin. I am an adrenalin junkie." She said she has enjoyed being part of a team and is very grateful for the support and advice she has received, particularly from her family and from her coach Max Coleby, his wife Julie and his family. Looking ahead to the World Cross Country Championships, she says it will be a "massive experience" which she expects to be tough as well with the quality of the field of athletes. She said: "I will run hard and run my best." After that she and Max are looking at switching their attention to the track. They will look at what distance she will compete in with the aim of qualifying for the European Under 23 team.
 | | In the summer, Felicity will focus on the track |
Further ahead, and the inevitable question of whether she is looking towards the 2012 Olympics? "It's a dream. I would love to take it wherever I can take it." Unprecedented progress For his part, Max Coleby said Felicity first came to his attention when his daughter Samantha, who is a junior international, was training alongside her last winter and told him she was a good runner. He said: "Very quickly it was obvious she was pretty good." Max has been involved with athletics for a long time and described Felicity's sudden appearance on the running scene as "unprecedented". Despite her success he believes she is not yet running as well as she could with the tough task of balancing her heavy academic work load with her training. He says running in the World Cross Country Championships will be a "massive learning experience" and says working with her "is a complete joy". Durham University athletics coach Peter Coates agrees Felicity's appearance on the scene has been like something out of a film. He said he saw her running for the first time when she came down to the track. "Straightaway you could see it - she had a bit of class," he said. | 
