It’s only been a few weeks since another fantastic XCR season concluded in Victoria. While we take a breath to prepare for a jam-packed summer schedule, there’s still a little time to reflect on the highlights of winter in 2025, while hearing from a cross-country stalwart about the positive impact cross-country racing has on athlete performance on the track.
Lachlan Herd is a dedicated cross-country enthusiast and staunch club athlete. He missed only one round of XCR in 2025, racing nine times for the Knox Athletic Club in the Premier Division, which helped cement his team’s place in the top category.
He’s definitive when asked about his favourite aspect of cross-country racing: ‘The team culture and race environment is by far the reason I come back each year. Being accountable to the team and the depth in AV at the moment is awesome,’ he says.
Each year, the team at Athletics Victoria works hard to provide a cross-country experience to suit all athletes of any ability. This year, there were some slight alterations to the calendar, including shuffling the Jells Park Relays from their traditional first round position to round 3, with the hope of giving club administrators some time to ‘rally the troops’, to see which athletes were fit, willing, and able to compete for their club.
In Round 4, astute minds in the XCR planning team took a calculated risk, introducing a 5km road race – the Lakeside:5 – and it paid off. Having had the foresight to have the 5km course certified along with the 10km two years ago, it was decided that 2025 was the year to test it out. The combination of a certified, fast 5km road race, coupled with perfect conditions, made the Lakeside:5 difficult to top.
‘I really liked that one,’ Lachlan declares. It’s a good, flat course. It brought good interstate competition and was a great way to get a verified 5km road time, which is pretty difficult these days.’
The Lakeside:5 was a potential indicator of things to come: young Casey Cardinia athlete (and On’s most recent NIL signing) Lucas Chis, not previously known as a cross country regular, made an appearance after two brave runs at Hanging Rock and Myrniong. The 16-year-old gave the Open Men’s field serious cause for concern, finishing 12 seconds behind the winner and eventual overall 2025 men’s champion, Ed Marks. The excursions to the unfamiliar territory in earlier rounds were the initiative of his coach, Run Crew’s Ben St Lawrence.
‘Cross country running, particularly for younger athletes, is a great way to develop strength, endurance, coordination, and many other aspects of distance running that can translate to better results on the track,’ he explains.
‘Lucas hadn’t had a season of cross country before, but I could see from his training over summer that there was some potential there if we nurtured it, and it would (despite what he initially thought) be a fun way to keep layering his fitness over winter, while getting some more practice racing in different scenarios.’
Ben is an advocate for cross country for a multitude of reasons, and Victoria’s XCR winter season has much to offer the track athlete:
‘It’s a long off-season if you’re not doing XC, and he (Lucas) is certainly fitter than he’s ever been at this point of the season, which should increase his capacity to train over summer as well as continuing to make him a more complete athlete. A fun season of XCR culminating in a National Title is all the fruition we’ve seen so far, but I’m confident that we’ll also see the benefits when serious track season gets underway.’
There’s no argument from Lachlan, in complete agreement:
‘XCR is essentially a base-building phase. It’s an awesome way to build strength over the winter before moving to shorter distances on the track.’
Round 6 saw the implementation of a new course for XCR – Victoria Park in Ballarat. The venue hosted the State Championships for the first time, providing a testing ground for the National Championships to be held there later in the year. The course proved to be a winner and Lachlan’s pick for the season.
‘My highlight for the season would have to be State Cross Country down in Ballarat. Great new course and to have the advantage of racing before nationals was great,’ he enthuses.
The final round of the season, the traditional relays at The Tan, may have proved the most popular. Magnificent sunshine, great racing, and a celebration of the champions of XCR for 2025 created a party atmosphere. There were still some premierships up for grabs on the final day of the XCR season, and AV members put everything on the line for their club.
‘The team aspect is by far the best part of XCR,’ Lachlan says. ‘Knowing that if you dig deep for an extra position is so important. The changing dynamics of the ladder, fighting for premierships or avoiding relegation, keep the group motivated.’
With a busy XCR season’s work under his belt, Lachlan now plans to capitalise over summer.
‘I’m looking forward to hitting a couple more races on the road. ‘I’m locked in for City to Bay (Lachlan continued the great work with a super time of 36min 43sec in the 12km fun run), Burnie 10, and then hopefully World XC trials later on. I’ll hopefully get a start in the 10k at Zatopek and then drop down in distances from there.’
Victorian summer specialists have definitely not been resting on their laurels over winter. It will be very exciting indeed to watch out for our elite athletes in the coming months, especially those with a tough XCR season under their belt.