Athletics: Marathon man has dream

Local runner Michael Voss competing in the Wellington half marathon. Photo / Michael Dawson Photography

Young Lake City Athletic Club runner Michael Voss is aiming for a golden future in marathons.

Voss, 19, battled his way through windy conditions to win the recent Wellington half marathon.

The local athlete, who runs up to 160km a week, is training for the 2016 Oceania and New Zealand Cross-country Championships in Auckland next month. In last month's Wellington race Voss ran 1h 10m 14s - nearly two minutes faster than Manawatu runner Chris Sanson, who was second.

Voss led for the entire race, which started and finished at the Westpac Stadium. The course was flat all the way, but it was a tough finish for Voss with a strong headwind on the home stretch.

"It was incredibly windy and it certainly affected my overall time," he said. "I had wanted a course record but I'm happy to get the win because there were some tough athletes in the field.

"I really enjoyed running along the waterfront on the way back but that was probably when the wind was at its strongest.

"The quick start won me the race because I didn't get closed in and ran at my own pace," he said.

"I just focused on what I had to do and didn't let others affect me."

The former Rotorua Lakes High School student said he had "excellent" preparation for the race in the capital, including finishing third in the Christchurch half marathon two weeks earlier in 1h 06m 50s.

"I've been fortunate to have a long injury-free spell," he said.

"The Christchurch race was a great learning curve for me and I was able to take a lot of positives from that performance."

Voss is now focused on a top place finish in the 8km race at Auckland's Cross-country Championships.

"I haven't done well in the event in the past so I want to make amends and put in a strong run," he said.

"I've had to cut my training right back. I've been doing a lot of speed interval sessions and hill racing."

He also hopes to compete in the Melbourne and Auckland half marathons - both in October.

Voss aims to become a professional athlete, hoping to train overseas in either America or Europe with the long-term target of competing in the marathon full distance at the World Championships and the Olympics.

"It is all about building at the moment," he said.

"My ambition is to compete at the highest level and represent my country.

"It's going to take a lot of hard running to get there but I want to make that dream a reality."