Rural runs harder than Hawaii race, champ says

Runner Eryn Lovell reckons the Xterra Trail Run World Championship 21km course was a breeze compared to the roads around Ruatangata, and it showed when she cruised across the finish line at Kualoa Ranch in Hawaii to claim the 2010 Under-20 women's title.
The 19-year-old University of Auckland Commerce student, who grew up on a farm in the small rural community west of Whangarei, also set the fastest course time of 1 hour 51 minutes for her division, at the championships held last week.
"I'm pretty stoked about winning it. It was an awesome event - and very different to trail running in New Zealand. There are more gravel roads whereas in NZ there is more mud and more hills - it was an easier course than the ones in NZ," she said on her return to NZ.
Although the course and terrain was easier to navigate than her usual stomping ground of Mount Eden when she is in Auckland for university, or Parahaki when she is home on holidays, the Hawaiian heat made the run difficult at times.
"The heat was pretty intense, but luckily I wasn't affected until the very end when I realised how dehydrated I was."
Up until a few years ago, Lovell competed in triathlons and trained under the direction of Whangarei coach Ian Babe. But she said cycling was her weakness, so she decided to concentrate on running - and in particular, off-road running.
"I prefer trail running to road running - having grown up on a farm that's the sort of terrain I'm used to running on," she said.
Until the beginning of this year, she trained with the Hatea Harriers Running group before moving to Auckland, where she now runs for Auckland City Athletics.
Lovell completed the Xterra Run Series in New Zealand this year, and was the overall winner of her under-20 age group. At the Xterra Trail Running Challenge National Championships in Waihi during October, Lovell was fifth overall in the open womens' division earning a spot at the international race in Hawaii.
More than 1500 runners from around the world competed in the event, which was the culmination of the 2010 Xterra Trail Run season. Runners from 12 to 75 participated, representing 30 states from across America, and seven other countries.
Lovell will have a brief break from training over Christmas before focusing on the North Shore Coastal Challenge during March.