THE School Sports Australia Cross Country Championships will have a local flavour this year, as Hamilton’s Manaia Bremner pits his undoubted talent against the best runners from across the nation.

The 10-year-old has qualified for the titles by beating the qualifying time for the 2km run at the recent schools event, where he represented Gray St Primary School.

Manaia has been running since he was four years old when he first attended the Hamilton Parkrun along with his mother and coach, Taima, who has guided her son and instilled in him her love of athletics.

The cross-country event must have seemed like a walk in the park for Manaia, as it was only 2km long while his regular Parkrun events are all 5km long.

He is an athlete who prefers the longer distances, as he not only competes in the cross country, but also the 800m and 1500m track events.

His best times for each distance are impressive, as his cross-country time of 7:26 qualified him for titles while he runs the 800 in 2:38 and the 1500 in 5:29.

“I want to get below 7:10 at the titles, as this was the time that the top 10 runners posted at the last titles and I want to be in the top 10,” Mania said.

His preparation for the titles is humming along nicely, representing Western Region at the Regional Championships held at Casterton’s Island Park and won the cross-country event, which also qualifies him for the state titles later in the year.

“We currently are covering 10 to 15 kms per week in training but there is no plan to increase that before the titles,” Tamai Bremner, his coach, said.

As a member of the Victorian Athletics League, Tamai is more than qualified to guide her son’s progress, as he gets older and of course she is proud of his achievements.

“There has been nothing for the children for the past two years due to COVID, but now he is 10 he can compete,” she said.

Manaia is not only running for his school but her also is a keen member of Warrnambool Little Athletics where his love of the sport is nurtured.

The Victorian squad will not have to gather in Melbourne until closer to the titles, so all his training will be held here in Hamilton as Taima guides her son in his preparation with all aspects covered.

It is no surprise who Manaia looks toward for inspiration, with Peter Bol the Australian runner who took the nation by storm in reaching the 800m final at the Tokyo Olympics, his hero.

The national titles will be held in Adelaide from August 26-29.