St John's students run for national glory in Adelaide Championships

The two students, who attend St John The Evangelist Catholic High School in Nowra in Year 10 and Year 9 respectively, are both natural athletes who have seen their endurance skills translate to success in several sports.

Most recently, the pair travelled to Adelaide to compete on the national circuit and brought home some fantastic accolades.

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Nic placed 20^th out of 55 runners in the U/15 4km. And he was one of the state's best runners, finishing in the fourth best finals position out of the NSW athletes competing.

The young runner also finished the race with a equal time personal best which was particularly impressive considering the difficult track conditions.

Bridget also secured a dynamite finish, placing 12^th overall out of 71 competing athletes, which was an absolutely mammoth effort.

She also came third overall out of the crop of NSW runners which places her as one of the state's brightest running talents.

Bridget fell in love with running at a young age thanks to the influence of her mother.

"I think it was around Year 4 when I first started," she said.

"Mum used to go on regular runs and I would tag along - I absolutely loved it. I remember begging her to go further, despite probably slowing her down the whole way."

For Nic, he's a relative newcomer to the sport which makes his achievements even more impressive than they already are on paper.

"My parents only really introduced me to competitive running eight moths ago," he said.

"At the end of the track season, I started it and really grew to like it quickly."

"Heading to nationals wherever I came, I was going to be happy because I'd never been on a stage like that before."

The conditions weren't made easier, with mud dotting significant portions of the track making it even harder than normal, especially when it came the slippery elevated sections.

With competitive running and specifically cross country being a gruelling sport at times, you have to find that something that pushes you to keep going.

For these young athletes, it's all about reminding themselves why they are there.

"When it starts to get hard I remind myself what I've worked for," Bridget said.

"I know my dreams and I know that they will only ever be dreams unless I make them a reality. No one else can do that for me and that goes for a lot of things."

"It gets really hard out there at times, your body becomes extremely tired but you don't want to stop because you've come so far, you don't want to lose that focus," Nic said.

Both students train regularly with runs a few times a week while prioritising strength training to help with both their form and power.

"I train with my awesome coaches Barry and Sharon once or occasionally twice a week at Willandra," Bridget said.

"The rest of my training I do at home, I prioritise a lot of strength training to better my form, which has improved a lot."

Nic said the precise form of running is something that many find hard to get at first as it isn't necessarily something you initially think about.

"It's a very strict technique that's required to get the most out of it. It can come easily for some people but it can also be extremely hard for others," he said.

"It's important to have that down pat because it can be the difference between a few seconds on or off your time."

Bridget and Nic both have dreams of one day running for Australia, and with their dedication and accomplishments at such a young age, nothing is out of the realm of possibility.