My name is Alex Rowe and for those who don’t know me I am an eighteen year old 800m runner from Victoria. I have been asked to write a blog in which I will update once a month to tell you how my training and competitions are going.

I am coached by Justin Rinaldi, a former Australian 800m champion. Justin actually trains with me and believe me, he is still in great shape! I thought I’d start with a bit of background as to what I have achieved so far and what I have been doing since the end of the season.

My major achievements so far include:

• PBs: 800m 1:47.56, 400m 48.79
• 5^th place at the 2009 IAAF World Youth Championships
• National U20 800m Champion 2009 & 2010

I am currently completing year 12 at St. Kevin’s College and next year hope to go to university where I will be able to concentrate a lot more on my running.

After my domestic season finished on March 28^th 2010 with a second placing at the Victorian Open 800m Championships, I had a couple of weeks off before starting winter training. I have been looking forward to getting a good solid block of base training under my belt as last year I was unable to do so as I was preparing for World Youths. So far everything has gone to plan.

I have remained uninjured whilst competing well over cross country and also maintaining my speed. I have been competing in the APS cross country each week. Whilst I am not particularly quick over longer distances, I improved over the weeks getting noticeably stronger and fitter. The highlight of my winter included an 8:33 3km road relay split.

I’ll keep you posted and thanks for taking an interest.

On the 8^th of July, the Australian Spark gathered at Sydney airport in our vibrant green and gold uniform, with destination Vancouver in our sights.  We boarded the plane decked out in our 2xU compression gear to ensure that we could walk off the plane with regular sized ankles.  The flight included many laps of the cabin so that our bodies remained intact, because the whole team was bound to compete just three days after we landed in sunny Vancouver! 

We arrived in Vancouver at 9am which was difficult, because we should have been preparing for bed in Australia.  After a good night’s sleep, we went out to train the next day at one of many tracks, this one located in the University of British Columbia.  The majority of us felt quite at home in Vancouver with thirty degree heat and beautiful blue skies. 

Most of the members of the team competed at Kajacks International Track Classic two days after landing.  Going into this meet, I looked at the start lists.  This was quite unnerving, as I had only run a sub 14 once and the majority of the runners had sub 14 and 13sec PB’s.  I came 3^rd in this race, regardless of having the slowest start time.  This particular meet taught me something which I valued, and took into the actual competition in Moncton with me.  It doesn’t matter about your PB on paper, it matters what you can do on the day.  This proved to be true throughout the whole competition in every race that I competed in.  I ran a relatively unimpressive 14.3 at Kajacks International Track Classic, however conditions were not great.  I was also due to compete the next day at another track meet, so I aimed to run a faster time, which I thought would give me more confidence going into the World Junior championships in Moncton.  We arrived at Swangard stadium the next day which was surrounded with serenity.  To the left we could see snow capped mountains, and to the right, rainforests.  When we arrived, I was told the news that I would be racing by myself.  I had to prepare myself mentally, because I wanted to run a good time and without a competitive edge, I knew this would be difficult.  At the last moment I was placed into a race with a bunch of 15 year old boys which was a much better competitive atmosphere!  I ended up running a 14.08 a week and a half out from my World Juniors heat, which gave me great confidence going into the competition. 

Later on that day at Swangard stadium, we also had our first proper hit out of the Womens 4x100 relay.  This team was comprised of members already in the team including myself (100 hurdles), Ella Nelson (200m), Karlie Morton (200m) and Caitlin Sargent (100m) to whom the baton was passed respectively.  Our relay team was coached by Jodi Lambert, a very experienced 4x100 runner who set an Australian record in the 4x100 herself during her running career.  Jodi was a fantastic mentor for our 4x100 relay and showed us many techniques and activities which brought us together as a relay team. 

Recovery played a very important role leading into the competition.  It was important that I trained every training session with high quality and accuracy, but also to recover each day so that I could perform well the next day in training.  Recovery included stretching and also ice baths after each training session or competition.  Ice baths were quite agonising to begin with, however I quickly became accustomed to them with manager Brent Valance watching over, ensuring they were done properly with our whole bodies under the 9 degree water. 

