Kiwi 18-year-old breaks 21-year-old NZ record

Thames coast athlete Aaron Pulford ran his way into the New Zealand record books yesterday.

The 18-year-old broke the New Zealand M19 10,000m record – older than he is – at the World Junior Championships in Canada.

Pulford, of Ngarimu Bay, had aimed to finish in the top 10 of the world class field and break his personal best of 30 minutes 2 seconds.

He finished fifth in 29 mins 14.23 secs – 12.96 seconds better than the effort of Taranaki's Ross Wilson 21 years ago.

Cambridge-based coach Don Willoughby was rapt with the performance.

"I've coached hundreds of medallists, but this is special, this kid is special," he said.

"I'm 71 and I'm really buzzing," he said proudly.

"He's such a conscientious trainer, he really deserves this."

Pulford was at the front of the 25-lap race until a group of Kenyans split the field with an attack.

While others followed the Kenyans' hot pace, then faltered late in the race, Pulford conserved energy to burst home at the finish.

"With five (laps) to go I was really feeling the pace but I said to myself 'f---, it's the World Champs so go for it'," Pulford said on the Athletics New Zealand website.

At home, his proud parents spoke to Pulford after the race via Skype."He was great," Mum Jo said.

"He was absolutely delighted."

Father Doug, who assists with Pulford's coaching, said his son was a mixture of both excited and pleased to have achieved on such a strong stage.

"The guy that won it, the Kenyan, he's going to the Commonwealth Games," Doug said.

That Kenyan was Dennis Chepkongin Masai of Kenya who won the race by 10 seconds in an impressive 27:53.89.

Doug and Willoughby both said Pulford owed a big chunk of his success to Solid Energy for helping pay for his trip and to Alan Jones Massage in Thames.

Depending on how he recovers from nasty blisters picked up in the race in Canada, Pulford is likely to defend his national cross-country title, in Waikanae.

Long term, the goal is the London Olympics, Willoughby said.

- © Fairfax NZ News