Many Sussex athletics supporters were scratching their heads when Nicola McDougall was declared the county champion after the recent Barns Green Half-Marathon.

What was the fair-haired runner from Suffolk doing coming down to Sussex and winning a title medal?

Now all can be revealed.

Currently in her third year on a post graduate chemistry course at Cambridge, McDougall was born in Brighton which meets the main criteria. You need to be born in the county to qualify.

Also, she was a sprinter with Brighton and Hove in her early teens.

She said: "I wasn't really a very good sprinter but I did enjoy athletics and ran for the club teams for several years.

"I went to school at Dorothy Stringer, where I was also a member of the orchestra and, of course, ran for the school in the Brighton Schools Championships.

"I moved to Cambridge with my family before the end of my time at school and drifted away from athletics but I still make frequent visits back to the county as my parents have moved back and now live at Horsham.

"After leaving school I did not go straight to university but worked in a bank and then spent several years with British Rail where I became the station master at Ascot before returning to education at Reading University in 1996.

"I started jogging to keep fit and was looking for a half-marathon race and chose the Barns Green. I was delighted to see that the Sussex Championship was being held in conjunction.

"I knew I was still eligible to compete but I really did not expect to win.

"I was very pleased with my run and overjoyed to become a Sussex champion and I am certainly planning to return for the county cross country championships in January.

"That will be pretty tough for the countryside around where I live now is pretty flat and I understand the championships are being held in Stanmer Park which could make it quite hilly.

"I feel pretty competitive about my racing at the moment and certainly hoping to get a Blue over the country for Cambridge University this year."