Family affair at national cross country

Whanganui distance runner Liam Back steps from 4km at national schools level to 6km at the New Zealand Cross Country Championships in Auckland this weekend.

There is a distinct family feel about the Whanganui athletes competing for Manawatu/Whanganui at the New Zealand Cross Country Championships at the Auckland Domain this Sunday.

The Cross Country Championships return to the successful venue used last year.

The interesting and spectator-friendly course, so near to the heart of the city, provides a wonderful setting for the major cross country of the year for New Zealand's leading senior athletes.

The event is a week earlier than 2016 and must be the earliest running of the event for many years.

Whanganui has 17 athletes competing in the various grades, with 11 of these represented by four families.

The Conder family, who have worked so hard for the Whanganui Harrier Club, have four of the family competing.

Parents Robert and Paula compete in their respective Masters grades while sons Thomas and Ben run together in the under 18 grade.

Only Christian from the family won't be running as he is in the midst of training and preparation for taking up his athletic scholarship in Florida.

He leaves in mid-August and has the pedigree to follow in the success of a series of Whanganui athletes who have gone before him over more than three decades.

A list that has included New Zealand and Oceania representative Dean Crowe, Shaun Walsh, Melissa Gilbertson, Holly and Lucy van Dalen and the Beamish brothers, to mention just seven.

The Matthews family has mother Di in the Masters women and her daughters Brittney and Sarah run in the competitive Manawatu/Whanganui under 18 team.

Also in the team are Caitlyn Alabaster and Sarah Lambert.

Alabaster and Lambert were in the Wanganui Collegiate senior girls team that finished second in the 3-to-score team event at the New Zealand Secondary Schools.

Both also have siblings competing.

George Lambert finished a hugely creditable 8th in the New Zealand Secondary Schools under 16 race - while still in Year 9.

In Auckland he is able to run in the under 15 race against athletes closer to his own age.

The hugely promising Ashleigh Alabaster starts in the girls under 15 race.

Mignon Stevenson joins Paula Conder and Di Matthews in the Masters women while Jason Daws joins Rob Conder in the Masters men.

Liam Jones is our sole representative in the under 20 men, whereas the other three Whanganui athletes have the comfort of team mates and in the case of Marseille Bowie has the company of Cailyn Alabaster, Sarah Lambert and the Matthews sisters.

Ana Brabyn joins fellow Year 9 medal winner from NZ Secondary Schools Ashleigh Alabaster in the under 15 race.

The other Whanganui runner is rising star Liam Back, who in July took gold in the under 16 New Zealand Schools with an outstanding performance that not only brought home the team gold medal, but also a silver medal with his Collegiate team mates in the 3-to-score event.

Auckland, however, provides an altogether different challenge when he steps up to face athletes who competed at New Zealand Schools in the senior boy's grade.

Back also has to step up to the longer distance 6000m as opposed to 4000m in Christchurch in June.

He peaked for New Zealand Schools in mid-June and has gone back to a small build up for this second major race that had not featured as prominently in the initial planning.

Back also entered himself in the Wellington Championships during the school holidays to gain experience of the longer distance.

He reported finding the race tough but did win. Winning is a good habit to get into.

His training, as emailed to me on the other side of the world, appears to have gone well.

He understands the greater challenge and relishes the experience that it brings.

He knows that a strong performance will help his cause, especially against fellow candidates for next year's New Zealand Schools Team to the ISF World Schools in Paris next March.

I look forward to catching up with our runners in Auckland in transit on my return to New Zealand from a wonderful break in Scotland.

Next week's article will look at the results over this weekend with special reference to our local athletes.