After spending close to a week in Vancouver, we all boarded a plane to Moncton.  When we arrived in Moncton, there was a definite sense of excitement seeing other teams at the airport.  The people in Moncton were extremely welcoming and seemed genuinely excited to be hosting the event.  We arrived at the Universite de Moncton and booked into our accommodation which was University dorms, only a short walk from the track.  Our dorms held many other teams including USA, Italy and Ireland, just to name a few.  My heat was on the second day of competition, so it was important to adjust to the new time zone in Moncton.  The first few days were spent training, and becoming familiar with the track.  Before competition, we got a chance to go out and listen to one of the official starters of the competition.  This was beneficial, as the starter gun sound was completely different to what we were used to in Australia.  In my last training session, I was able to use the warm-up track which was the same surface as the actual track.  I felt incredibly confident going into the competition because my last training session felt very sharp.  The first day of competition also included the opening ceremony.  Some team members attended this, however I did not because I was trying to stay off my feet.  We were able to watch this on the live streaming on the computer back at the accommodation though. 

The day of competition came, and I wasn’t due to compete until 7:30 that night so I spent most of the day in my room, relaxing, watching movies and listening to music.  The warm up track was very crowded and it was very difficult to get a lane!  I completed my normal warm up and headed to the call room.  The day was extremely hot and sunny (even though it was 7:30 at night) and there was a small tail wind – perfect conditions for a PB.  I had one of the fastest heats, and had the slowest PB in my heat, but I knew I was in personal best form.  I had absolutely nothing to lose. It was so exciting to finally step out on the track.  It was different to anything I had ever experienced.  There were TV cameras right up in everyone’s faces but I was trying to stay incredibly focussed.  I came 3^rd in my heat and ran a PB of 13.83, compared to my previous time of 13.99.  I was very happy with this result, but it still wasn’t over.  I progressed to the semi-finals the next day and wanted to run another PB!  

I found it very difficult to sleep that night because I still had a lot of adrenalin from that day.  I woke up the next day and didn’t feel as brilliant as I had the day before, but still was determined to run well again.  I went through the whole process of warming up and call room again, and didn’t feel as nervous.  The race definitely didn’t go as I had hoped.  I didn’t actually finish the race, after ploughing through the first hurdle.  This was definitely a disappointment, because I would like to have known my potential result, had I finished the race.  The next day was spent resting and recovering because I still had two more races to go!

On day four of competition, I approached the track, but this time as a member of a team.  I was to start the first leg of the relay.  Our relay also went into the race with the slowest PB by two seconds!  We were changing well to each other in the warm up.  The heat of the relay produced a very exciting result, when we came third in the heat.  The first two teams went through to the final automatically.  We had to wait for all the relay heats to be run, to figure out if we were to go through to the final.  Our two second PB in the heat was enough to get us into the top 8, which meant two bags of red frogs (a tradition of Australian teams for a number of years). 

We came 7^th in the final of the relay the next day.  It was great to achieve this result together as a team, so we could all share the experience.  After competition, we all let our hair down and spent the rest of the trip relaxing at the majestic Niagara Falls and enjoying the company of new and old friends on the team. 

The women’s championship turns 50 as well. In keeping with our sport’s shameful history of denying women opportunities to compete equally for far too long, the women’s championship was first contested in 1960. But it has been contested every year since then, and last year Athletics New South Wales made a highlight of the 50^th staging of the championship at Nowra.

The men’s championship has had a broken history. It was first staged in 1910 in Hobart, then again in 1912. From 1923 until 1929 the championship was conducted every two years. The second world war saw the suspension of all championships, including the cross-country, then it resumed the two-year cycle from 1946 to 1954 and 1955 to 1973 (presumably it went from even to odd years in 1955 to avoid a clash with the Melbourne 1956 Olympic Games).

From 1973 onwards, the cross-country has been run annually. By my count, then, this weekend’s championships in Brisbane are the 64^th, and will be the 38^th men’s championship held on an annual basis.

I hope the cross-country will forgive us for forgetting its birthday. Like many an ageing citizen, there is some conjecture about its real age. The championship is at least 100 years old; indeed, it could even be 102.

Two years before the first official championship, an interstate cross-country team race was held at Victoria Park Racecourse in Sydney. It was a national championship in all but name. The race, over five miles, was won by Ballarat’s Charles Suffren and Victoria won the team component.

If you think the name ‘Suffren’ sounds vaguely familiar, you’re right. An annual race named in his honour is still conducted in Ballarat. Fittingly, it has been won by some of Victoria’s best _ including another Ballarat legend, Steve Moneghetti.

