20th June 2016

Eight Picked For Iau 50km World Championships

20 June 2016

An eight-strong team of British athletes have been selected for this year’s IAU 50km World Championships on Friday 11 November in Doha. Comprised of fourfemales and four males, the multi-experienced team will take on ten consecutive 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 in Qatar, 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 20 mile races 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 her career best of 2:39:45 in this year’s London’s marathon.

Team leader Walter Hill commented: “We’ve selected two strong and diverse teams for this year’s IAU 50km World Championships, both of whom should be aiming for the podium.”

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)