29 April 2013

The IAU 100K European Championships took place over a scenic one lap course in Belves, France, on 27 April with two women representing GB & NI.

Sue Harrison gradually moved through the field and rose from seventh place at 85km to clinch bronze in the closing stages with a time of 7:48:12 – a personal best by 39 minutes and sixth on the UK all-time list. Karen Rushton moved up three places in the second half of the race to eventually finish 13th in a time of 8:29:03.

Harrison, who won a team silver medal at these championships in 2011, was delighted to come away with a medal.

“At 99km I went straight past the Russian athlete and into bronze medal position. I just kept pushing as hard as my legs would go up the hill – there seemed to be never ending bends as the road wound its way up to the finish, and I just kept willing the finish line to appear. Eventually it did, and I crossed it with elation at winning a medal, and a huge sense of relief that all my training and preparation had paid off.”

Rushton was pleased with the way she paced her effort and was satisfied with the outcome.

“Due to the profile of the one lap course I tried to conserve energy in the first 50km to ensure that I was in the best possible condition for the second half. This paid dividends as I moved up 3 places in the second half and was pleased to come home in under 8:30 especially considering the tough final 5km.”