To be so young and competing against times of legends of the sport, Ruthe admits it’s a surreal feeling.

“It doesn’t seem realistic to me,” Ruthe told the Herald. “I’m always thinking how am I actually so close to these times?

“I definitely come up with a lot of excuses for myself why I have way more of an advantage over them, just like how they would have ran with way less technology back then.

“That definitely makes me think about it a lot, but I’m really stoked.”

His performance in Tauranga highlights his enormous potential as the previous U16 record was set in 1984 by Johan Boakes when he ran a 2m 20.37s, while the U17 record was 2m 18.70s set by Steffen Oehme.

Ruthe, who comes from a line of successful runners, said there was a little extra pressure competing on his home track, but he was pleased to give the fans something to cheer about.

“I train there every day, so it’s always hard trying to have a good race at your local track just because it’s not the same feeling as going away and racing,” Ruthe said.

“I wasn’t feeling like I was about to do anything special, but the community and the crowd down there just made it so much better and it was awesome.

“I knew that some people came down just to watch me race and I did feel like I better race good because all these people have put in this time to come watch me race, but I just thought I’ll just give it my best crack and that’s all that I can do.”

Ruthe has a big month on the cards, which starts at the Potts Classic in Hastings on January 17.

There, he will aim to beat his personal best in the 800m, which is currently 1m 46.81s, a target he achieved in November at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Track and Field Championships, also at Hastings.

Ruthe is aiming to shave nearly a second off that time, but says that will be a big challenge.

Following that he will head to the United States to compete in some indoor events in Boston and North Carolina alongside training partner Sam Tanner.

Ben Francis is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news.