News & Updates

If the senior men’s race at the 2022 New Zealand Cross Country Championships and Inaugural NZ Cross Country Relays at Spa Thermal Park later this month turns into a “horses for courses” race then Toby Gualter (pronounced Goalter) must be among the lead contenders.

The 21-year-old Wellington Olympic Harrier was a commanding victor at the iconic Taupo venue when triumphing by a ten-second margin over 9km at the North Island Cross Country Championships earlier this month.

And given his ability to clearly cope with the multiple challenges of the undulating course, Toby would also appear perfectly equipped to produce a powerful assault for the prestigious national title contested over 10km on July 30.

“Spa Park is undulating which is perfect for me,” adds Toby, the East ern Michigan University student who is currently enjoying a break in his native New Zealand. “I enjoy the hills and the different terrain. Each lap me had a couple of logs to hurdles and it is a hilly course, but I think it drains pretty well because at North Island Champs it was super firm. It is undulating but with a flat section towards the finish. In many ways is a perfect cross country course. If anyone wants to experience real New Zealand cross country running, Spa Park is the race to compete at.”

For some in the athletics community, Toby will be a relatively unknown name but given his insatiable work-ethic, versatility – he has won national medals on the track, road, cross country and mountain running – and strength he will certainly be one to watch when New Zealand’s premier winter event arrives to the central North Island tourist hotspot at the end of the month.

Born and raised in the Wellington suburb of Tawa, Toby started his sporting life predominantly as a high energy first XI soccer player for Tawa College. However, a chance opportunity to run at the Wellington Road Race Championships as a Year 10 student set in motion his athletics career.

“My PE teacher said the school did not have anyone competing and would I be interested,” recalls Toby. “I’d previously done well at school cross country, and as I was very competitive the prospect of running and taking a day off school was appealing. I led for the first three laps of the race before a number of runners passed me on the final lap. I had no coach back then and no knowledge of running tactics, but I managed to finish fifth.”

On the back of this he was approached by the then Athletics Wellington Sport Development Manager Jo Murray, who encouraged Toby to take running more seriously and join a club. Toby heeded the advice and hooked up with Olympic Harriers and initially spent a period coached by Mark Anderson.

At the 2018 New Zealand Secondary Schools Cross Country – coincidentally at Spa Thermal Park – he placed a respectable 17^th in the senior boys’ race – behind winner Sam Tanner – but it was after switching to another coach, Alistair Leslie, who today guides World U20 bound 3000m runner Will Anthony, did his career really start to take off. Training more seriously in late-2018 he bagged the 10,000m qualification time (31:41.25) to win selection for the New Zealand U20 team competing at the World Cross Country Championships the following March. Then at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Track, Field and Road Championships he banked a silver medal in the senior boys’ 6km road race.

Yet if 2018 was promising, Toby went on to enjoy an unforgettable 2019 highlighted by two major international appearances and four national U20 titles. After striking U20 national 5000m gold in Christchurch later that month he finished 84^th at the World Cross Country Championships in Aarhus – an experience which acted as huge spur.

“It was my first introduction to a global athletics event,” he recalls. “At that point, I’d only be training seriously for about six months and the aim was to finish inside the top 100. It was a mind-blowing to be up against the top East Africans and Jakob Ingebrigtsen, the Olympic 1500m champion, also competed. I came home motivated to train event harder because I knew I could compete against the rest of the world, even though I’d not done the same level of hardcore training as many of them.”

On his return he banked the New Zealand U20 cross country, road and mountain running crowns and claimed a national senior half-marathon silver medal before climaxing his epic year finishing seventh in the U20 race at the World Mountain Running Championships in Argentina. Sat third going into the final 3km of that race in Villa La Angostura, Toby then took an unfortunate tumble into a stream lost precious ground and wound up seventh.

“I knew I was in a place to run well but to finish top ten in the world bettered my expectations,” he recalls. “I got to meet Jonathan Wyatt (the six-time world mountain running champion from New Zealand) who gave me some tips before the race. It was an awesome experience.”

His performances were hugely impressive in 2019 not only in terms of finishing positions but also the range of distances and terrains he excelled on – and Toby has a very straight-forward explanation for his versatility.

“I come from Tawa, which is a very hilly suburb. I was always running up and down the hills as a kid, even when training for football, so I think that gave me great strength. Ultimately, I think I will be best suited to the road, but track, mountains and cross country I enjoy all surfaces. I like a change of scenario.”

Keen to develop the next stage of his athletics career on the US collegiate scene in January 2020 he started life at East Michigan University. Unfortunately, the pandemic severely curtailed his ability to compete that year but after returning to the US following a prolonged stint training back home the sports management student returned Stateside later that year under the coaching of Mark Rinker, who formerly served as an assistant coach at the Oregon Track Club.

Responding positively to a high-mileage regime of between 150-160km he was happy with his 2021 season in which he lowered his 5000m PB down to 14:08.65 (achieved indoors in ) and ran his first sub-30-minute 10,000m PB, recording 29:49.97.

With the mercury plunging to -15C in the Michigan winter he has been occasionally forced to train on the treadmill, meanwhile ten-mile tempo runs comprising 80 laps of the indoor track are also not uncommon. However, despite the challenges of the Michigan winter he feels further progress has been made in 2022. After narrowly missing out on qualifying individually at the NCAA Cross Country Championships he admits his track season has gone “pretty well”

“My biggest PR came in the 10,000m when I ran 29:24.57 in perfect conditions in California,” he says. And I also ran a 4:08 PB for the mile (indoors in Akron and then 30 minutes later ran 8:11.30 for the 3000m, which was also two great races for me.”

Retuning home in late-May he ran a half marathon PB of 67:44 to finish second behind Michael Voss in the Wellington Half Marathon before claiming a 10-second win from Ronan Lee course at Spa Thermal Park to bank the North Island Cross Country title.

“I’d never won the title before so that was a big motivation but the fact I’d never run the course since nationals (secondary schools in 2018) it was a good reintroduction (to the course) for me.”

Currently training with Will Anthony his preparation for national cross has gone well ahead of his return to the US in mid-August. Believing the course is not only an ideal cross country test for all competitors but also an attractive for spectators he does not hesitate to call on the athletics community to attend on July 30-31.

However, what are his personal ambitions when he takes to the 10km challenge in the senior men’s race?

“The goal is to win,” he says. “I don’t want to put too much expectation or pressure on myself, but I aim to go there and win.”