IT will be a family affair at the Australian Cross Country Championships, as Tamai Bremner and Manaia Bremner suit up to represent Victoria, while Alaska Bremner is a reserve for the state team.
The trio, which includes mother, son and daughter, all train together, with Tamai medalling at the Athletics Victoria State Champs, finishing second in the Masters 6km shortcourse 40+ age group.
Finishing 10 seconds behind the winner guaranteed her a spot at the nationals, while Manaia finished sixth in the 3km All School State Championships in the Under-13 section.
Alaska ran at the School Sports Victoria champs and finished eighth in the 10-year-old group and will be a reserve for Team Vic.
Manaia said it was another achievement to tick off a goal he was aiming for.
“My goal was to make nationals and so I am pretty happy,” the 12-year-old said.
With winter months shifting the focus of runners to cross country, most events are in Melbourne, making it tricky to gauge form against others in the same age group.
In the lead up to the state titles, Manaia trained four times a week and clocked up around 25kms across those sessions.
Alaska is starting to find her feet, with the 10-year-old only starting to take her running seriously at the start of the year.
“I play basketball and netball as well, but running is my favourite,” she said.
Manaia said despite some nervous moments, his performance has given him confidence ahead of the trip to Tasmania.
“There are heaps of nerves on the start line, I just tried to keep the pace throughout and stick with the fellow runners and make sure they didn’t get too far ahead,” he said.
“My goal at nationals is to get top 10.”
Tamai said the pair would now lift their training loads ahead of the Australian championships, and is excited to see what they can achieve.
“I am just excited to share the moment with Manaia, I wouldn’t be doing it otherwise,” she said.
Manaia will compete on the first day with Tamia taking to the track on day two.
The Australian champs are at Symmons Plains Raceway on August 31 and September 1, while Alaska’s nationals will be in Melbourne from August 20-23.
