Prior to this weekend, Fraser Darcy had never been part of a state running team, let alone be selected to represent his country.
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But after running the race of a lifetime during the Great Volcanic Mountain Challenge, that will all soon change.
The coachless runner who hails from Quorn in South Australia took home first place in the 11km run which saw athletes from all over the country battle the elements in a trail run up Mount Canobolas on Sunday morning.
Speaking after the race - which doubled as the Australian National Mountain Running Championships and thus earned Darcy a spot on the team to compete in Austria later this year - the 28-year-old called it the "hardest race" of his life.
![South Australia's Fraser Darcy nearing the finish line during the Great Volcanic Mountain Challenge on Sunday. Picture by Carla Freedman. South Australia's Fraser Darcy nearing the finish line during the Great Volcanic Mountain Challenge on Sunday. Picture by Carla Freedman.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/YN4FA67iw2pXwXjwm2vmnJ/d14fcf4a-6dd6-4502-916e-21c19004a138.JPG/r0_0_8256_5082_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"I've been running since I was a kid, but I've always loved trail running and always had trails in my backyard," he said.
"I got a phone call a couple of months ago saying I should probably enter this race. At first I was like 'nah, it's a lot of effort to go there from Quorn', but it was a bit of money and a good way to test myself.
"I came to NSW, stayed with my brother, drove his car, came out here and checked out the course and went into battle."
Usually, you will find Darcy competing in marathons or half-marathons, so an 11km race was a bit of an unknown to him. Despite a good start, when other competitors started to pass him during the middle of the run, he thought he'd blown his chance.
"I went off at the start hard and had a bit of a lead, but people caught up to me and I thought I'd gone too hard, and that it was a dumb plan," he said.
"I pride myself on my downhill technical ability and that's the difference when you grow up on trails. I took off there and got my lead back and just tried not to blow up going up Young Man Canobolas."
With ten seconds separating Darcy and second-place finisher Ewan Shingler, the South Australian had time to soak in the victory, even if the race was a tad longer than he had anticipated.
"When I was coming to the finish, I thought the finish was at the stairs and then it turns out it was actually next to the toilets and it's like 'oh shit, I have to do another 50 metres'," he said.
"So that was the only bad part."
Having now earned a spot at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships, Darcy felt relieved that the gamble of coming to Orange had paid off.
![Leo Peterson, Fraser Darcy and Ewan Shingler were the top three finishers during the Great Volcanic Mountain Challenge. Picture by Carla Freedman. Leo Peterson, Fraser Darcy and Ewan Shingler were the top three finishers during the Great Volcanic Mountain Challenge. Picture by Carla Freedman.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/YN4FA67iw2pXwXjwm2vmnJ/5a42c960-9a59-4bbc-9d2b-ec72ae999495.JPG/r0_422_8256_5082_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"You spend all this money flying over and asking yourself if it's worth it, are you good enough," he added.
"I usually like to operate under the radar a little bit and don't tell people I'm going to race. It's good to feel the pressure, but I just don't want to disappoint anyone by not doing my best.
"It's a bit of money to go to Austria and I just started a new job, so I'll have to ask for a week off. This is not the end of my running journey to finish on top. It's a nice stamp to say I can back myself and do more interstate races and enjoy running against stronger competition."
Darcy would finish with a time of 48 minutes and nine seconds.
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