Taonga Mbambo (right) leads the pack around the bend. Photos SuppliedDespite only seriously giving running a go in the past six-months, Ashburton’s Taonga Mbambo has his sights set on leaving New Zealand’s best in his wake.

Mbambo, originally from Zambia, moved to New Zealand when he was eight with his family, with Dunedin being their first home in New Zealand.

They made the move north to Ashburton two years ago, with Mbambo enrolling at Ashburton College, where he is currently in Year 12.

An avid Manchester United fan, football is another strong focus for Mbambo, having represented both Otago and Mid Canterbury on the field.

In the past few months however, it has been on the cross country trail where he has hit the national heights.

Mbambo recently placed second at the Canterbury Cross Country Championships, which booked him a place on the six-man Canterbury team that will travel to Auckland later this month for the National Cross Country Championships.

“Hopefully I will finish in the top 20, but to come back with a team medal would be great,” he said.

He showed what he had to offer at the South Island Championships earlier in the year, placing third, while also posting a respectable 43rd out of 225 at the Secondary Schools’ Nationals.

Mbambo said the moment he decided to have a serious go at running was back in March at the Aoraki Secondary Schools’ Athletics, where he broke the 2000m record.

Now, with the help of a coach, he is training six times a week, rain or shine.

The distances he covers varies from day to day, with some being “just 5km” or up to 15 or 16km.

“With the weather it is quite hard to get out sometimes, especially when it is pouring outside,” he said.

With competition tough to come by in Mid Canterbury, the Ashburton College student regularly finds himself making the trip to Christchurch to get as much racing in as possible.

When summer swings around, the focus will switch to the track, with not as many track events being held in the winter.

When it comes to idols, Great Britain’s Olympic running legend Mo Farah tops the list.

As for the future, Mbambo will be heading in to his final year of school next year, with his main sights on a top 20 finish at the national championships, with the ultimate goal of making it in to the New Zealand Cross Country team.

By Jaime Pitt-MacKay © The Ashburton Guardian - 20 July 2017