Holly Campbell never dreamed, when she was running around the family farm at Warren two decades ago, that she would one day be wearing the green-and-gold and representing Australia in cross-country at Tallahassee, Florida in the United States.

Holly and her twin sister were at that time pursuing shorter distances, at one stage post her HSC, moving to Dubbo to train at Barden Park.

“I was more of an 800-metre/1500-metre competitor in those days but, when we moved to Sydney to study, I found myself extending the distance and now it’s 10km for Cross Country.”

Holly’s invite to America came following recently qualified as the second fastest in Australia at the 2026 World Cross Country Championships Selection Trials at Stromlo Forest Park in Canberra recently.

“It was such a relief to gain automatic qualification and not be depending on the discretion of selectors,” the young businesswoman smiled with excitement.

Holly’s twin is now a physiotherapist in Sydney, and her younger sister is a trainee doctor at Dubbo Base so she has “family care” to treat any niggles.

She says this is not the first time she has been selected for the World Champs, with an unfortunately-timed accident cruelling her chances on the big stage.

“Two years ago, I was in the team to run in Bathurst, but I broke my foot a week out from the event,” Holly recalled.

“It would have been special to run out here, but it wasn’t meant to be, so I just reset my goals and now I’m flying off to Florida,” she added.

Holly’s training program is a mixture of gym, running, and some hill training.

“When we were in Warren, our State coaches asked us to fit in some hill training. I said, ‘have you been to Warren’? Hills certainly are not a part of the landscape!”

Holly say she is also now more aware of diet and hydration in her regimen.

“I’m not a big body, but I know how important it is to have the right nutrition and ensure the organs are fully hydrated so I can maximise my performance.”

In fact, Holly says while she has worked in the corporate sector and is now with a representative with one of the large fitness brands.

“But I am looking ahead to maybe studying dietetics,” she said.

Holly Campbell joins the likes of Wallaby Ben McCalman, Olympic Rower Jack O’Brien and NRL cult hero Fletcher Hunt, in the Warren Sporting Hall of Fame.

It is a huge reward for years of intense concentration, the desire to be the best you can be and the fulfillment of a dream hatched on the flat unsealed roads at “Mundoole” in Warren.

Holly, we’ll be watching eagerly in mid-January when you test yourself against the world’s best in Tallahassee.