Lefroy set up victory with burst over line

COMING under the influence of legendary distance runner and coach Philo Saunders has paid dividends for Tim Lefroy after he won the 10km on Saturday.

The ACT runner claimed honours in the third head-tohead battle with New South Welshman Matthew Hudson this season after the pair battled it out in the Sydney:10 and Launceston 10 races earlier in the season.

Lefroy had taken honours over his great rival in the previous two races and held his form on Saturday, ducking in behind Louis McAfee in the final 3km as the Queenslander broke from the pack, with Lefroy and Hudson following.

McAfee led the trio into the final kilometre, with Lefroy making his move about 300m from the line and winning the sprint to the finish ahead of Hudson, with the Queenslander third.

“I don’t know if you ever come in confident if you’re racing guys like Matt and Louis,” Lefroy said.

“I was hoping to get on the podium. I knew it would be close but it was the flip of a coin.

“With about 250m to go the three of us put a bit of a sprint on and I was lucky enough to come up.”

A cross-country runner as a junior, Lefroy linked with Saunders in 2015, joining a strong group including several Paralympians.

Lefroy crossed in 29 min 48 sec, well outside Olympian Michael Shelley’s 2010 race record of 28:53 and his own personal best (29:40) set in Launceston.