It was a tale of two teenagers as Steph Twell sprinted up a hill in a gale-force wind to be given a graphic reminder of the mountain still left to climb. The most exciting prospect in British athletics gave it her all and underlined her potential in the women's race at the Bupa Great Edinburgh Cross Country meeting, but was left admiring the long-limbed grace of Linet Masai, from Kenya.

Newly graduated from the junior ranks that could not contain her talent, Twell was fourth over the 5.6-kilometre course in 19min 16sec. It was the same position she managed in 2008 but the change in self-assessment hinted at the scale of her game plan. A year ago Twell said she was “ecstatic”, but on Saturday she was “slightly disappointed”.

While the crowds and athletes departed the shadow of Arthur's Seat at the foot of the Royal Mile, Twell showed she is prepared to go the extra mile by braving the 50mph gusts for a sprightly warm-down run. Now she is preparing for a rematch with Masai at the World Cross Country Championships in Jordan at the end of March. “She's such an effortless runner,” Twell said of her fellow 19-year-old. “She has an amazing amount of talent and is someone I'm going to be running against my whole career. The more I race her, the better-armed I'll be to go with her and cover her.”

Twell's rise and her endorsement by Paula Radcliffe have invited unenviable comparisons with the marathon world record-holder, but she welcomes the hype. “I am not fazed about it at all and it's nice that people are interested,” she said.

Those monitoring her progress with optimistic eyes know this is a huge year for Twell. She will go to Jordan and then hope to do a feather-ruffling turn in the 1,500 metres at the World Championships in Berlin. Masai has already made that leap to the senior ranks by winning a bronze at the World Cross Country Championships and finishing fourth in the 10,000 metres at the Beijing Olympics.

It is interesting to note where Twell is in relation to the teenage Radcliffe. At the same age, Radcliffe finished eighteenth at the World Cross Country Championships and seventh in the 3,000 metres at the World Championships. They are ploughing different ground, so Twell's best for the 1,500 metres is better than Radcliffe managed until she was 21, but the endgame, a progression to the long distances, is the same.

Masai, 14 seconds faster on Saturday, looks a star in the making. A year ago she almost missed this meeting after struggling to get out of riot-torn Kenya. She braved the threat of car-jacking and gunshots to take the nine-hour trip from Eldoret to Nairobi to make overseas meetings. Now she looks more hardened and relaxed, breaking the field halfway round the last lap. Twell showed her strength by making inroads up the final steep climb of Haggis Knowe, but lacked the finishing speed to overhaul Mestawet Tufa, from Ethiopia, and Viola Kibiwott, from Kenya. “The others seemed to have that burst of pace and I need to work on that,” Twell said.

There was a British winner at Holyrood Park, though, with Andy Baddeley, another 1,500 metres specialist, stepping up to defend his 4km title. He had to spill blood for the cause, however, as Mike Skinner, his training partner, spiked him on the right ankle just before the bell. “It looked worse than it was,” Baddeley said. The fastest miler in the world last year will race in New York this month before going on to work under Nic Bideau in Australia.

In the men's 8.9km race, Ethiopia's forgotten man, the oft-injured Abebe Dinkesa, won after a gutsy surge for home. Zersenay Tadese, from Eritrea, failed to capitalise on the absence of Kenenisa Bekele and was only third.

It was the teenage Masai who dominated, though, and the teenager from Aldershot who provided more reasons to be hopeful.