Cameron French
The Porritt Classic returns to Hamilton this weekend and features more than 20 events, for five hours of non-stop sporting competition.
High Performance Sport NZ advisor Criss Strange said The Porritt was seen as the premier classic in a series of track and field events run in January and February throughout New Zealand, culminating in the New Zealand Champs in March.
The event also marks an important part of qualifying for the New Zealand champs and Rio Olympics.
"We usually anticipate around 250 of New Zealand's best athletes," Mr Strange said.
The Hamilton delegation is set to include eight national champions.
The event is held February 13 from 2-7pm at Porritt Stadium on Crosby Rd.
Tickets cost $5 entry, which includes a programme.
Hamilton's Cameron French will be competing in the Porritt Classic.
The 23 year-old former St Paul's Collegiate student has his eye on the Rio Olympics. Not bad for a young man who only took up the hurdles when he drew the short straw in a Year 12 sports day.
"We went out to the back field, jumped one or two hurdles, and thought 'that will do'. That was on the Thursday and on Friday we had the school sports and I was doing 100 metre hurdles back then and I won. Then I went zones, then Waikato, then North Island, and I thought 'I'm not bad at this'.
"I got to the North Islands and I was halfway through the race, out in front and ... bail. Clipped my foot and face planted."
The fall only fanned the flame of Cameron's competitive nature.
"Everyone thought that was a laugh so I thought 'ah well, I will give it a crack till the end of the year'."
He continued through Year 13, progressing to 300 metre hurdles. By this time Cameron had caught the bug.
It was not his last tangle with the hurdles however.
"You're constantly hitting hurdles, training, warm ups, drills, you're trying to get really low over them so you're as smooth as possible, so you're always at risk of hitting a shin or skinning a knee."
Cameron said the Porritt Classic was a great opportunity to clear his legs.
"It will be one of my first 400 metre hurdles of the year so I'm hoping to be able to run well there in front of a home crowd."
From there it is a build up to the Nationals and hopefully an Olympic qualifying time.
The event is a fine art, requiring constant refinement to shave off the time, with alternate leg pattering and stride length having to be perfectly attuned.
"I've ironed out a lot of the technical things that were holding me back last year, so hopefully this year I'll be able to push through and convert that time.
"It's getting to the point where we can run without having to notice the hurdles much.It's about being as smooth as I can to put my speed and power down on the track," he said.
Cameron's 400 metre sprint speed sits as 46.2 seconds. To qualify he needs to bring down the difference with 10 hurdles to two seconds.
"You need to be hitting 48s to get to the finals," he said.
Until as recently as last year Cameron also stuck out as a firm competitor in the 100, 200, 300 and 400 metres sprints, but with a focus now on the Rio 2016 Olympic hurdles he has had to narrow his focus.
He has already competed abroad in Japan and at the World University championships in South Korea in 2015.
"I decided in 2011 to really give it a good attempt and train full-time while doing a bit of part-time work on the side so I could afford to live. I'm really focused on through to the Commonwealth Games, but the main goal is that five-year plan to the Rio Olympics."
Cameron trains six days a week, often three times a day.
"We're training every day rain, hail or shine. It's mainly track-based, but a lot of gym work is important."