A ROOKIE international endurance athlete faces one of the toughest challenges of his short career when he represents Great Britain in Switzerland this weekend.

Liam Walker is part of the Great Britain duathlon squad for the Zofingen Powerman World Championships tomorrow.

Walker will contest the 25-29 age group, tackling a 10km run, a 150km bike ride and a 30km run over tough terrain.

The first running course features 260m of climbing on both road and off-road surfaces, while the gruelling bike ride sees competitors tackle gradients of up to 16 per cent, with 1,600m of climbing.

Now living in Sheffield and working at the city's university, Walker and his opponents will then dismount for the final mainly off-road run through the forests around Zofingen, in the north of Switzerland.

It is sure to be a big test for the 28-year-old Barrovian in his second year of competition.

“It's quite amazing to be picked for GB, quite a surreal feeling,” said the former Thorncliffe School pupil. “When the kit arrives an your name is on the kit, it's a very special moment.

“It's something I have been working towards. It's something I only dreamed of two years ago, but it was always my aim to represent Great Britain. For it to happen so soon, I didn't expect that.”

He added: “I will be expecting a lot of pain and quite a lot of fatigue!

“I've never raced this distance before, so it's a bit of a leap into the dark. There's no doubt my training is at that intensity, but I've never competitively run this distance before, never mind after a 150km cycle.

“I think the course plays to my advantages. There are a couple of hills in there and I'm used to training on hills, so I'm looking forward to that in a strange way.”

Walker, who trains for up to 25 hours a week, also qualified for the Age Group World Championships in Penticton, Canada, earlier this year, though he was unable to attend due to the costs involved. He has been selected for the European Age Group Championships next year and will be part of the national championships field at Oulton Park next month.

The University of Cumbria graduate displayed his running skills by finishing seventh in the Sheffield Half Marathon and second in the Rother Valley 10k, while closer to home he was part of the Ulverston Hoad Hill Half-Marathon last year.

In duathlon competition, he won the Rother Valley event in February and followed up with seventh and fourth-placed finishes at Oulton Park and Clumber Park respectively – both GB qualifying races, where his pace on the final run was particularly impressive.

“To have reached this level within two years is incredible and is testament to the group of people I train with at the University of Sheffield Tri Club and the amazing coaching experience gained on my degree at the University of Cumbria,” he added.

Walker is always happy to hear from prospective sponsors to help him with his international efforts and can be contacted by emailing lwsponsors@gmail.com