"They just fell perfectly for me," says Uhlenberg. "It was great to get over there and race. The Australians race a lot differently to us. Conditions were perfect, in the mid-30s."
Capping it all was being presented with his 1500m gold medal - in a time of 4.05.90 - by Lord Sebastian Coe, one of the great middle-distance runners, and the 1980 and 1984 1500m Olympic gold medallist from Great Britain.
"That was quite a special thing. He also started our race. I've seen some of his old races. It was quite spectacular how they ran in those days," says Uhlenberg. He can fully relate to what Coe once said about running at a sustained pace that hurts in the 800m and 1500m.
"Some races you feel great, but others you feel [the pain]. You just have to push through it," says Uhlenberg.
The Cairns success capped a fine athletics season for Uhlenberg, going back to the schools nationals in Wanganui last December, where he won medals in three events.
He was to the fore again in the Greater Auckland schools champs and the North Islands, winning either gold or silver, not to mention cleaning up in the Auckland schools duathlon and triathlon.
His legs still fresh after returning from Cairns, he switched to cross-country and won an event in Pukekohe just a week later, lapping his mother, Judith, who was running in the masters' women category.
Uhlenberg now has his sights set on the cross-country schools nationals in Dunedin on June 20, where conditions will be rather different from what he encountered in Cairns.
That done, he will rack up the mileage as he heads into the next track season.
Magee maps out his training and Uhlenberg does the hard yards, though he has yet to attempt the infamous Waiatarua run made famous by Lydiard and his disciples.
"He lets me do my own tactics, because he says you can't predict a race.
"You just run and opportunities will come up," says Uhlenberg, who runs for the ACA club.
Much of his trackwork is done at Mt Smart or at Pakuranga's Lloyd Elsmore Park, but he is happiest training for cross-country around the vast Sacred Heart grounds, perhaps with a hard run up Mt Taylor to finish.
Sacred Heart has enjoyed strong athletics results in recent years - sprinters Dalton Coppins, Bailey Stewart and Josh Hawkins shining brightest - and Uhlenberg pays tribute to the coaching and drive of Kim Bolton and Rhys Taucher.
His mental approach is clear when he lines up for a race.
"If it's a championship event I won't worry about the times. They will come along. I just go for the win or the placing."
