29.05.2009

Roff in the running for Leonora gold

Few things are certain in the world of track and field but when Jeremy Roff lines up at the start of the men’s 1500m in Berlin this August, he can be sure few of his rivals will have taken their world championships preparation to a dusty outback town to test their legs on a bitumen street.  

On Sunday Roff will line up in Australia’s richest mile foot race at the Leonora Gift in rural WA.

It’s a far cry from the bright lights of Berlin but for Roff, it’s all part of the plan to give his first world championships campaign a serious shake.

“I’ve never raced the Gift before but I’ve heard a lot about it and it’s pretty prestigious and it’s a good race for me to get out on the road before Berlin,” Roff said.

“Not being a track race it’s not so much about the time, it’s just about getting in a good competitive race so I’m pretty keen to give it a good crack and hopefully I’ll come away with a win.”

And competitive it will be.

Set to line up at Leonora this weekend are national 10,000m and Gift record holder Collis Birmingham, local favourite Chris de Boer and Kenyan world and Olympic steeplechase champion Reuben Kosgei, shoring up one of the strongest field’s in event history.

“Collis has proved time and time again he’s a world-class athlete and we’ve had some pretty good races together so for me to compete against him again and obviously Reuben Kosgei, it’s hard to know what sort of form he’s in over a mile, but it should be really good,” Roff said.

Not to be unsettled by Birmingham’s race record – the Victorian posted a blistering 4:02:15 to claim line honours in 2007 – Roff’s eyes are firmly fixed on the major prize this weekend.

With $6000 cash and a $1000 gold nugget on the line, it’s the quickest way to make a buck in Leonora this weekend.

If you’re quick enough.

“Records on the road aren’t as big as ones on the track so it’s more about trying to win the race, the time’s not really going to matter,” Roff said.

“Collis and I are both looking to get a share of the spoils so the record’s not really a priority of mine at the moment.

“For athletes like myself and Collis it’s not often you get this sort of opportunity to make that sort of money so any money’s a bonus really.”

A 2006 Commonwealth Games representative, Roff is now counting down the days to his world championships debut when he will line up alongside Victorian young gun Jeff Riseley in the 1500m.

His hit-out at Leonora this weekend will be his final run on home soil before departing for Europe on Tuesday to launch his countdown to the 12th IAAF world championships.

“I did a cross country race a couple of weeks ago and that was my first race since nationals and Leonora is another stepping stone on my way to racing in Europe so I think it will be good just to get out there and get into a good race,” the New South Welshman said.

“In training you can’t always push yourself as much as you would in a race so it’s always been a plan of mine to do the event and it’s worked out well this year on my way to Europe.”

Roff will base himself in Cologne, Germany, from next week with fellow Aussie runners Lachlan Renshaw and Sarah Jamieson before the remainder of the world championships team touches down in the lead-up the event.

“I’m trying to get into some 1500m races and maybe some 800m races and just whatever I can get into, it’s always hard to try to get into the bigger meets if you haven’t done the times yet and I’m just below that next level so hopefully I can make that step up before the world championships,” the 25-year-old said.

With a new personal best time of 3:37.59 set at the Sydney Track Classic in February, Roff has high hopes for his world championships debut. 

“I’m out to be competitive, I’ve been given an opportunity to run at the world championships and I’d really like to show my worth and make the semi-finals and then even the final and after that who knows what I can do so just to perform well and do my best are my goals.”

Beijing Olympian and Gift record holder Lisa Corrigan heads the women’s field, set to line up against emerging 1500m runner Kaila McKnight and 2008 Gift runner-up Nikki Molan.

Corrigan took out the event in 2007 in a record time of 4:29.01.