Athletics: Balchin hunting another title

Daniel Balchin leading the 2016 NZ Cross Country Champs race in Auckland Domain. Photo / Alan McDonald

Daniel Balchin has become a steady accumulator of national endurance titles over the past few seasons. Steve Landells spoke to the Christchurch-based athlete about his gradual improvement and future aspirations.

Perhaps it is the words "patience and time" that best sum up the career of Dan Balchin.

Never a star athlete as a youngster at a national level - his first individual national secondary school medals were only secured in his final month as a Year 13 student - he has gamely plugged away at the sport and is now reaping the rewards as a six-time national senior champion.

For any youngster in the sport operating below the very highest level - he is a source of inspiration.

Growing up on a 40-acre farm in the Dunedin suburb of Sunnyvale, Dan experienced a typical outdoor Kiwi lifestyle growing up. Initially starting out as a rugby player it was once he hit intermediate school and he started winning local cross country races he realised he had a natural aptitude for running.

Joining Caversham Harrier and Athletic Club as a 13-year-old he slowly developed under the wise coaching guidance of Mike Weddell.

"He was the one who got me through my junior years," he explains of Mike. "The mileage was relatively low and the workouts were more speed orientated. I maintained an enjoyment for the sport during those times. My finishing kick today can probably be attributed to the training done in those days.

Meanwhile as part of a strong distance running unit at Kings High School he has also earned vital additional running experiences in his formative years.

"We had a good team that often medalled at the national cross country or road championships, although I never placed individually," he says.

It was not until Year 13 he finally earned those first precious individual medals on the national stage when winning 3000m bronze and 3000m steeplechase silver at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Track & Field Championships in 2008. It was a pivotal moment in his running development.

"It was a big achievement for me," says Dan. "From that point on I knew athletics gave me a chance to succeed in sport."

He moved to Christchurch to study a Bachelor in Civil Engineering in 2012. But back then on a weekly training regimen of around 80km he knew there was vast scope for improvement and he credits joining Matt Ingram's training group soon after for bringing about the next stage in his development.

"Matt is a sports scientist who himself also competed at a national level. He has a great knowledge and understanding of the sport," explains Dan. "Under Matt's tutelage I started doing threshold type sessions and the weekly volume also increased. Not long after I started getting among the medals at a national level.

With quality training partners in the group such as 2014 New Zealand Road Race champion Callan Moody and reigning Auckland Marathon champion Oska Inkster-Baynes to work alongside he secured his first national senior title in the steeplechase. However, it was his bronze medal he scooped later that year in the 2013 New Zealand Road Race Championships which Balchin values more.

"I don't know whether the steeplechase really counts at a national level because only three people are often entered, so you are almost guaranteed a medal," he insists. "I class that bronze medal at the road champs as my first proper senior individual medal at national level."