Up against the best school cross country runners in Australia, Tim Stewart finished a creditable 21st out of 56 in the recent U18 Australian National Championship race.
Tim was second New Zealand runner and came in just a minute behind the overall third place getter. Particularly satisfying was to easily beat Ryan McAlister, winner of the U19 Wellington Cross Country Race in July, an event in which Tim placed 5th.
“I was very happy with the way I ran. I relaxed in the first of the two 3km laps and finished strongly,” Tim said.
Temperatures of 24 degrees in Brisbane contrasted pleasantly with the far cooler weather for the four cross country races Tim completed in Waikanae over the winter. Relishing the relatively flat course with minor undulations, including two ditches, Tim ran a personal best of 20.25 for 6km (cross country). This was his first race outside New Zealand and Tim enjoyed being in the company of the Wellington runners.