8th 24 hour World 24 Hour Running Championships
Personal best for Richard Quennel in GB debut
8th 24 hour World 24 Hour Running Championships & 17th European 24 Hour Running Championships
Brive-La-Gaillarde, France, 13th-14th May 2010
Report from the GB Team
Summary
The best performance ever from a GB men’s team in terms of distances achieved. Bronze medal position in Europe, 5th in the World. The top 3 men went over 150 miles. 50% of the team (3 men and 1 woman) achieved personal best performances. A great team effort and team spirit. Detail Men’s Results The World and European Championships in Brive in May 2010 resulted in performances that far exceeded any previously achieved in these championships. 21 men went over 150 miles (242 Km) while the winning man, Shingo Inoue, set a new Japanese 24 hour record (273.708 Km) and the 2nd placed man, Scott Jurek, set a new US record (266.677 Km). The high quality of the performances was despite a course that was twisting and not apparently made for records. 3 GB men went over 150 miles while John Pares was the first British man for 20 years to go over 250 Km; he is now 4th on the all-time UK 24 hour rankings on a road surface. John also beat his own Welsh record set at the Commonwealth Championships in Keswick last September. The 3 leading GB men all achieved personal bests.
John Pares 252.548 Km 156.926 miles
Richard Quennell 246.121 Km 152.932 miles
Jim Rogers 244.108 Km 151.681 miles
The other members of the GB team performed creditably despite having some difficulties with the cold and damp near dawn and all showed great tenacity and resolve to finish strongly.
Chris Carver 222.760 Km 138.416 miles
Chris Finill 219.032 Km 136.160 miles
Steve Mason 215.923 Km 134.168 miles
The combined GB team distance of 742.777 Km was the furthest ever achieved in a World or European championship by a GB team. Before Brive, only Japan, France and Belgium had gone further. Our distance would have won World gold at Worschach in 2005 or World silver at Drummondville in 2007. Just 16 Km separated the 2nd and 5th placed teams and we were always in close contention for a World medal especially as the US team (which relied on Scott Jurek for its good team performance) started to come back to us in the later stages.
Japan 778.687 Km
Italy 758.932
USA 757.468
France 751.835
GB 742.777
Norway 719.234
Germany 714.738
Brive was only Richard Quennell’s second 24 hour race and the mixture of experience and fresh talent bodes well for our men’s team for at least the next couple of years.
European Bronze medalists
Women’s Results
Because of an injury, Sharon Gayter was unable to join us. Because only three women had met the qualifying standard, this meant that we started without a women’s team. Despite the lack of medal prospects, Marie Doke and Pauline Walker set about getting as high in the rankings as possible and performing to the best of their abilities. Although Pauline was affected by a shin problem and then by the cold and damp, she stayed on the course. Marie suffered for many of the opening hours with stomach problems that required many visits to the (often full and inadequate) toilet facilities. But she kept her focus, stayed running and was able eventually to overcome her problems and achieve a personal best performance.
Marie Doke 203.985 Km 126.182 miles
Pauline Walker 173.525 Km 107.825 miles
