Athletics: McIlroy's record run but more to come

World mountain running champion Kate McIlroy believes she can chop another eight seconds off her 3000m steeplechase time before the Commonwealth Games.

McIlroy set a new New Zealand record for the event on the second day of the National Track and Field Championships in Christchurch yesterday, crossing the line in 9m 48.01s, beating the old mark by three seconds.

The novice chaser said a mark of 9m 30s or thereabouts would be needed to have a chance of a medal in Melbourne but for the moment she is looking to get her time down to 9m 40s.

"I'd have liked to have gone faster but I can't complain," McIlroy said after her race in which she finished ahead of fellow Commonwealth Games qualifiers Fiona Crombie and Rebecca Furlong.

She said it was good to have those two with her at the start as it gave her some indication of how much she needs to improve her hurdling technique.

"You've got to stay quite compact," she said, admitting she'd had only two opportunities to practice hurdling. McIlroy had a blood-covered welt on her left knee, courtesy of a mistimed jump at a hurdle with two laps to go.

As for the tricky water jump, she has started to appreciate the need to gather speed in the approach.

McIlroy is nothing if not a fast learner. Following her mountain running triumph in her hometown of Wellington last year, she decided to have a tilt at the 5000m with a view to competing at Melbourne.

She soon realised that the 15m 25s qualifying standard was too tough an ask so close to the games, so set her sights on the 3km steeplechase and what athletics officials would now concede is the very 'soft' target of 10m 05s.

"The [event] is made for me really," McIlroy said, referring to her strength honed on Wellington's hilly trails. She will run in the Australian champs at Sydney next weekend, and race two 5km races at grand prix events before the March Games.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY