An eight-strong team of British athletes have headed out to compete tomorrow’s IAU 50km World Championships in Doha. Comprised of four females and four males, the multi-experienced team will take on 20 consecutive 2.5km loops in Qatar’s capital.

Having debuted in the 50km discipline earlier this year, Ross Houston will make his international bow in the event, with the Scotsman looking to better the impressive clocking of 2:56.37 achieved at Perth’s Self-Transcendence race back in March – a time good enough to have secured fourth at last year’s IAU 50km race.

Joining Houston in Doha will be Michael Kallenberg (coach: James Thie), who competes for the second consecutive year on the back of an eighth place finish in his 50km debut last year. Welshman Kallenberg posted a marathon personal best of 2:21:38 in London this year, and will be hoping to replicate such form as he tackles 50km once again.

Andrew Davies (Steve Vernon) and Stuart Robinson (Helen Clitheroe) complete the British male participants, with both men debuting over the distance having sufficiently impressed over 26.2m. September’s marathon in Berlin saw Davies take two minutes off his career best with a 2:16:55 posting, whilst Salford Harriers athlete Robinson also revised his career best to 2:21:35 in the same event.

Heading up the female participants will be Hannah Oldroyd, who ran a strong personal best time of 3:34:33 in Perth’s 50km back in March to claim victory in the female field, finishing 8th overall. The time marked a twenty minute improvement from her first shot at 50km back in 2014, and the Saltaire Striders athlete will strive for further progress in Doha.

Debuting in 50km from the female participants will be Amy Clements (Peter Boxshall) and Samantha Amend (Roger Hughes). Aged 34 and 37 respectively, both athletes have ticked career best boxes this year in half-marathon and 10 mile races respectively and will look forward to challenging themselves in an international competition.

Having returned to competitive running in recent years, Bath-based athlete Rebecca Hilland (Jan Fjaerestad) will also test herself over 50km for the first time. In doing so, Hilland will look to build on the momentum gained from this year’s career bests of 2:39:45 and 1:15:38 in London’s marathon and Cardiff’s half-marathon respectively.

The full British Athletics team for the World IAU 50km in Doha, Qatar on November 11th:

Men:

Ross Houston

Michael Kallenberg (James Thie)

Andrew Davies (Steve Vernon)

Stuart Robinson (Helen Clitheroe)

Women:

Rebecca Hilland (Jan Fjaerestad)

Amy Clements (Peter Boxshall)

Hannah Oldroyd

Samantha Amend (Roger Hughes)

Live tracking of the championships can be found via: http://live.sporthive.com/event/2119/live