European and World Cup 100km Championship 2008 Report

Hi, Carnethy

No doubt Lucy will tell her own story in due course. I just want to add that Lucy totally justified her GB selection for the 100km team. Running 100k on the roads is not surprisingly somewhat different to covering anything like that distance or that time even, on the hills and trails. The intensity of churning out mile after mile on tarmac..62.2 of them in fact, will not be every Carnethy members idea of a "Perfect weekend Run"
She went through the Marathon distance in approx 3 hours 14min.and the 50km point in 3 hours 49 mins. On what most observers felt was a testing course in the Italian countryside around Tarquinia some 50 miles north of Rome, she held things together very well in the second half of the race. on course for sub 8 hours for most of the race, she slowed somewhat over the final 20km but her hill background was incredibly useful in the last one and half kilometres, which involved a climb up to the centre of the hill top town of Tarquinia, where she overtook and passed her team mate Emma Gooderham to secure being first Brit to finish.

It is unusual in ultra distance to find someone who seems so at home running these distances on any surface be it hills road or trail and everyone in Carnethy should be very VERY proud of her achievements.

For the record I think Lucy's time of 8 hours 9 minutes and 27 secs ranks her 3rd or 4th on the Scottish all time list and ranks her 2nd women in the UK for 2008.

Lucy was delighted to be able to meet with Scottish ultra distance running legend Don Ritchie (who also organised the Speyside Way race for many years). Donald was in Tarquinia as a guest of the organisers. It is 30 years since he set what is still the best time ever recorded for the 100km distance of 6 hours 10 minutes and 20 seconds. If you do the "Math" that works out to 5min 59 sec per mile for the 62.2 miles!!!!.

Lucy with Don Ritchie

ADRIAN STOTT (who was part of the back up crew for the GB team)