So 1910 in Hobart was the first championship and, in keeping with the practice of the day, it was an Australasian championship. Australia and New Zealand co-operated in far more ventures then than they do now _ the 1908 and 1912 Olympic teams and, until 1928, the track and field championships were also combined affairs.

The Hobart race at Elwick Racecourse, over 10 miles, was won by Andrew Wood of NSW. New South Wales also won the team race. Wood made a thing of winning inaugural championships, the previous year he had won the first Australian marathon title.

The championship has been won by many great runners _ Dave Power, Ron Clarke, Kerry O’Brien, John Farrington, Robert de Castella and Steve Moneghetti all feature on the roster of champions and other notable winners have included Dave Chettle, Gerard Barrett, Garry Henry and Lee Troop.

With the world championships and Olympic Games now featuring on the competition schedule three out of each four years, the best runners are often in Europe when the ‘national’ is held. Neither Craig Mottram nor Benita Willis has ever been national cross-country champion, although Benita is our only world cross-country champion.

‘Deek’ won three in a row from 1978 t0 1980 and then again in 1988, the only time the championships have been held in Darwin. ‘Mona’ won in 1989 and then, amazingly, won again in 2003 just a few days short of his 41^st birthday. He beat Patrick Nyangelo of Tanzania who, a couple of weeks earlier, had out-sprinted him in the City to Surf.

With four wins, de Castella heads the list of multiple champions, but special mention should be made of Dave Power.

Power was the first of Australian distance running’s great all-rounders. Starting in the sport as a half-miler, he moved up in distances after suffering a severe spike injury in his lower leg. His first attempt at cross-country was inauspicious _ he pulled out mid-way through a race in Sydney’s Lane Cove. The minimum aim, his coach told him, was to finish!

Power went on to win three national titles, was the marathon and six miles gold medallist at the 1958 Commonwealth Games, the 10,000 metres bronze medallist at the 1960 Rome Olympics and the Commonwealth silver medallist at six miles and marathon in Perth in 1962 _ a record of versatility that sits well alongside de Castella and Moneghetti’s.

On the women’s side, Anna Thompson leads the way with four wins, followed by Kerryn McCann, Kylie risk and Beth Standford, all with three. Should Thompson win this weekend, she would have more wins than any other athlete, male or female.

Thompson has several top-20 finishes in world cross-country to her name and the list of athletes she has defeated in her four titles bear out such credentials. New Zealand’s Kimberley Smith was second in 2002, Emma Rilen in 2004, Donna MacFarlane in 2006 and Lisa Weightman in 2007.

McCann’s record does not need re-telling while Stanford, who was first female finisher in the first two editions of the City to Surf, was a prolific winner of state and national titles back in the days when the women’s distance ranged from one-and-a-half miles to 5k.

Other notable female champions are Brenda Carr (1963 and 1968), Australia’s silver medallist in the Rome 1960 Olympic 800 metres, Krishna Stanton (1986 and 1991) and Jackie Perkins, who won in 1989, the same year in which she finished fifth in the world cross-country.

An earlier edition of the national in Brisbane was 1946, significant because it marked the resumption of national championships after the war (the first post-war track and field titles were not until 1947).

Whether 100 or 102 years old, it is to be hoped this year’s Australian cross-country will make its own significant piece of history.

My preparation for the world juniors didn’t go as well as I’d have hoped as I got sick during the pre-departure period and had to take a week off.  With that in mind, I was still searching for that pre-departure time so that I would be allowed on the plane. At the pre-departure camp held at the

And so the day came to leave Australia on July 8th. The flight was ridiculously long and tiring but we had our 2XU compression tights to help us get there in shape. We arrived in Vancouver early in the morning and were told to stay awake until night time to help with the jet lag. It was a massive struggle but I think everyone made it.

The next few days we competed at two different meets; the Kajaks International Track Classic and the Trevor Craven Memorial Meet.  As it was my first international meet, I was pretty excited to compete and even more pumped to wear my new Asics Australian gear. Despite everyone being jet lagged, there were a few Pb’s and I managed to pull out a low 50 second 400m which is close to my personal best.

After spending a week in Vancouver resting up and training, we flew over to Moncton, New Brunswick. This is where the World Junior championships were being held and we were staying in a building in the athlete’s village located about a kilometre from the stadium. It was such an amazing experience to be in the village, knowing that everyone I saw on campus was good enough to represent their own country.

