Glen Innes runner Kayden Elliot has finished 25th in the world after running for Australia in the under 20 men’s 8km race at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships at Tallahassee in Florida earlier this month.
More than 500 athletes from 65 countries competed on a demanding course, which featured a mix of grass, dirt and hills, a rollercoaster bridge, sand, water lagoon, alligator logs and a mud-pit, with Kayden finishing in a time of 25:28 minutes, just 2 minutes and 10 seconds behind the race winner.
Kayden says he got out well off the line, basically leading the race to the bridge before slowly fading back through the field, both on purpose and from the effects of the obstacles out on course, especially the alligator jumps.
The Glen Innes High School product says the opportunity came from winning the Australian Cross Country Trials specifically for this event adding it was a very cool experience to be surrounded by some of the world’s best runners.
