Leo's big debut at the Inter-Uni Track Meet as a first-year student

"Because of running, I’ve learned that if you keep showing up, improving and learning from mistakes, eventually you’ll achieve your goals."

Published on the 27 May 2026

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2026 first year student Leo Lai at a track meet representing the UNSW Campus Runners

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From high school to the first O-Week

They say high school are some of your most formative years, whether it's figuring out if you want to pursue a career in motorsport or embark on a life of cheering and dancing. For Leo Lai, a first-year Bachelor of Fine Arts student, high school was when his love of running began.

Despite having never run before, Leo took to it like white on rice. For all the (light-hearted) roasting running gets, it is an easy activity to get into ("At the end of the day, running is just a healthy physical activity and it doesn’t hurt anyone.") and he quickly excelled.

"I [raced] against other schools for recreational cross-country running. I wasn’t that good back then, but over the past two years I’ve improved a lot," he recalls.

A key to that improvement? Mind games of a sort, according to Leo.

"Honestly, I mentally manipulate myself. I’ll literally tell myself something ridiculous like, 'If I don’t finish this race, my whole family is going to die,'" he laughs. "It sounds insane, but it works. You need something that pushes you through the pain barrier."

Having retired from running after high school, re-entering the fray (as it were) wasn't on Leo's radar as his first year as a UNSW undergraduate student loomed large.

That is, until he walked by the UNSW Campus Runners stall during T1 2026 O-Week and a thought occurred: "I might as well give running another shot at uni."

"I loved running because it was the only [exercise] that really helped clear my head.

"Whenever things happened in life, I’d just go out for a run and it would help my wellbeing."

Stepping out of his (short-lived) running retirement turned out to be a great decision, as it helped Leo assimilate into his new UNSW environment: "Since [O-Week], I’ve joined the Friday long runs every single week. Through that, I made a lot more friends and finally felt like I fit into university life somehow. It was really nice!"

Blood, sweat, tears and excelling at his first Inter-Uni Track Meet

Being a seasoned runner who ate up long-distance runs for breakfast, Leo was (unsurprisingly) chosen to represent UNSW at the big Inter-Uni Track Meet that's held at Sydney Olympic Park.

Having been entered in the 1500-metre race and the five-kilometre race, it would appear to be a walk in the park for Leo... except that he hadn't run properly for about six months.

With the competition in about five weeks' time and limited training time, he was seriously doubting himself.

"This only happens once [so] I might as well train properly for it. I trained really hard for about five weeks. Blood, sweat and tears.

"The first four weeks were focused on high mileage, building up from around 10 kilometres a week, to 20 and then 30 kilometres. The final week was where I focused mostly on speed work."

"The last time I’d seriously run was around November 2025, so I’d lost a lot of fitness," says Leo. "I put down 25 minutes as my predicted [five kilometre run] time, which for most people is decent, but for me [is] really slow because I could comfortably run that in 19 minutes back in high school.

"I honestly didn’t know how I’d perform. I was just hoping to break 25 minutes! I’d done a test run before the competition and ran around 28 minutes, so my expectations were really low."

Come race day, though, Leo shocked everyone, especially himself. "As soon as the [five kilometre race] started, I just went all out immediately."

As thoughts of "I'm going to die" were swirling around in Leo's head and his legs were burning like Satan's backyard, Leo had the fortitude to keep going and ended up leading the pack for most of the race.

The result? A lifetime personal best of 19 minutes and 37 seconds. Wow. Up until the last couple of laps, Leo still doubted whether a win was on the cards.

"There were a few fast runners who passed me during the middle laps," he remembers. "One guy from UTS was right alongside me for a while and even overtook me at one point. In the last two laps — the final 800 metres — I managed to surge past him and go all out. That’s when I thought, 'Okay… maybe I can actually do this.'"

There was no 'maybe' about it as Leo crossed the finish line in first place. But there was no rest on the cards as he still had the 1,500 metre race to run in about an hour.

When asked about what he was feeling post-five kilometre race, Leo laughs. "My legs were absolutely cooked. I thought I'd just jog the 1,500 casually for fun."

But whereas he got into the mythical "zone" for the previous race, the 1,500 metre race was just about surviving the pain.

"I felt like I was just dragging myself to the finish line using pure momentum," recalls Leo. "But I remember thinking, “I’ve already started strong, I might as well finish this properly.”

In trying to survive, he ended up outperforming his expectations again, taking the lead during the second lap and never looking back.

Leo in action.

Giving back to RunSoc and personal growth

Leo's experience at the Inter-Uni Track Meet was significant for two big reasons. One, it made him realise he was (unexpectedly) fitter than his peak in high school. Two, the vibe of competing at university was far different from the "toxic" vibe he had expected from his high school running days.

"Everyone was so much friendlier. Before the race, I was chatting with people from other universities," he fondly recalls. "Afterwards, everyone was congratulating and supporting each other. That really surprised me because I expected it to feel like high school again."

While winning is always nice, Leo says that crossing the line in first place was merely a cherry on top of what turned out to be an incredibly positive first Inter-Uni Track Meet experience. "Winning was just a bonus. The best part was meeting people from other universities and supporting everyone else. I love celebrating other runners’ achievements."

Having found his place at UNSW after arriving without any friends or expectations, Leo is passing the good vibes forward to other students who are looking for that sense of belonging by becoming a Pacer for RunSoc, i.e. an experienced runner who guides, leads and supports a group of runners by setting a specific running speed and providing encouragement.

"I wanted to become more involved in [RunSoc] and get to know more people. I felt ready to step into a leadership role and help support other members," he says.

"One thing I learned is that you shouldn’t do things alone. Whatever hobby or passion you have, it’s always better with people. Human connection is what really pushes us further."

" At the start of [term], I honestly had no friends. I came to uni completely by myself. Then during O-Week, I met Raymond, the RunSoc co-president.

"At my first Friday run, I was really nervous because I was naturally pretty shy. I made two really close friends through RunSoc, and now we hang out all the time during events."

As someone who was nervous about joining RunSoc, Leo says that new students who are interested in joining the club (or any society) should take the plunge and just go for it.

"Just come and have fun. Go at your own pace. It’s not a competition," he says. "The best part is just meeting people and enjoying the atmosphere."

Beyond the social and physical upsides of RunSoc, Leo's mental wellbeing has also benefited from his decision to 'unretire' from running. "It doesn’t magically solve my problems, but it clears my head and helps me think more clearly about life and decisions." That's a pretty good health plug for all those who may not be fans of running. He laughs lightly: "It's honestly not that complicated. It gives me space to reflect."

When asked to reflect a bit about what running has given him and what he would miss were he to stop tomorrow, Leo ponders for a brief moment.

"Running taught me that repetition creates discipline, and discipline helps you succeed in everything," he says. "Without running, I think I’d become someone who gives up after failing once."

Really? Leo nods.

"Because of running, I’ve learned that if you keep showing up, improving and learning from mistakes, eventually you’ll achieve your goals. That mindset now applies to my entire life — including university."