In an Australian title race wide open for the taking, Ruby Smee is hoping to make it her own. From Hobart to San Francisco and Flagstaff, every quiet kilometre clocked closes the gap to the highest level.
That gap is almost perfect; small enough to dream yet big enough to be patient. In previous economies Smee’s credentials would hold more currency nationally, but the rising stocks of Australian distance running have left her chasing, and most importantly keeping up.
The Tasmanian clinched a surprise silver at the 2024 Australian Cross Country Championships on home soil in Launceston, now gearing up for 2025’s instalment in Ballarat this Saturday.
“I definitely surprised myself last year. Looking at the start list I thought top five would be amazing, but it helped that I had run on the course since I was young and knew so many people in the crowd. The home advantage played into it,” Smee says.
“As runners we always want to improve and if I think about how I can improve after getting second last year, going up from there leads me to going for the win this year.”
Conscious of not looking too far ahead, the 24-year-old draws on a line from her time at the NCAA powerhouse program of Northern Arizona University led by coach Mike Smith:
“He always said that rankings trick you into thinking that a job is done, and I have thought about that since I have left. You don’t want to get too obsessed with it, especially in cross country,” Smee says.
“The mix of girls for this weekend is really exciting because a lot of the big superstar frontrunners aren’t there, which means it could open up for anyone on the day.”
Flexing her form with a pair of 10km road wins, fist at the Launceston Running Festival in 32:57 and then at the Gold Coast Marathon in 33:04 despite challenging conditions, Smee is primed for 10km of cross country action at Victoria Park.
“I take a lot of confidence from my road races lately and know that will translate to cross country. I’m quite a rhythm runner, I don’t mind it being hard from the start and just locking into that,” Smee says.
“It has been big for me to feel like I belong on the start line and belong up the front, because that is something that everyone can struggle with at this level.”
With personal bests ranging from 9:04.93 over 3000m to 32:30.60 for 10,000m, Smee’s time in the NCAA system allowed her to flourish as a versatile athlete across two schools, returning home in 2024 after four years in the United States.
“The University of San Francisco was a small athletics program and because I was the best on the team, I was lucky that everything was tailored towards me. To then go to NAU and have teammates like Nico Young; I liked that they were two really different experiences,” Smee says.
“It was hard moving back because I got used to that team environment and structure every day, but I’m back with my high school coach Susan Andrews. Also being with Team Tempo remotely has helped emulate that college feel – putting on a uniform and having teammates.
“I have always loved watching Jess Stenson run and I feel like Caitlin Adams and I are pretty similar runners, so I feel inspired to see her working hard and doing well. Then guys like Isaac Heyne just have such great energy.”
The 2025 Australian Athletics Cross Country Championships will serve as the first of three national title races for Smee, who also plans to put her best foot forward for the 2026 World Cross Country Championships.
“The World Cross Trials is a big one on the calendar for me this year and I’ll do Burnie 10k for the Australian Road Championships, which I’m grateful for because it’s at home, and then Zatopek is at the end of the year,” Smee says.
The 2025 Australian Athletics Cross Country Championships are part of the Chemist Warehouse Winter Series and is supported by the Victorian Government through Sport and Recreation Victoria.
Full entry lists for the 2025 Australian Athletics Cross Country Championships can be found HERE.
By Lachlan Moorhouse, Australian Athletics
Posted 20/8/2025
