An all-Tasmanian “friendly rivalry” is set to be one of the features of the men’s elite race at Sunday’s Burnie Ten.
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This rivalry is set to be between last year’s winner, and the self-declared “Mayor of King Island” Stewart McSweyn and Launceston 1500m runner James Hansen, whose state record over that distance McSweyn took from him earlier this year.
“Ten kilometres is not really my distance, but I do just love getting home to race in the local events,’’ Hansen said on Thursday.
“But to see that Stewey is down there again and is flying, being able to get among that, that is an awesome opportunity.
“I have been targeting a lot more of the longer races this year as I have been looking to build my aerobic base and seeing that Stewey has gone to another level by improving his aerobic base, I am looking to do that and then take my 1500m to another level because of it.”
McSweyn (3:34.82) took four seconds off the record that Hansen held for around six months in Germany in June, which completed a clean sweep of the state’s distance records for him.
“He has set a massive mark in the 1500m and has pushed it into the elite category and that’s something I am targeting.
“Stewey has inspired a lot of people here just because of his progression as he can just show that you can better and better if you work hard and have the right mindset.
“He has also shown, by pushing that record out so far, that if you want to break you have to be elite, and as I said that is what I’m aiming for:”
With the worries of a potential recurrence of his sacral stress fracture behind him, Hansen will be hoping to better the 30:52 he ran at Run Melbourne earlier this year.
“I don’t really know how well I will go, but my long stuff is going better than it ever has, but I will be attacking it no doubt.”
The Burnie Ten will start at 11.15am on Sunday.