AFTER thousands of hours training, Bendigo athlete Andy Buchanan is ready to take on the world\u2019s best cross-country runners on home turf.<\/p>\n
Buchanan, 31, is among Australia\u2019s team of six to contest Saturday evening\u2019s 10-kilometre duel at the world titles in Bathurst, New South Wales.<\/p>\n
A dual national champion in the discipline, Buchanan was fifth in a time of 29.43 at this year\u2019s selection trial on Canberra\u2019s Mount Stromlo.<\/p>\n
A lot of the lead-up to that event and since then for the Bendigo University Athletics Club star was based in a training camp at Falls Creek.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s been a lot of training at Falls since the new year,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
It was not just running the climbs, but also time in the sauna to prepare for what could be a hot night in Bathurst.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast Sunday was the first day of tapering,\u201d Buchanan said. \u201cInstead of a 70-minute running session it was down to 50, and the length of each session has dropped since then.\u201d<\/p>\n
Buchanan and his Victorian team-mates for the world XCR titles made their way to Bathurst on Thursday.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s Buchanan\u2019s first visit to Bathurst, renowned for the Supercar action, and where gold was first discovered in Australia.<\/p>\n
Australia\u2019s team will be aiming to capitalise on the conditions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Europeans and the Americans may have some trouble adjusting to the course, and the weather,\u201d Buchanan said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing at home is an advantage for an Australian cross-country team for the first time.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2022, Buchanan was seventh in the marathon at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.<\/p>\n
To compete at the world cross-country titles was a goal first talked about with coach Scott Westcott after he won the national championship in 2018.<\/p>\n
\u201cBathurst was going to host the World XC titles in 2021, but they were cancelled because of COVID,\u201d Buchanan said.<\/p>\n
These championships have drawn the highest number of competing countries.<\/p>\n
\u201cBathurst is likely to be a technical course which suits my style of running,\u201d Buchanan said. \u201cDownhill sections can be tricky, but it\u2019s the uphill where you can gain a break, or be left behind.\u201d<\/p>\n
Australia\u2019s team includes Jack Rayner, an Olympian and Commonwealth Games representative who has dominated many distances.<\/p>\n
As teenagers, Rayner and Buchanan were opponents in the Bendigo Bank Dragon Mile run at Easter.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve spoken about that race a couple of times,\u201d said Buchanan.<\/p>\n
\u201cJack was amazed by how unique the Dragon Mile is,\u201d Buchanan said of the Bendigo Harriers-organised event which is run in the lead-up to the gala parade in the heart of the city.<\/p>\n
For now the focus is the World XCR duel to be run from 6.30pm on Saturday. The championship action will be broadcast on SBS Viceland, channel 31, from 3.30pm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
AFTER thousands of hours training, Bendigo athlete Andy Buchanan is ready to take on the world\u2019s best cross-country runners on home turf. Buchanan, 31, is among Australia\u2019s team of six to contest Saturday evening\u2019s 10-kilometre duel at the world titles in Bathurst, New South Wales. A dual national champion in the discipline, Buchanan was fifth […]<\/p>\n