Rose Davies wants to use her lockdown-inspired training block as a launch pad for a long-distance double next year with the Merewether athlete striving for both the World Cross Country Championships and Olympic Games.
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Davies feels like she has benefited from a "good eight weeks of solid training" around Newcastle, minus any competitions or work commitments throughout the global coronavirus pandemic, and wants to continue building on that base in 2020 before trying to qualify for each international event.
The World Cross Country Championships have been scheduled for Bathurst on March 20, 2021, while four months later the postponed Olympics will open in Tokyo.
Davies, who turns 21 in December and is coached by Rio Olympic marathoner Scott Westcott, hopes the new dates and extra preparation time can aid her cause.
"I think it might help me. I'll be another year older and I'll be another year stronger with another year of training under my belt," Davies told the Newcastle Herald. "It's hard to know for sure, but hopefully I can work it right."
One of Davies' key challenges will be tackling different distances.
The cross country course is 10 kilometres while her preferred track race is half that length.
In terms of the women's 5000m, the national team only has two Olympic spots available and Games trials have yet to be locked in for next year after COVID-19 saw them cancelled by Athletics Australia in March.
Davies has 20 seconds to shave off her personal best, a time of 15 minutes and 30 seconds recorded at the national 5000m championships in Melbourne in February, to reach the required mark.
"I was meant to go to America in May to try and chase an Olympic qualifier," she said.
In terms of the cross country trials, more than likely held in Canberra around Australia Day, Davies would need to finish top six having narrowly missed the previous world titles after coming seventh on debut at senior level in January last year.
The 2019 Fernleigh 15 winner placed second at the Australian Cross Country Championships in Dapto in August, following up with a career-high 33 minutes and 25 seconds at Zatopek:10 in Melbourne in December.
Meanwhile, Australia's most famous footrace, the Stawell Gift, has been cancelled for the first time since WWII. Planning is underway for next year's carnival.
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