PREVIEW: Men Open NSW Short Course XC

Published Thu 16 Jul 2020

16 July 2020

PREVIEW: Men Open NSW Short Course XC

What a field we have for the first return to competition event, the 106th NSW Short Course Cross Country, this Sunday at West Dapto. In particular, the men’s open 5km race has attracted the best field for a couple of decades where any one of a dozen quality athletes couple finish on the podium, depending on how they run on the day. While the medallists are uncertain, one thing not in doubt – the athletes are excited and very keen to resume competition.

The West Dapto course will comprise two laps, one 3km, then 2km. The 2km and the bulk of the 3km lap is fairly flat with a few sharp turns.

A highlight will be the teams battle, where defending champions Sydney University look to be under threat from a strong Bankstown squad with Run Crew and UTS Norths joining a three-way battle for the final two podium places.

Let’s have a look at the leading individual race hopes.

With three consecutive podium finishes at the most recent Australian Cross Country Championships, two of which were held at West Dapto, Ed Goddard (UTS Norths) is undoubtedly one of the race favourites. Last season, based at college in America, Ed Goddard he qualified for the NCAA XC, then clocked a notable 14:00.54 indoor 5000m.

“Since returning (from America), it seems that running has lacked any sense of regularity which comes from the periodisation around racing,” said Goddard. “The climate in which COVID has created is almost like a ‘run from home’ training camp… The NSW Short Course XC will be the first point in the season where I can properly taper down. I ran two 5km time trials on the road, both of which I was very happy with. I’m looking forward to seeing how I perform in a competitive environment.”

A 3:37 1500m athlete, Rorey Hunter (Bankstown) is the fastest in the field and last summer ran an impressive 13:50 5000m, stamping him as one of the favourites for this race. Last year, Rorey ran the quickest 4km leg at the NSW XC relays revealing his off track form.

“I’m excited for the opportunity to get back racing this weekend,” said Rorey. “In what’s been an uncertain few months, it’s nice to finally have something to work towards. Because it’s one of the only races happening, it looks like it is shaping up to be a very deep and competitive field which is awesome. I think we are all also looking forward to seeing how the virtual race results stack up against the real thing.”

They don’t come better credentialled than Brad Milosevic (Girraween) – defending champion, a three-time winner of this race and Australian marathon representative. Now a part of Team Telford, coach Dick Telford has been pleased with his progress. “He’s going well and building a good base; is improving all the time.”

Brad recently ran 8:40 in a squad trial over 3km cross country in at Stromlo.

A winner of this event in 2010 and a two-time Commonwealth Games representative, James Nipperess (Sydney Uni) has complied his best ever all-round season in 2019/20 clocking times of 8:34 steeple, 5k 13:58 & 10k 28:55. He recently won the Team Telford 3km trial in 8:18 so is in good form.

“I’ve been going decent in training with Team Telford and enjoying a range of distances - looking forward to the challenge,” said Nipperess.

“He has trained very well, probably best I’ve seen from him,” said coach Dick Telford.

What a resume Ben St Lawrence has – two Olympics, two World Championships and two World XC Champs, along with being a former national 10,000m record holder and #4 fastest ever Australia at 5000m. He continues to impress with a 63:30 half marathon and 2:14 marathon in 2019. As the most experienced athlete in the field he will be one to watch. He is now combining his running with coaching at Run Crew – sharing his experience and knowledge with the next generation.

“I'm excited to be lining up in a great field of local talent on a beautiful course and will be having a crack at a podium finish,” Ben said. “We're lucky to have the opportunity to race, and I for one certainly couldn't pass that up. We've got a great group of Run Crew athletes and supporters heading down to Dapto, we can't wait for some hotly contested races all the way through the fields.”

We are very aware of the enormous potential of Jye Edwards (Bankstown), 3:41 (1500m) and 4:00.2 (mile) in his teens, but has had his battles in the last few years amongst glimpses of brilliance.

“I've had quite a tough battle with injury over the past 3-4 years,” Jye said. “Most recently I've suffered with shin splints, which has had an effect on my training over the last few months. Thank fully I've been able to manage it, and things seem to be moving in the right direction.”

Coach Dick Telford concurred. “With his history of lower leg problems, we have been holding him back. But currently going well.”

However Jye is ready and keen to mix it with the best.

"I am very excited to be toeing the line for the first time in several months on Sunday, especially alongside many of my Team Telford training partners. It has been a strange and unpredictable year thus far, so to have the opportunity to race again after so long is fantastic. I am sure this event will produce a very competitive field, as it does every year. I look forward to putting my current fitness to the test on Sunday against some top quality athletes!"

There is another group who on their day could press for a top-six finish:

Josh Johnson (BAN): set a PB 14:03 5000m last summer and has 3:39 1500m speed.
Kieren Tall (RCR): the leading Australian junior at the 2017 World XC, he has run significant track times of 14:07 (5000m) and 28:52 (10,000m) last year.
Arron Spiessberger-Parker (BAN): Third in last year’s Long Course XC, Aaron has PBs of 30:02 (10km road) and 8:22 (3000m).
Joe Burgess (SYU): Top-7 at both the NSW short and long course cross country championships last year and is a 14:25 5000m athlete.
Matt Hudson (RCR): Four months ago Matt clocked an impressive 2:21 marathon and has impressive 5000m/10,000m PBs of 14:06/29:16.
Charlie Doherty (UTN): Top-12 at the 2019 Australian Champs and fifth at the 2019 NSW long course XC.
Tom do Canto (RCR): An athlete with a very good distance range, Tom brings good recent form to the race, running PBs of 8:22 (3000m) and 2:18 (marathon) late last year. He also ran a 30:49 10km XC in the recent Run Crew squad trial last week.
Liam Gorman (UTN): Quality XC athlete who represented Australia in the junior event at the 2019 World XC.
Yosef Gemechu (BAN): Has speed with PBs last summer of 1:49.50 (800m) and 3:46 (1500m).