Leading Southland runners Hannah Miller and Jack Beaumont overcome mud to win titles

Leading Southland runners Hannah Miller and Jack Beaumont have claimed comfortable wins in the 2017 Southland Cross Country Championships and now have their sights on international events.

For Miller and Beaumont, navigating the very hilly, slippery, tough 9km of the Waimumu Southland cross country course was not top of mind - they were thinking ahead. 

The talented pair won the senior men's and women's titles, with Miller's next major event in Taipei for the World University's 5000m race. For Beaumont, he has the senior grade World Mountain Running Championship in North Italy to look forward to.

Both events provide a much different challenge from the chilly run on a Southland farm on Saturday.

Beaumont recorded a snappy 31min 50sec for the three lap 9km course, despite slipping over in the second lap. 

Befitting a world championship mountain runner Beaumont found the hills easy but not the mud.  

Beaumont will take up a running scholarship at North Texas University immediately after the World Championships in Italy.  

Miller - who is home for the University holidays from SMU Texas - also slipped over but it didn't stop her recording a fast 38min 52sec.  

Second overall over the 9km was well-performed masters runner Dwight Grieve, while under-18 runner Buddy Small was third.