only because I was asked ...

Recently I was asked about the UK team for this year's World 24 hr Championships.  I must admit that I hadn't given any thought as to who might be included in that team other than I hope I am ...

So, here are my thoughts:

UK Athletics usually have selection criteria along the lines of -

men ... A standard 236 km ... team standard ... 225 km
women ... A standard 215 km ... team standard ... 205 km

and, in theory, what happens is that anybody who has the A standard is automatically selected but if there aren't  enough to complete a team then those with the team standard are also considered - but only if there are enough to make a full team.

For example if one man has 240 km and two more men have 227 km each then only one man will be selected.

Of course there is a time frame in which runners are expected to reach the standards and this is usually in the 18 months before selection date.  For this year's World Championships I would expect that to be something like:

1 Jan 2011 to 30 June 2012

Between those dates the qualifying performances so far are:

John Pares ... 244 km
Pat Robbins ... 231 km
Steve Holyoak ... 226 km

Liz Hawker ... 247 km
Emily Gelder ... 220 km
Debbie Martin-Consani ... 208 km
Jen Salter ... 206 km
Marie Doke ... 206 km

Because there wasn't a World or European Championships last year it is possible that the qualifying period will be extended back to include the Perth race (Sep 2010) or even the last World Championships (May 2010), in which case the following should be added to the list:

Richard Quennell ... 246 km (May 2010)
Jim Rogers ... 244 km (May 2010)
Chris Carver ... 238 km (Sep 2010)
Paul Hart ... 228 km (Sep 2010)

Angie Sadler ... 205 km (Sep 2010)

As there has been no announcement yet about selection there is a possibility of a few more qualifying performances in the first half of this year.

And of course the selectors usually reserve the right to use other long ultras to help with their choices.  Overall then I would suggest that only John Pares and Liz Hawker have earned their place in Poland and as for other runners ... your guess is as good as mine at the moment.

I do know that the team management were hopeful of getting selection sorted by the end of last year but obviously the people at UK Athletics didn't like that idea - probably down to funding.

I also believe that we have some very good ultra runners in this country but very few road and/or track 24 hour races.  Only one at the last count.  In recent years we have lost races in Hull and Doncaster for example.  I know that Pam Storey is looking to stage some races but if we had a few more then the performances would only improve.

So ... who wants to organise a road or track 24 hr race in Britain ???  Count me in if you do.

Selection Criteria

Here it is ... the selection criteria has been announced for England in the following ultra races next year:

- Commonwealth Championships - 24 hr race and c.50k trail race
- Anglo Celtic Plate 100k

Personally I'm only interested in the Commonwealth Championships 24 hr race and I read that selection will be in two waves:

(1a) for those men who have run over 230k between 1 May 2010 and 3 April 2011
(1b) for those women who have run over 205k between 1 May 2010 and 3 April 2011

(2a) for those men who have run over 225k between 1 September 2009 and 5 June 2011
(2b) for those women who have run over 200k between 1 September 2009 and 5 June 2011

I would imagine that only performances in race with an IAU label will be taken into consideration therefore I believe the following men from England have met the criteria:

Richard Quennell ... 246.121k ... World C'ships (14 May 2010) and
 ... 234.813k ... London (18 Oct 2009)
Jim Rogers ... 244.108k ... World C'ships (14 May 2010) and
 ... 228.214k ... Commonwealth C'ships (18 Sep 2009)
me ... 238.286k ... Perth (5 Sep 2010) and
 ... 231.506k ... Commonwealth C'ships (18 Sep 2009)
 and also ... 222.760k ... World C'ships (14 May 2010)
Pat Robbins ... 231.086k ... Perth (5 Sep 2010)
 and also ... 215.818k ... Commonwealth C'ships (18 Sep 2009)

The following men would also be in with a chance of selection as they have run over 215k:

Keith Straw ... 221.882k ... Cleveland (USA) (4 Oct 2009)
Chris Finill ... 219.032k ... World C'ships (14 May 2010)
Neil Bryant ... 218.425k ... London (18 Oct 2009)

The women who have met the criteria so far are:

Sharon Gayter ... 226.489k ... Commonwealth C'ships (18 Sep 2009)
Vicky Skelton  ... 212.683k ... Commonwealth C'ships (18 Sep 2009)
 and also ... 198.098k ... Perth (5 Sep 2010)
Angela Sadler ... 205.984k ... Perth (5 Sep 2010)
Marie Doke ... 203.985k ... World C'ships (14 May 2010) and
 ... 201.631k ... Commonwealth C'ships (18 Sep 2009)

The following woman should also be in with a chance of selection as they have managed  a performance of over 185k:

Sandra Brown ... 187.119k ... Commonwealth C'ships (18 Sep 2009)

Of course there is still quite a few months in which other runners can register a qualifying performance ... but I'm confident of my selection.

