Marnie Ponton dislikes deviating from routine before a race, so it will be a quick visit to Melbourne to contest the Zatopek 10: Australian 10,000m Championships on Thursday, then straight back to the Blue Mountains.
The 33-year-old from Glenbrook hopes to finish the track event in less than 33 minutes.
“There are six or seven girls who have the potential to run 32 minutes,” Ponton said.
“I plan to stick with the pack and hope for the best.”
Trained by ultra marathon runner Brendan Davies, Ponton has been clocking up the kilometres on track and road, her biggest week stretching to 160km recently.
She’s also been perfecting the shorter distances, winning the NSW 5000m Championships in a sprint finish at Sydney Olympic Park Athletic Centre on December 2.
On a wet track, Ponton finished in 16:02, pushing through a headwind on the back straight. Challenging front-runner Jenny Blundell, “I thought she had my measure,” Ponton explained. “But with 200m to go I went.”
I plan to stick with the pack and hope for the best.
- Marnie Ponton
After Melbourne, Ponton will focus on preparing for the Nagoya Women’s Marathon in Japan in March.
