Runners to tackle nationals
CROSS COUNTRY: Successful endurance runner Matt Macdonald has reluctantly withdrawn from Saturday’s Australian Cross Country Championships but Toowoomba is still set for a large representation.
The championships for athletes aged under 14, 16, 18, 20 and open will be held in Wollongong.
Toowoomba’s Running High group members Teketel Tyson, Chloe Randall, Celeste Pratt, Ben Drew, Samantha Phillips, Amy Parker and Ellie Randall will be representing Queensland along with Brielle Erbacher.
Macdonald will sit out the event after contesting last weekend’s Australian Half Marathon on the Sunshine Coast where he won his age group, ran 12th outright and was part of Queensland’s silver-medal winning team.
That followed his age group win at last month’s Gold Coast Half Marathon where he fell only 11 seconds short of the race record.
“The Gold Coast was literally my main goal this year so missing by such a small margin after 12-month’s work specifically for that race was hard to accept,” Macdonald said.
“Training had gone very well and I was 30 seconds up at 15km, but faltered late.
“That is the beauty of our sport. It doesn’t matter how prepared or fit you are, you still need to deliver when it counts.
“A great silver lining though was I later learned I reset the Queensland age group record for a 10km road race at 32:57 minutes.
“I won’t be running the national cross this weekend as there is not sufficient time for me to recover.
“It was a tough choice as either team represents a dream come true, but it is a nice problem to have.”
MACDONALD on behalf of Toowoomba Road Runners holds public running sessions at Frogs Hollow each Tuesday at 5.30pm.