The Borders professional athletics circuit is one of the very few sporting arenas in which men and women can compete together on a level footing. But that doesn't mean it is easy – especially this year, as females in all age groups have found it difficult to get through their heats, never mind winning the finals.

Linda said: "It is fantastic that there is a sporting stage right on my doorstep where men and women can compete directly against each other in the spirit of equality.

"I have never found any of the male competitors or the handicappers overtly prejudiced against women in any way and it is so refreshing for people to accept that I can be just as competitive as the men.

"However, despite the intention for equality of treatment, a glance at the fields and results this year on the circuit shows that something is happening to put women off competing and it's making it incredibly hard for women to make their mark.

"This year, very few women entered the games and only two made it through heats in any event.

"At the Peebles Games there was no female of any age in any final."

It takes guts for female athletes to put themselves up for these events, to pit their talent against the men, and for some, the thought of losing badly is enough for them not to try.

Linda told us: "I know from experience that it takes masses of confidence for women to start competing on the circuit and I held back for several years before building up the courage.

"My first race was the 90m at Langholm in 2006 where I was given the bizarre mark of 12.5m – only half a metre in front of Stacy Downie, who is an international sprinter.

"Of course, I came last in my heat by a huge margin and even now I cringe at how humiliating it was for a middle-aged woman on her first outing. I now run off marks of over 20m for that distance.

"The games do have an underlying macho feel to them which can make women feel that they are competing at a men's event – for example, the Kelso sprint was even announced as the 'men's sprint' this year – although I did receive an apology afterwards from the announcer – and the winner of the girls' high jump at Langholm still receives less prize money than the equivalent male winner."

That sense of inequality is nothing new to Linda. When she competed in athletics in university, she was not able to make full use of her skills.

The talented 48-year-old said: "I remember the frustration that women were not allowed to compete in triple jump at that time as it was supposed to be damaging to our physique in some way.

"As a top long jumper who triple jumped regularly as part of training, this seemed very odd.