7 May 2013

The GB and NI team will head to the 2013 IAU World 24 Hour Running Championships at Steenbergen, Netherlands, on 11-12 May with hopes of a gold medal in the women’s team race.

Led by road world record holder Lizzy Hawker, and current world 24 hour bronze medallist Emily Gelder, they will look to better their team bronze from the 2012 championships in Katowice, Poland. Hawker and Gelder could also be in contention for individual medals in an event that brings some of the world’s best ultra-distance runners together.

Ultra running has grown and both 100km and 24 hours races are now recognised for championship purposes. In a 24 hour event, the time is fixed with the aim being to cover as much distance as possible by completing laps of an accurately measured loop. A 2.3 km loop around a park with each lap being recorded will give the final finishing distances.

Hawker will be hoping to surpass 150 miles, which she did in winning her only previous 24 hour event, the  Commonwealth Championships which were held  in Llandudno, Wales, in September 2011 where she ran a distance of 247.076km (153.5 miles) – the furthest recorded by a women in a road 24 hour event.

Hawker has been world champion at 100km (62.2 miles), and in a four-week period in 2012 she won the her fifth 100mile Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc, considered one of the toughest trail challenges, overcame a fall to win the women’s 100-mile Run Rabbit Run race in Colorado and set a course record for women in the 155-mile run from Athens to Sparta in Greece.

Strong teams have also been entered to the women’s race from Japan, France and the defending team champions USA.

Hawker said: “I try to focus on running the very best that I can, literally moment by moment. If I’m in pain or tired, I don’t have to fight it. I can be in myself in the environment. It’s amazing what you can do running moment to moment.”

In the men’s event, the GB & NI men will be led by Commonwealth Champion John Pares, and will also be aiming for medals in the European Championships. Defending champion Mike Morton of the USA recorded 277.543km (172.45miles) at last year’s event.

The GB and NI team for the IAU World 24 Hour Running Championships:

Women:

Emily Gelder 

Karen Hathaway 

Lizzy Hawker  

Sharon Law  

Debbie Martin-Consani

Men:

Robbie Britton 

Steve Holyoak

Matt Moroz 

John Pares

Pat Robbins