DAN STUDLEY will be looking to produce a great performance in Spain on Saturday week after he landed a dream call-up for Great Britain at one of the biggest athletics events on the calendar.

Studley, formerly from Tytherington, has been picked for one of the select places in the GB squad for the World Half-Marathon Championships.

And the 26-year-old is looking for a finish inside the top thirty over a 13.1 miles on what will be only his third half-marathon since stepping up from 1,500, 5,000 and 10,000 metres distances.

Studley, who started his running at Marlwood and Castle School, Thornbury, runs for Bristol and West AC heard the news last week that he was one of five men to be selected for the trip to Valencia for Great Britain.

He said: “We are travelling out on Wednesday so that we have a few days to prepare for the race. The course is pretty flat but it is not just about my first representative GB vest, it is about running a fast time.”

Studley had to beat the qualifying time of 65 minutes in order to give himself a chance of selection for the team, and ran 64.20 minutes in Barcelona last month.

He added: “It’s been a long time in coming. I have run for England five times now. I have been doing the sport since I was ten years old and doing it seriously for the last seven or eight years. I work part-time now so that I can put in my training alongside it.

“Looking at it, the best result I could get from the race may be 30th or 40th but that would be great.”

The time he ran in Barcelona is also his personal best, and knows that tactics over the flat course in Valencia will be key.

“In Barcelona, I did not get into the (leading) group at the start and got into it at about 5K.”

Studley will make his debut for GB alongside Mohamud Aadan, of London, and Rio 2016 Olympic marathon runner Tsegai Tewelde.