Cairney is making some waves in the athletics world, clocking up some achievements on both the track and in the cross-country.
The 17-year-old, year 12 pupil at King’s High School only took to the sport a couple of years ago when he competed in the school’s cross-country.
"I came second in that and really enjoyed it and thought maybe I should give it a go. Then I went up to the national cross-country champs in Rotorua and got 14th in that," he said.
Cairney has picked up some titles at the Otago schools champs and also won titles last year at the South Island club championships.
He had moved into the senior grade this season so was up against some older athletes but was holding his own.
Cairney had been a flanker at rugby but had given the game away this year to concentrate on athletics and also avoid injury.Coached by Mike Weddell, Cairney said with running the goal was just to get fitter and become more aware of tactics used during races.
"You’ve got to look at your opponents, learn how races are run and try and work it out."
Of course, wanting to be a good runner meant doing the work out on the road — day after day.
"You just have to do the work. You go just about anywhere. I like to mix it up and run just anywhere.
"It is tough and it takes over your life. You know you have to go for a run every day and if you haven’t then you just don’t feel right."
Looking to the future, Cairney said he was just aiming to be as good as he could be and go as far as possible in the sport.
He may look to get a trade or join the army but at the moment it was just running as fast as he could.