During the whole trip I had a few niggles in my lower back/glute muscle and I actually couldn’t run more than 15 minutes slowly without being in severe pain. This was definitely worrying me but the team physio’s got to work and after about a week of dry needling and pressure pointing, I felt as good as new and I was running the best I had ever run in my life.  I was pulling out some awesome training sessions in Vancouver and Moncton. At this point in time my confidence was skyrocketing and I knew I was ready to run a massive PB.

And so the day came for my 800m heat. I warmed up a bit earlier than normal to leave time for the call room. Once in the call room, I was pretty nervous because I knew that everyone in that room had run similar times or faster. There was a 1.46 runner (eventual silver medallist Casimir Loxsom) and a few 1.48/1.49 runners in my heat. I knew what I had to do and that was to make the race fast, otherwise I’d just get kicked down in the home straight.

Stepping onto the track was the greatest feeling. As I did my stride on the track I could hear the Aussie crowd cheering for me ‘AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE, OI OI OI’, after hearing that I lost all nerves and was just really happy to be there and was ready to have some fun.

The race worked out perfectly, I got a sit in 3^rd place and stayed there. With about 250m to go, I moved up a bit pushing for second. It was then when another runner made his move and the 4 of us were battling to make the semi. I went into the call room ranked I think 7^th in my heat and I came out with 4^th place, a new PB of 1.50.00 and a qualifier for the semi finals, so I was stoked. After the race, I had people coming up and asking for my autograph which was really unexpected, but it just made the experience even better.

The next day was the semi final. Only 2 runners make it through to the final from there so I knew I would have to drop another PB if I was going to make it through. I didn’t run as well as I had hoped; but It’s hard to back up the day after running a PB. My official time in the semi was 1.52.25 and I came in 7^th.

Overall, World Juniors was an experience that I will never forget; it was definitely the best time of my life. I made loads of new friends from all over the world and I even managed to learn some Italian whilst being over there. I couldn’t have gotten there without my family, my coach Bill Francis and Nicky Frey, who coached me over there, team physiotherapists Ben Liddy and Merryn Aldridge and Dr Dan Bates.

Now that WJ is over, I’m having a few weeks off and cannot wait to get back into some long base work.

Thanks for reading,

Adrian Plummer

So, good news to lighten the impact of the bad.

A few columns back I wrote of the ill-fated ‘Covett’ series of race which had purported to showcase three meetings _ over 800, 1500 and 3000 metres _ between Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett back in 1982. The pair were the best two middle-distance athletes in the world back then, and the series seemed a surefire winner.

It wasn’t: Ovett got injured and ran only one of the three races; Coe fell ill and did not run any of them.

Bolt v Gay v Powell has now suffered a similar fate. There will be no meeting between the three, although Bolt has raced Powell (beating his compatriot in Paris) and Gay (losing to the American in Stockholm) and Gay has raced Powell (beating him in Gateshead). Unless Gay runs faster before the end of the season, Bolt and Powell are likely to top the 100 performance lists at 9.82, but Gay to get the number one ranking. None of the three has gone within cooee of Bolt’s world record set in winning the 100 at the world championships last year (though Gay, or Powell if he recovers quickly from a groin injury, may yet get closer).

The situation underlines the danger of trying to showcase a season around one or more head-to-heads. There’s a growing history now of such attempts coming unstuck _ the Covett series, Donovan Bailey vs Michael Johnson for world’s fastest man, and now Bolt v Gay v Powell . At least when Shawn Crawford races a zebra, both protagonists are pretty well guaranteed to get to the line!

If you’re going to put all your eggs in one basket, best not to drop it.

By Daniel Wallis

What are the best things about training in Wellington?

The best things for me personally are the hills, you get so damn fit without realising it sometimes when you are just jogging or getting into runs before workouts because there is literally no where flat to run except the waterfront, and no one wants to plod around there every day (well no one with a fully functioning brain).

Who are some of the local legends that you often run into besides Peter Jackson?

Just this morning I had my tempo and thought I was going to be solo as I ran up to Karori from my pad and I bump into a 2.13 marathoner in Matt Dravitzski (who joined me for 8km) and Granty "SUPER VET" McLean who did a tempo with another Marathoner Dave Parson who is an up and comer late in the sport (I felt like a sprinter amongst that lot). Other local legends are of course Todd Stevens who I will occasionally join for a Wednesday lunch time canter, the greatest 3km runner of all time to never break 8min in Rees Buck and many others. Most of the legends are just the usual guys I train with who provide some great laughs.

