Brett Robinson is confident he can transform marathon endurance into cross-country speed when he returns to an old stomping ground in a bid to secure a world championship berth.
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Robinson is part of a star-studded men's and women's group of athletes who will hit Mt Stromlo on Sunday morning for the cross country world championship trials.
The 31-year-old is still riding high after writing his name in the record books last month as the fastest Australian marathon runner in history when he beat Rob de Castella's 36-year-old record in Fukuoka.
It had the double bonus of getting Robinson a Paris Olympic Games qualifying time, but now his focus is on a quick 10 kilometre sprint against some of Australia's best for a chance to race in the world championships in Bathurst.
Already a four-time cross-country team member, Robinson is hoping to take advantage of his good form, which included a 10 kilometre personal best time last year.
"Straight away [after the race in Fukuoka] the motivation was there and I wanted to keep going, keep going faster," Robinson said.
"But the marathon damages your body a fair bit and when I got into training my legs were heavy. So the motivation went down, so I took it easy for a few weeks.
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"I'm ready to get back into it, you can't live off one run forever so it's on to the next thing."
The next thing is the cross country opportunity, even if he still has one eye on preparations for the London marathon in April and his path to racing at the Paris Games next year.
Robinson broke the marathon 2:10 barrier in London last year and then slashed 20 seconds off de Castella's long-standing record with a 2:07:31 run in Japan to continue a whirlwind transition from Rio Olympian in the the 5000 metre track event to 42 kilometre specialist.
The cross country falls somewhere in the middle of those goals, but it's no less important.
He will line up against training partner Jack Rayner, the Australian 10 kilometre record holder, and Matt Ramsden among others.
Robinson, who is now based in Melbourne, won the last cross country trials at Stromlo in 2019 and has been staying with his dad in Canberra to get in extra sessions on home turf.
"I was always drawn to longer distances and the idea of training for months for one race was appealing to me," Robinson said.
"I wanted to transition to marathon when I was still at my best, I didn't want to do it when my body was breaking down.
"My body doesn't seem to like the faster training for shorter distances these days. The quicker pace in the cross country is a bit more difficult, but I think I'll be OK.
"I like to do the shorter races to make sure I still have that speed ... if you run marathons for too long you lose that ability and get stuck in one gear. I want to keep as many gears as I can.
"I used to train at Stromlo all the time when I was younger, it's good to come back and it feels like home. I think some people will underestimate the course ... hopefully I'm prepared and take a bit of local knowledge."
The men's and women's fields boast 16 Olympians, with the top three earning Australian selection for the world championships in Bathurst.
WORLD CROSS COUNTRY TRIALS
Sunday: Men's 10km at 7.10am, women's 10km at 7.35am at Mt Stromlo
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