Andrews makes his mark

By Marc McGowan
NARRE Warren runner Mark Andrews is the toast of the state’s professional racing circuit after winning the Victorian athlete of the year award this month.
The 25-year-old also claimed the Victorian middle distance runner of the year title in what he described as his best season since taking up the sport three years ago.
Professional running involves handicapped starts, where slower athletes are given a head start over faster competitors to even up the competition.
“It was a bit of a surprise. I thought I’d had a pretty good year, but I didn’t think I had that good of a year,” he said.
“It’s sort of like the Brownlow of the running season – it’s pretty hard to believe, actually.”
Andrews, who quit football and cricket to switch to athletics, thanks one man for breathing life into his sporting career – fellow Springvale Botanical Cemetery worker Les Williams.
Williams is a veteran professional runner and coach and has been involved in the sport for around 30 years.
“I wanted to give something else a go. I just lost the love of the game a bit and I copped a couple of bad injuries the year before,” Andrews said.
“I got hit in the face and got knocked out and I’d always enjoyed keeping fit.
“Originally, I was still going to play cricket, but I gave that away because I wanted to take this a bit more seriously.
“It’s virtually all year round. In the winter we run cross-country and you have got to do your pre-season, so it’s pretty hard to fit your footy and cricket in.”
Runners earn points throughout the Victorian Athletic League season, which run from October to April, according to where they place in their events. The middle distance award includes results from the 400m, 550m and 800m.
Andrews was also in contention for the distance prize that covers the 800m and 1600m.
Victorian Runners and Trainers Association committee members nominate runners for the Victorian athlete of the year award and choose the winner.
Andrews’ victories for the season included the 400m in Maryborough, the 800m in Wangaratta and Ballarat and the 1600m in Keilor.
He also scattered a number of podium finishes over the series; earning himself $2500 in prizemoney in the process.
The Holy Grail of theAustralian professional runningcircuit is the Stawell Gift meeting and Andrews managed a fifth placing in this year’s 550mrace – matching his best finishfrom 2008.
“I want to win a race at Stawell. That’s probably what you work towards every year,” he said.
“If you pick up races during the year it’s just a bonus, but you’re definitely concentrating on winning at Stawell.
“I’ve also thought about running some interstate meetings next year. There’s a big carnival in South Australia called the Bay Sheffield and it’s like their Stawell Gift.”
Andrews bases his diet around ‘no junk food and heaps of veggies’ and trains six times a week, but credits much of his success to Williams.
“Les has put a lot of time and work into me and has sacrificed his own running career a fair bit to help me out,” he said.
“He still runs as well, but he hasn’t run as much this year because he’s been looking after me a fair bit and a couple of others.”