Cross country runner Jack Rayner is enjoying career-best form.
The Western Athletics product has taken out victories at the Great Ocean Road Running Festival, Launceston 10-kilometre race and Victorian Cross Country Championships 10-kilometre to kick-start his winter program.
Rayner has taken his running to another level in the past three years, coinciding with him linking up with specialist distance running coach Nick Bideau at the Melbourne Track Club.
“It’s probably the best form I’ve been in since I started running,” Rayner said. “I’d say mostly it’s down to joining the Melbourne Track Club in 2016 and new training I’ve been doing.
“There’s a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes, it’s not just going for easy runs, it’s actually really hard training day in day out.
“I’ve been injury free and been able to build a big base up, which is starting to show now through my racing.”
Rayner has fitted in seamlessly at the Melbourne Track Club.
The 22-year-old from Altona has thrived in an elite program, alongside some top middle and long distance runners. Having the expertise of Bideau at the helm has certainly helped.
“It’s coached by Nick Bideau, who is probably one of the best distance coaches in Australia,” Rayner said. “He’s been around for so long and knows exactly what to do in any situation.
“There’s so many guys to train with all the time and that’s pushed me along and taken me to another level.
“That’s one of the main reasons why I’ve improved so much.”
Picking up gold medals at the Launceston 10km, which he won in a Western Athletics club record time, and the Victorian Cross Country Championships 10km were huge for Rayner. Both events have proven a tough nut to crack, but he managed to swoop on both in the past month.
It took a gutsy effort for Rayner to take out his first state title, shrugging off a determined challenge from Andy Buchanan with 500 metres to run.
“It was such a tough race the whole way,” Rayner said. “It was down to the one little hill at the end when I started to make my move and went all out from there and got the better of him.”
Rayner, who dreams of qualifying for the world championships and the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, will head to the national championships in Brisbane this August with confidence.
