09.01.2008

Twilight race for selection trials

March’s national selection trials for the 2008 World Cross Country Championships will be Athletics Australia’s first foray at the new-look Stromlo Forest Park.

The trials, to determine the Australian team that will compete at the 36th edition of the world cross in Edinburgh on March 30, will be a twilight affair poised to provide competitors with cooler conditions on the cross country circuit.

The event page and timetable can be viewed here

The Canberra facility was formally opened in 2007 with its circuit, Deek’s Track, unveiled in November in honour of athletics legend Rob de Castella - a four-time Australian cross champion and a national representative at nine editions of the World Cross Country Championships.

An invitational run was held on that day with the eight kilometres navigated best by local star Martin Dent (23:33) and Sydney’s Lara Tamsett (28:42).

Purpose designed, the groomed grass running track comprises a 2.5km loop that can be reduced to 2km, 1.5km or 1km and provides a world-class benchmark for Australia’s elite and developing runners and school students.

Stromlo Forest Park is no stranger to distance running. A popular training area until it was destroyed by bushfires in 2003, many will now benefit from the $7.5 million project.

Visit the Stromlo Forest Park website here

Pictured: Martin Dent contests the long course of the 2007 World Cross Country Championships in Mombasa, Kenya