South Australians Touch Down on NSW 3000m Champs

Whilst we often look at the NSW 3000m Championships as the unofficial start of the distance track season for those who love to run mutliple laps, that can also be the case for many elite & sub-elite athletes outside the state borders. We've seen this in recent years with Craig Huffer (VIC) challenging Kieren Tall all the way to the line to take second in last year's Men's 3000m Championship Race, whilst Leanne Pompeani (ACT) along with many from the nation's capital are regular visitors, and winners, of the NSW Distance Championships.

This time around - the Adelaide Milers Crew (finally!) - will be gracing several of today's top races, led by coach and all-round running extraordinaire, Michael Nitschke, who will run in the Men's C Race himself later today. Michael wears almost as many hats as one can in the sport - athlete, coach, podiatrist, guest podcaster, avid fan, and most importantly, father & husband - and we sat down to talk to him about his "third time lucky" effort to get his squad to the Championships after the pandemic-affected years of 2020 and 2021.

James Constantine (JC): Thanks for your time Michael. What brings you and your squad from South Australian to NSW for this year’s 3000m Championships? Is it to run Personal Bests, deeper competition, fitting well into training programs? And how do you think the NSW 3K will differ to the Athletics SA 3K Champs? And what are some of the goals for the group today?

Michael Nitschke (MN): Thanks mate. My crew (Adelaide Milers Crew) are excited to get over for the NSW 3k. AS you know we’ve been fighting to get ting to get here for the last 2 years, but had some bad luck with domestic travel during COVID. It’s always one of the premium events in the first half of the calendar. The 3,000m distance is a great distance to kick off into the summer, and a few of our juniors gets a chance to have a crack at that decastella/Ondienki Q times for the zatopek races. Our SA 3,000m is a high quality event these days, but positioned in February. We’re here to simply run PBs.

JC: Describe the makeup of your squad and what a usual week for you and your team looks like in SA. Who’s on the rise and who should be we looking out for at today’s Champs? Any race tactics coming in – not here just to sit & kick perhaps?

MN: Our squad is almost 30 strong now, such that we’ve had Annie Kitto step up as assistant coach (Matt Clarke’s Fiancé), and she’s been great. We’re about 60:40 men-to-women, and age ranges from 14 to 40+ with the predominant ages between 18-25. We’re predominately middle-distance runners (800-5000m) with a few of our seniors moving up to the longer road races. We’re positioned at the University of Adelaide (North Adelaide), where we normally complete 2 group workouts bias to threshold work in the winter and higher intensity work in the summer and usually a longer hillier run Sundays (Adelaide hills). Everyone has their own schedule - so we normally have 3-4 different workout groups going each session.

We had a small exodus from this specific event due to a few factors, mainly being year 12 exams and university exams and even the cost of domestic travel atm. So with 4 runners coming over (previously 8), I think the 2 to look out for are Zac Connell who’s come in leaps and bounds and should be out to challenge the 8.30 mark, while Annie Kitto is the A ladies race and is capable of at least a 20s PB in my opinion (currently 10.06 PB). I would have loved to have had Cael Mulholland, Charlotte Ruddenkalu and Cooper Giles competing this weekend as they are in amazing shape, but they also are very academic and their exam schedule is dense.

JC: You tried a couple of times to get the group over during 2020 & 2021 but unfortunately a pandemic got in the way. Is interstate travel & racing something that is becoming a priority, to ensure that your athletes are getting the best out of themselves over summer? Is it something that you consider as a coach all-year round?

MN: I really want to get my runners to get use to travelling to some key events such as NSW 3,000m, VMC events and invitation events if the calendar allows it. It’s great to get use to running against people you don’t often compete with, run on new tracks, deal with travel and focus on events that may allow them to bring the best out of themselves. These one percenters are useful for preparing them for their national events come March/April. We also will make sure to do a Long run the next day with friends from NSW such as those from Run Crew. These races give us a chance to network and make new friends with those with similar goals.
 

JC: There seems to be the same distance boom in SA as NSW/QLD & VIC – it really is one of the “in form” disciplines in track & field right now. What are some of the factors you’ve seen over the past few seasons that has contributed to this, and are the likes of Izzi [Batt-Doyle], Jess [Stenson], Matt Clarke & Isaac [Heyne] inspiring the next generation (including your squad) in your opinion?
 

MN: We are very lucky to have the likes these athletes performing well on national and international stages. It has definitely had the effect of inspiring the next generation coming through. I know specifically our group have really enjoyed how approachable some of these athletes are, and freely giving good advice. We often will have Clarkey join us in our workout warm ups Friday while he does his second run. Our juniors get a buzz out of that. Because of the start factor in distance running here, the quality and depth of our events have grown substantial, it’s been great to see the growth.

JC: You’re still running very well yourself and will feature in one of the higher graded races – how much emphasis are you putting into your own running, whilst balancing your coaching and full-time job as a podiatrist (and a dad!)?

Above: Michael competing during the 2019-2020 Athletics SA season (image courtesy of Athletics SA / Michael Nitschke)

MN: I would have loved to get over for this event 2 years ago! However, my daughter Zara is now 2 years of age and my flexibility to run now is getting better. It helps as Matt Clarke as joined me at SPARC as a podiatrist - where we share the client workload now. I have found a nice balance of about 80km/week, 1 x bike commute and some gym work to try and slow down my age-related decline! However, I’m here to run as close to a PB as possible tomorrow night in the C race. I’m very lucky to have a wife/family allow me to travel to run a C race in NSW at 37!
 

JC: Final Question – what are the goals for your athletes, and you as a coach, for a huge season knowing that the challenges of travel/races being on are now in the past. Is the “clean slate” a chance to really solidify some of the good training/time trials etc. that you’ve seen your athletes achieve over the last 2 years?

MN: Our group is growing and the talent is coming now. I feel our culture is strong from juniors to seniors, with the athletes always trying to better themselves and each other. We have a lot of talent on show this weekend at the Adelaide All Schools event which I’m excited to follow. We have our first athlete who’s been accepted in the NCAA system next year on full scholarship, which he truly deserves - after earning a Junior state 5,000m record last year.
 

Our big goal is give athletes their best opportunity to work through the ranks, whether it be make the world junior XC team in February, line up at the nationals from march or win state medals. I feel coach Adam Didyk and Team Tempo have set up a great standard for many other groups to follow. There is more collaboration in SA than ever before.

I always want to educate a lot of my athletes that this sport can be lifelong both physically and socially. We’re building that culture now, and I think great results will come as a consequence of sustainable, enjoyable training culture. A big part of that culture is getting over to the events that give the best opportunities, like the NSW 3,000m.

Written by James Constantine, Athletics NSW
With thanks to Michael Nitschke for his time.