When it comes to workouts it is pretty standard for me, K-Park (Karori) for intervals on Tuesday and Tempos on Saturdays, it is 990m around so roughly a km. It is great and it has a footpath and a cinder track 1m in width next to each other with the cinder on the inside of the footpath. The only down side is the summer when the little kiddies come out for cricket and wander aimlessly so you often have to ‘duck for cover’ from a swinging bat, dodge a cricket ball, or worse case scenario a kid gets decked which one poor jimmy found out last summer. By far my favourite is the botanical gardens though, a 4km hill loop with grass, road and shingle tracks, you can really get rolling there and combined with some drills we do in the circuit it is one of the most ball busting workouts around.

What are your thoughts on the upcoming NZ Champs in Waikanae, do you think that the tough course will separate the field quickly?

Waikanae is a great course, and I think people make it as tough as they want, it is not a course to be taken lightly and you always see some massive explosions (I was one two years ago). It is awesome though, real XC, with 2 fences to hurdle, rolling hills and enough flat sections it really does come down to the fastest and the strongest runner on the day. You definitely need a good combination of the both to run well on this course. When it rains, it is an absolute mud bath (like last week at Wellington Champs), but it has also been known to be bone dry, I think the field will be well established through 3-5km.

How is the running “culture” in Wellington, is there a strong sense of community between the runners?

Hmmm that is a tough one and maybe I can't answer this for everyone but within the community I am very much in a strong culture, my group all love our sport and we love each other (Ed. Note: New Zealand is one of 32 countries that performs and recognises same-sex unions), we are all good mates and hang out a lot outside of running so that is great. It is very easy to bounce ideas off each other and I am loving helping and telling stories to the juniors who will be seniors next year and I am looking forward to that. The older guys at the club are very motivational as I mentioned guys like Todd [Stevens] before, they keep you in the loop and you know exactly what is going on.

Because we drink beer and train like animals. Ha, no I think the main thing is communication and incentives. We have a Wellington Scottish Supporters Trust where a lot of the top athletes pretty much can get a flight paid for and accommodation as well as a bonus on performance based things, this makes you more pumped to do well. Our road relays are great often no one has to pay a thing in terms of accommodation which is a great thing to have. We have some of the best guys around in terms of organisation and it really is the guys behind the scenes who step up and organise our local 5km series that is a good money raiser for the club. And who would want to run for any other club? We have a bad arse Lion on the front of our singlets! 

I don't think so, as far as some of the top competition down at the track or whatever it is not really too much different, yes you lose a few young guys coming through but that is their decision. We still have plenty of young and old athletes who are all very much into the sport creating a buzz. I think it will continue to grow in Wellington and there are guys wanting to do really well at the top of the spectrum in NZ also. We hope that many that leave will come back to NZ and continue to do well for our club and for themselves, I am a huge believer that with the right attitude and determination you can get to the level you want to no matter where in the world you are.

The World Juniors itself was a completely new experience as I haven't travelled past Australia before, and haven't really been away from home for a long time. Training over in Canada was good, just concentrating on maintaining strength and keeping speed while improving technique. 

The competition was amazing, I have experienced nothing like it before, the people and expectations were like nothing else. At home competition is so laid back and you’re lucky if 30 people are watching you.

Qualifying didn't go well at all as I fouled my first 2 throws, so it meant I had to produce my 3rd best ever throw with only one attempt left, while my competition had reached the automatic qualifying mark with their earlier attempts. This was not ideal, but I believe I gained a decent amount of experience out of the qualifying round and I learnt from my mistakes. After, I quickly showered and refocused for the final that night.  I still felt rather tired and my legs felt sore and heavy but I knew there was no room for getting caught up in my mistakes from earlier that morning. 

During my warm up for the final I injured my hand and things were not looking good. I remember walking out to the final and thinking that I was just happy to have made the final at all. I thought a medal, or even top 8, was slowly moving out of my grasp.

But sitting in the call room I made a decision to target the first 3 throws as after that I knew I would have little energy and concentration left, also my injured hand was deteriorating. When I had my first throw I knew I had to stay in the circle and get a decent distance of over 20m, and I did so, which set me up for the rest of the competition. I thought on my second throw that I would have to improve my distance to win the gold but it ended up that my first throw would of won. But my second throw of 20.76m ended up giving me a victory of over half a metre, making me the youngest ever world Junior champion, with the second youngest champion being Usain Bolt.

