IN a race dominated, with some inevitability, by Africa's maestros of mud, Rhona Auckland took a swing at her personal targets at the world cross-country championships yesterday and struck fast and furious.
The Scot, returning to the fray in Guiyang for the first time since landing the European Under-23 title in December, patiently bade her time on the 8-kilometre course before bolting through the finish in 28 minutes and 17 seconds. 19th place, on her senior debut, was creditable indeed.
One stretch of parkland further and she might have overtaken British team-mate Gemma Steel, who paid heavily for her initially audacious attempt to challenge the duopoly of Kenya and Africa. Yet the European senior champion gave Auckland something to aim for and both duly benefited.
"It was really good to have Gemma to work off of and try and keep her in sight - it was nice to be working together on the last lap," said the Edinburgh-based prospect. "I look up to Gemma and she's someone I aspire to be like so to be close to her and learn off her is great. I've been bugging her with questions all week, so she's probably glad to get rid of me."
The pair were barely two minutes adrift of Kenya's Agnes Tirop, who saw off Ethiopia's Senbere Teferi for gold. This bodes well, Auckland knows, especially after a fragmented preparation that saw her fight through Achilles problems in both heels. Now, she will target the track campaign with equal vigour before heading Stateside for graduate study in Albuquerque and the opportunity to train and compete at altitude. Self-confidence will not be an issue after this performance against the odds.
"It was a little bit of a shock," Auckland added. "I knew I was in good shape. I had a good session earlier in the week which boosted my confidence. I seemed to cope well with altitude which bodes well for New Mexico."
Scottish champion Andy Butchart could not finish off his cross season as he had wished, slumping to 86th place in a run that tortured body and mind. The humidity and the thinness of the air were simply not to his liking.
"I was up there on the second lap and then on the final lap, I could feel my breathing and I was so close to stepping off," said Butchart, who was over four minutes behind Geoffrey Kamworor who led home a Kenyan 1-2. "However, I'd never quit a race but the last section definitely took its toll on me. I must have been 30 seconds slower than the rest of my laps and that definitely cost me a good run."
Jonny Glen was 79th in the junior men's event, won by Yasin Haji, with the 18-year-old Inverclyde prospect eager to take away some lessons from the Chinese trip. "It was extremely tough," he said. "It's a good course but it doesn't look as bad as it feels. Altitude is a new experience, but I'm happy to be here and happy to finish. I'll take it as experience for next time, but I'm disappointed."
Letesenbet Gidey landed the junior women's title to help Ethiopia see off Kenya and top the medal table with five gold, three silver and three bronze medals including three of the four team titles on offer.
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