Running2London athlete James Nipperess has won his first NSW open cross country title in kicking away from training partner, and fellow Running2London athlete, Jeff Hunt. Jeff made his attempt to kick away up the final climb, but James' counter-attack was better as he opened up those all important metres needed to finish in front.
James continued to extend his lead into the last turn, having time to celebrate across the line six seconds ahead of Jeff in 23:36.
It was a sweet victory for James who said "Jeff is always kicking my ass in training and he's obviously a lot more credentialed athlete than myself, so it felt great to go one up on him....I can't take beating a 28:19, 2:11 guy for granted!"
Happy with his second place, though indicating he had possibly underestimated James, Jeff said "I took it for granted that I could just run away from him at the end, but i couldn't. I know how hard he trains, and how quick he is, so I should have been more astute in my tactics than I was."
Both athletes will be racing at the Australian Cross Country Championships at Bald Hills (QLD) in five weeks time.