I couldn't have achieved anything without my family, friends and my school in Takapuna Grammar, so a huge thanks to them! 

At the moment I'm in France having a Training camp with Olympic champion Valerie Vili. We are off to Stockholm for an invitational meeting tomorrow, and after that I am competing in Singapore at the Youth Olympics in August. 

Thanks for reading, Cheers.

Jacko

Brendon, thanks for finally getting your shit together and talking to us, I’m sure you have been super busy on holiday in Wellington.

First off, what was your training like in New Zealand before you left for the land of the free, did it suit Ron Warhurst’ training at Michigan?

My training in New Zealand was under Tony Rogers who helped me out for nearly two years before I moved to Michigan. It involved quite a lot of speed work with limited millage, so it wasn't a huge shock to the system as Ron didn't have me on big millage straight away, but it was certainly a step up in intensity.

What is it like having Olympic Silver medalist Nick Willis around as assistant coach? Does he help with writing workouts or is he more just to help out?

Unfortunately Nick had to step from his position as assistant coach as it conflicted with some of his commitments to sponsors, but it has been extremely valuable having him around with all the experience that he brings. He's always good for some advice or a friendly clip around the ears.

What prompted the move to Michigan? Did it help having Dallas Bowden (NZ Under 16 1500m record holder of 3:46) move with you?

Dallas had signed before I did and having him there did influence my decision. I decided that in order to move my running to the next level as well as getting an education I couldn't pass up such a great opportunity.

How was the initial adjustment? Does anything stand out as being difficult regarding the transition from NZ to the states? 

I graduated high school in 2007 so with about 18months out of school getting back to the books was one of the hardest things, especially at a school like Michigan. With Nick, Dallas and a great team around me everything else was pretty seamless.

How is the training compared to what you were doing in NZ? What is a typical training week for Cross, Indoors, and Outdoors.

Training became different in the team atmosphere and took a while to get used too. I got a late start to the cross season with injury's just before I left so my millage was only 50-65 for most of the season with one long tempo and one longer reps session a week. For indoors and outdoors my millage was raised slightly with 2 rep sessions a week one of them usually included a shorter tempo.

How have you found racing in the states different from NZ? How do you feel about three consecutive seasons? 

The major difference would have to be the quality and depth of competition as well as the addition of the indoor season. I feel that running the indoor season doesn't suit everyone and can sometimes make running outdoors that much harder.

Do you feel as if the deep level of athletes in the states has pushed you too a new level in performance?

Yes I think it has and will continue to do so.

What do you like to do outside of training and racing? 

Normally just relaxing, catching up on homework or playing xbox.

What are your training and non-training plans for the summer?

I'm back home in New Zealand for 6 weeks, I’ve done two cross country races just as tempos and really just planning on getting fit and staying healthy.

Is your coach individualistic or is it very much a blanket training system for all the

Runners?

It can vary from day to day, the team can be split up one day but then we can have 800m guys with 10k guys for the sessions that Ron feels are crucial to everyone's development, sessions like "the Michigan."

How do you feel/respond to people back in NZ who don't fully understand the US

system and just judge based on track times?

I think that judging people based on times is quite often fair enough, in the states it is much easier to run fast with conditions normally a lot better than back home it is expected that we be running fast. But having said that there is quite often underlying factors that people don't consider.

When we walked out onto the track the weather was prefect, not a breath of wind. I did a few strides, my legs were feeling good. After having about 8 minutes on the track to do our strides and warm up drills we got called up to the line. The gun went and we all took off, I remember the first lap was in 68sec then the next was 74sec with the first 2km done in 6.01. Then all of a sudden the Kenyans went crazy with half the field trying to go with them the rest wondering what to do. I stayed back and got into a rhythm running laps of 69-70sec.

I was working with Mohamed Ahmed of Canada sharing the lead. We were slowly picking off runners who had gone out too hard with the leaders, we reached the first 5km in 14.42 and then with 2km to go we started to pick up the pace.

I ended up finishing 5^th running a 48sec P.B and breaking the New Zealand junior 10,000m record (old record was 29mins 27sec). My time was 29 mins14.23secs.

The plan for the rest of the season is to keep building up my fitness. I will run a few low key XC races over the next few weeks.  My next big race will be at Zatopeak where I will race the 3000m.

 Thanks for reading,

Aaron Pulford