JESSICA Warner-Judd has qualified for this season’s World Championship after winning the UK 10,000m title for the second year in succession.

The 28-year-old, from Canvey Island, was the first British finisher at the Night of the 10,000m PBs.

And Warner-Judd feels she is benefitting from enjoying her running once again after a tough start to the year.

“I got really ill for the New York half and had to take time off,” Warner-Judd told Athletics Weekly.

“I was struggling and overtrained a little bit in February which led into March a bit but then I found my love for it again in April.

“Before then I was putting too much pressure on myself.

"I worried about what people thought of the shape I was in.

“I kept looking on social media and worrying about everybody else so I deleted Twitter and Facebook.

"I kept Instagram because I like posting pictures of my dogs but I really struggled with that, the whole pressure of it.

"I'm finished with my PhD this year.

“It's been really hard so it was just trying to go back to basics, enjoy it, not over train and be smart."

“But this is a step in the right direction.”

Warner-Judd finished fourth overall in a time of 31 minutes 9.32 seconds.

And she felt under pressure to perform.

“There was a bit more pressure on me this year,” said the former Castle View School pupil.

“Last year I just came and won and was really happy.

“This year I'm not quite as sharp.

“Last year I came out, because the World Champs were earlier, I started my season earlier and was already doing track work in March.

Ethiopia's Mizan Alem Adane broke the meeting record to win the women's race with a time of 29:59.03 while Scotland's Andrew Butchart finished 10th with a time of 27:47.43 to claim the men's UK title.

However, Warner-Judd will now be looking to push on for the World Championship which get underway in Budapest in mid-August.

Warner-Judd has previously competed at four World Championships having raced in Moscow, London, Doha and Oregon.