Benonian Matthew Pietroiusti was delighted after attaining a podium place in his maiden cross country race at the fifth CGA Cross Country League meeting in Daveyton on June 22.
Pietroiusti finished the U12 boys’ 3km in third place after a hard slog on the last lap to complete the event in 11:19.
Running in the colours of Brakpan-based club Irun AC, the youngster, who had just returned from a hockey tournament in Pietermaritzburg, fought gallantly to keep up with the chasing group, which was behind runaway leader and eventually winner, Indiphile Myeki of Katlehong AC.
After the first lap, Pietrouisti was sandwiched between Benoni Northerns’ Zandrèh van der Merwe and Philani Luthuli of Boxer. With Myeki far ahead and Luthuli leading the U11 boys’ category, it was left to Van der Merwe and Pietroiusti to fight for the runner-up spot.
Van der Merwe showed his pedigree and charged ahead to finish behind Myeki (10:40) in 11:02. Luthuli finished third overall, while Pietroiusti was fourth overall, albeit third in his category.
Although his record on the road is unquestionable, having secured top five positions in several 5km races, including the Colgate Race and Cross the Line Half Marathon 5km race this year, the rough terrain of cross country was always going to be challenging.
“My body felt great. I have been training off-road. I went into this race to see where my fitness is because I have been busy with other sports. I’m happy with how it went,” Pietrouisti said.
The runner highlighted the importance of off-road racing in building strength and endurance for road and track events, saying he plans to use the remaining league meetings “to get stronger”.
While focusing on using cross country for endurance and strength, he would also like to qualify for the ASA National Cross Country Championships in Vanderbijlpark in September.
“Cross country builds strength, so I hope to use that on the road and track. I would love to qualify for the nationals, but I’m just looking forward to using these races to get stronger.”
Irun youngsters perform
Pietroiusti’s Irun AC teammate, Caleb Roberts (12:13), grabbed fourth place in the U11 boys’ 3km race.
Jaun-Pierre van der Berg (06:12) won the junior men’s 2km, while Kelly-Lynn Barkley was third in the U15 girls’ 4km race after crossing in 15:45.
Trinity Henning (15:07) was eighth in the U13 girls’ 3km, and Melany Mans (15:54) finished fifth in the U12 girls’ 3km race, while her sister, Mikaela (08:32), was seventh in the U10 2km event.
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