There was no celebration when Tauranga Boys’ College Student Sam Ruthe, 15, learned he had set a new world record for 15-year-olds in the 3000m running event.

Instead, it was a long drive home from Mount Smart in Auckland on Wednesday, November 20, after he clocked a run of 8minutes 9.86 seconds.

“The Kaimais were closed, so the drive home was a nightmare,” Ruthe said.

He started running competitively two years ago but comes from a long line of prestigious New Zealand track athletes.

His parents, Jessica Ruthe and Ben Ruthe, are national champions, and his grandparents, Trevor Wright and Rosemary Wright, competed at the Olympic and Commonwealth levels.

Rosemary would later compete for Scotland, winning a gold medal at the 1970 Commonwealth Games.

Now a world record holder, Sam Ruthe said he has always had a passion for running and considers himself quite good at it.

But despite the accolades, it has always been about having fun, he said.

“If I ever stopped having fun with running, I definitely would run a lot worse.”

He trains five or six days a week, mixing biking or swimming, and runs 40-50km. Craig Kirkwood coaches him.

He trains alongside Olympians Sam Tanner and Hayden Wilde and 40 other athletes at his running club.

“Eventually, I would like to go to the States and train for the Olympics.”

You would assume a high-performance diet with lots of fruit and vegetables would fuel a high-performance athlete. Instead, Ruthe likes his lollies.

“Probably like two bags of lollies a day. But it helps because it gives me the energy to run.”

Ruthe’s longest career run is 3000m, but he prefers to stay in the 800m and 1500m.

And what was Ruthe’s motivation on Wednesday? It wasn’t about setting records, he wanted to beat his rival, 16-year-old Caleb Wagner.

“My goal was mainly just to beat Caleb. I would have been happy if I didn’t break the record but just beat him,” Ruthe said.

Ruthe holds more than just the 3000m world record. He also holds the national record for the youngest runner to break four minutes for the 1500m.

His next event will be at the New Zealand Secondary Championships in Timaru from December 6-8.

Despite all of the accolades, Ruthe acknowledges he would not be where he is without the support of his coaches, friends and family.

“They keep me humble and keep it fun,” he said.