THE closest thing Audrey Amiya-Hall has to a mountain to train on is nearly 100 kilometres away from her home in the beach-side suburb of Cronulla.

So when the 21-year-old says she didn’t do any hill training in the lead up her defence of the women’s Great Volcanic Mountain Challenge title she won 12 months ago, and still managed to better her previous best time over the course of the 11-kilometre event, there can be little doubt the diminutive runner is a worthy women’s champion.

“I was so grateful (that I won),” Amiya-Hall said following her second consecutive victory, smashing her 58.43 mark from last year.

“I was a bit worried though, I hadn’t done any hill training for it. I felt it, but it was really good.

“It was awesome. I’ve run a PB so I’m really happy.

“It was a sprint at the end because I saw 58 (minutes) was coming, and I had to get under it.”

A race run with 520m of hill climb from Towac Pinnacle to Mount Canobolas, Amiya-Hall was forced to come from behind to claim the win on Sunday.

Having run the event last year too, she says the secret to scaling the mountain in quick time is ensuring the picturesque surroundings that make the event so unique don’t become a distraction.

“You’ve got to be careful not to look at the scenery, you’ve got to look where you’re stepping,” she smiled.