And so far, it's working for him after he returned from the national cross country titles with two gold medals and a bronze with NSW.

The 10-year-old St Columba Anglican School student claimed his third-place finish individually while also contributing to his state's point score and relay wins.

It backed up his Little Athletics State Championship success in March where he set local records while he also won the Kids Fun Run at the Port Macquarie Running Festival.

"Keep training hard and you'll succeed," was the year four's response when asked what the key to his purple patch was.

"I mainly train every day; an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon, but I never get sick of it."

At the state titles, Alley picked up a gold medal in the 800-metre race along with a bronze in the 400 and two silvers in the hurdles and long jump.

But the experience at national cross country level was the best of the lot.

"It was very overwhelming and I wasn't expecting to do well because it was the whole of Australia," he said.

Alley led from start to finish with the simple thought of "hold on" at the forefront of his mind.

"I kept out in front the whole way, but there was a few sprints in the race ... the race was two kilometres," he said.

"I'd rather lead the way because you mentally get tired looking at the people in front of you so I like to keep out in front."

The youngster was in a group of three who separated from the rest of the field.

"It's the best I've achieved because it was the whole of Australia," he said.

Next up for the 10-year-old is the Combined Independent Schools athletics in two weeks' time.

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