Ravenswood climbs to test runners

THEY may be short, but the steep climbs at St Anne’s Winery in Ravenswood will test runners in this Saturday’s round of On-backed cross-country racing.

Round three in the XCR series run by Athletics Victoria makes its way to the course at the foot of Big Hill for a second time.

The inclines at Big Hill have played a crucial part in the training for some of Athletics Bendigo Region’s team for this and upcoming rounds of the season.

World cross-country championships representative Andy Buchanan is back in action to lead Bendigo in the eight kilometre contest.

Commitments to the Hamburg Marathon meant Buchanan did not compete in the XCR legs at Jells Park or Albert Park.

His lead-up to racing at St Anne’s in Ravenswood where he won last year has included training with Bendigo team-mates Bryan Kelly and rising stars Harrison Boyd, Tully Lang, and Tullie Rowe.

Bendigo will be well-represented across many divisions in the eight, four and three-kilometre showdowns at St Anne’s on Saturday.

“St Anne’s is clearly one of the toughest courses we have in this series,” Buchanan said of a 10-race program.

“Training at Big Hill is a unique experience. There are short, but steep climbs, and it’s incredibly rocky.

“Workouts at Big Hill are not about speed, but more about building leg strength and endurance.”

Bendigo’s team, also known as the Bats, is determined to close or increase the gap on their rivals in the premiership standings.

In pursuit of back-to-back men’s premier division titles, Bendigo is third in this season’s race led by Glenhuntly and Western Athletics, while the Bats lead the division three women’s ladder.

“Racing much closer to home is an advantage we will aim to capitalise on,” Buchanan said.

The Bendigo team could number at least 50 and results are based on the six-best times for each team in the eight-kilometre duel.

“The performance of our sixth runner is just as important as the fastest two or three,” Buchanan said.

First race on Saturday starts at 12.20pm with the men’s open and masters event starts at 1.40pm and will be followed by women’s open and masters at 2.20pm.