26.05.2009

Perrett follows in famous footsteps

If record books are anything to go by, Victoria’s Clint Perrett has a big future in distance running.

On Saturday the Melbourne runner recorded the fourth fastest lap of Ballarat’s Lake Wendouree in history, etching his name into the history books alongside distance running greats Steve Moneghetti, Lee Troop and Tony Benson.

Perrett crossed the line in Ballarat’s annual 6km Lap of the Lake in 16:56 at the weekend, just short of Moneghetti’s record run of 16:10 in 1992.

And the Victorian, who on Sunday heads to Christchurch in pursuit of qualification for the world half marathon championships in Birmingham in October, is all set to follow in the footsteps of the marathon greats before him, starting this weekend.  

“I’ve made no secret to friends and family and training partners and my coach and other people I’ve spoken to that qualification for Birmingham is my specific goal for this weekend so I’ll be trying to run as fast as I can,” Perrett said.

“I think eventually I might end up having a bit more time on the road leading into a full marathon but we always wanted 2009 to be the year I’d have my first real half marathon with intentions to move up in distance over the next couple of years.”

And Moneghetti’s long-standing lake record may yet fall as Perrett continues his rise to the top of the ranks of Australian distance running.

“I’ve got my main race, the half marathon, coming up on Sunday so Ballarat was my last hit-out and we’d had a pretty big training load leading into it so we went up for the weekend and used the race as a last training run before next weekend,” he said.

“To win was a bit of a surprise based on the heavy training I’ve been doing but it was really good, I was happy with it.

“This was only my second time around the lake and apparently, speaking to Mona afterwards and some of the locals like Collis Birmingham and Ash Watson, they were telling me I was taking some of the wrong turns; there’s a few secret turns here and there that can cut your time even more so apparently I was taking the scenic route.

“Secretly (the record) was in the back of my mind, I didn’t tell anyone but I did do a little bit of groundwork speaking to some of the local Ballarat boys up at Ferny Creek on a Sunday run the previous week.

“I asked what a decent time was around the lake and they said that only a couple of guys had gone under 17 minutes so I used that as a bit of a guide for me to see how I would go.”

While his blistering run at Ballarat might have come as a surprise, Perret will leave nothing to chance when he crosses the Tasman to line up at Christchurch this weekend.

“All the training I’ve been doing previously has led to hopefully what’s going to be a good time, it’s my first real half marathon that I’ve specifically trained for so it’s all a bit unknown and I’m not too sure what’s around the corner but based on my training I’m hoping to run a pretty fast time,” Perrett said.

“After recovering from New Zealand I’ll probably do the Victorian 12km championships and that’s always a good hit-out, then I’m heading to Switzerland not long after New Zealand to do a little bit of training over there and visit my partner’s friends and family.”

Like Moneghetti, Troop and Benson before him, there's no guessing how far the road ahead will extend for Clinton Perrett.