July | Gold Coast 2026

Cam Avery’s Message

Gold Coast 2026 was a rude reintroduction to international level racing, and one that tested me in more ways than I could have imagined. Training in the months leading into the race were primarily focused on getting comfortable being uncomfortable again. I hadn't done any kind of workouts that had got my heart rate up in almost two years due to my achilles, and since beginning work with my new coach Scott Westcott in March he was anxious to get me back to faster paced running. This had multifaceted reasoning; one, to remind my achilles it COULD tolerate faster work, and thus accelerate the healing process (both mentally and physically), and two, we knew that with so long on the sidelines I'd be starting from effectively scratch, so my racing instincts needed kickstarting. Even still, training can only do so much to prepare you, and based on the stellar field the GC had assembled, it promised to be a brutal re-awakening. Even with this in mind, I couldn't have prepared for the curveballs that were coming.

Unfortunately, about a week before race-day, I tweaked my hip in a set of 400's which derailed my usual tapering routine, and I was forced into an alternative (and very conservative) strategy. This involved near complete rest, with the plan to complete some light jogging in the couple of days before travel, and then some strides the evening before the race; hoping that would be enough to prime me for racing again without re-flaring anything. Further, far more personal, complications arose soon after arriving in Australia on Friday morning (racing in T-minus 24hrs). My partner suffered a medical issue which escalated from a NZ healthline call to the Gold Coast University Hospital Emergency Room, where we spent the next 8 hours, stressed out of our minds, only emerging at 9pm (race in T-minus 9hrs). At several points I'd considered throwing in the towel for the race altogether. I'd barely gotten a jog in, my pre-race meal was relegated to the hotel bar (the only thing open at 9:30pm), and I was, emotionally, a shell of myself. My partner (despite her own fears) and my coach were amazing; reminding me that, after two years away, even lining up was an achievement, and I'd regret not taking this opportunity, regardless of the circumstances or end result.

Thankfully, I was able to get a tiny bit of sleep before race morning was upon us. I got to meet my new coach in person for the first time, and try to shake off some of the emotional and physical rust as he warmed up with me. Thankfully, though my hip was tight, it could handle a stride; so I just had to hope it wouldn't seize on me mid-race. Racing was fast from the gun, and I passed through 5km in 14:30. I was feeling relatively comfortable, and tucked nicely into the back of the main pack. But as the kilometers ticked over I started finding myself on the wrong end of the band; and as we passed through 10km I'd been distanced a little, going through in 29:15 (in itself a personal best). In retrospect, though my coach was confident I had the capacity to split that kind of time enroute, with the rollercoaster of a week I'd had (especially the previous day's stress) maybe the plan was a little bold. No matter, we'd made our bed, and now I was in survival mode. It's been a long time since I died so poorly, especially on the roads, where my (previous) durability and subsequent training consistency really fortified the final stretches of races. After only averaging 125km in the three months leading into GC, I was missing that late-race strength, and it was a suffer-fest of a final 5km. I staggered home in 1:04:05, bitterly disappointed, and it took me a few hours to properly appreciate the stake I'd placed in the ground with that performance. A few months previously, I wasn't even doing workouts, let alone competing, and even come-race day I'd not even scratched the underside of my normal volumes. With all that in mind, and the last few days on top, running a 64:05 while PBing in the 10km enroute didn't seem too shabby.

The race, and the entire weekend, granted me an invaluable learning experience when it comes to international racing; but, more importantly, it helped to grant me perspective. I was so grateful to receive this opportunity, and I want to again thank the Trust, and all its members, for the faith you've shown in me. You helped make this happen, and I'm so excited to see what I can turn this momentum into.

At the time of writing, I've logged three straight weeks of training over 150km, and we're full steam ahead. I have some very solid racing plans shaping up for the end of 2026, and even some very juicy international ones beginning to form for the start of 2027. The NZ marathon record is back on watch, and I'm determined to be the first to it.