Leanne Pompeani is hoping her blistering City2Surf win - the third fastest in its history - will propel her to national selection in coming months.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The 26-year-old wants to build on her Sydney performance and take that form into one of the biggest races of her career in January.
Stromlo Forest Park cross county track will host Australia's World Cross Country Championship team trials, and Pompeani wants to make sure her name is on the team sheet.
It's a course the Canberran is all too familiar with, as she runs it every week.
Pompeani said that, paired with her performance this season, did boost her confidence ahead of the trials.
"I'd like to think we have a little bit of an advantage seeing as we train there every week," she laughed.
"It's starting to feel a little bit more like people see me as a true competitor, not just another name on the start line."
Pompeani's form on a course she is familiar with should worry her competitors, after she took out Sydney's City2Surf the first time she raced it competitively.
Her time of 45.43 minutes on Sunday was the third-fastest in the race's history, and 35 seconds behind the women's race record.
READ MORE CANBERRA SPORT:
"It was definitely a goal of mine to get in that 45 minute range because earlier in the week I was looking at past results, and only two other women had run in the 45 minute range," she said.
"I thought it would be really awesome but I didn't plan on it, I didn't look at my watch at all during the race.
"I was very happy when I crossed the line in under 46 minutes, because I knew the names of past winners that are all Australian greats. So it feels good to have my name next to theirs."
As the Australian team's cross country trials are months away, her immediate focus is on a meet in Adelaide in a matter of weeks.
The Australian Cross Country Championships will give a good indicator of where Pompeani stands heading into the trials next year.
"The 10km is a good distance for me at the moment," she said.
"I obviously want to go into it and win, that's the goal.
"Then I'll take a little bit of a downtime and just getting some weeks of just training. I need a good block of just training without some racing, and then come October I'll get back into it."
Pompeani will be a favourite heading into the meet, and the trials, if she can keep her form up.
Especially after she ran the third-fastest time by an Australian woman on road over 10kms in May, some 20 seconds behind the automatic qualification for the Commonwealth Games.
She was hoping it would be enough to throw her hat into the selection ring, but knew it would be a stretch to qualify.
"The Comm Games was so inspirational, I mean we've seen all the results from it, and they all did so well," she said.
"That gives me the fire to want to make the next one but there's lots to do before then as well. As I have been enjoying the road racing in Australia."
But her push for the next Games may be over a longer distance - the marathon.
Although Pompeani confirmed she would continue to focus her training on the 10km until late 2023.
We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.
Isobel Cootes
Sports reporter at The Canberra Times. A Novocastrian with a passion for football (or soccer as they call it in the capital) via The Examiner and The Port Lincoln Times.
Sports reporter at The Canberra Times. A Novocastrian with a passion for football (or soccer as they call it in the capital) via The Examiner and The Port Lincoln Times.