As only five men and five women can be selected it appears that for the women it's quite straightforward but not so for the men at all.  And then there's 'current fitness' to take into account when the selectors meet next April and June.

I would suggest we have a couple of good teams though.

team news

Found, on the England Athletics website, all the news relating to the England team for the Six Nations 24 hr race in Perth.  I mentioned earlier that my selection had been confirmed and now I can also say that Richard Quennell, Chris Finill, Pat Robbins, Marie Doke, Vicky Skelton, Sandra Brown and Angie Sadler have also been selected.

Congratulations to them all.

Richard ran exceptionally well at this year's World & European Championships.  Chris was also in Brive and also took part in last year's Commonwealth Championships, as did Pat, Marie, Vicky (second woman in Keswick) and Sandra.

Pat holds the course record for the 145 mile Grand Union Canal Race, Marie was also at this year's World & Europeans.  Vicky was at last year's World & European Championships in Italy whilst Angie ran well in the Commonwealth Championships 100km race only about nine weeks after winning outright the Hull 24 hr race.

Norman Wilson, when he phoned, explained that the selectors have decided to send a fourth man and a fourth woman for 'development' purposes - these will be non-scoring members of the team.  The aim of this policy is to help those who are just below international selection get the necessary experience.  I hope it works out that way and we get a really good performance in Perth and a few more runners run the distance needed for next year's championships.

I plan to do well too of course.

Which reminds me ... it's also been decided that there will be another Commonwealth Championships for mountain and ultra running and it will be staged in either 2011 or 2013.  This depends on what bids are received for staging them.  Good news indeed.

UK Team - ready to roll

Things have been moving apace recently.

I now have full details of who's in the team for Brive and who the management will be.  There have also been discussions about travel to and from the event and also communications from UK Athletics about anti doping, code of conduct, kit, etc

The men's team is:

John Pares - third at the Commonwealth Champs

Stephen Mason - fourth at the Commonwealth Champs

Richard Quennell - winner of the Tooting Bec 24 hr race last year

myself - fifth at the Commonwealth Champs (and second team)

Jim Rogers - sixth at the Commonwealth Champs (and second team)

The women's team is:

Sharon Gayter - winner of the Commonwealth Champs (and first team)

Marie Doke - fourth at the Commonwealth Champs (and first team)

Pauline Walker - seventh at the Commonwealth Champs (and third team)

The management will be:

Richard Brown, Eleanor Robinson and Adrian Stott.  All highly experienced but I think we could do with a few more bodies manning the refreshment tables during the race.

Training going extremely well too.  Ran 22 miles on Tuesday including a lovely stretch of the Leeds Liverpool Canal (and Hollins Hill !!!).   Yesterday I completed a hilly 22 miles fartlek style [6 mins hard, 4 mins easy, repeat].

team news

Recently there's been a couple of last minute additions to the England team for the 24hr race in next week's Commonwealth Championships.  The five men are:  Ken Fancett, Chris Finill, Pat Robbins, Jim Rogers and myself.  The five women are:  Sandra Brown, Marie Doke, Sharon Gayter, Vicky Skelton and Ramona Thevenet-Smith.

There are 22 runners in the men's race and 22 in the women's race from the following countries:

Australia (six men and six women)
Canada (three men and four women)
England (five men and five women)
India (one man)
Isle Of Man (one man and one woman)
Kenya (one man)
New Zealand (one man and three women)
Scotland (three men and three women)
Wales (one man)


A few surprises here:   Kenya - hope their guy isn't as good as the top 10k and marathon runners; only four countries have sent men's teams - increasing the likelihood of England being among the medals; no runners from South Africa (none in the 100k race either).

I would guess that the individual favourites would be Martin Fryer and Jonathan Blake (both from Australia) and Sharon Gayter (although Vicky Skelton isn't far behind).  Martin ran a fantastic 48hr race in Surgeres earlier this year to place second on the all time list with 433.686 km - his feet were a real mess afterwards though.  Sharon had a great run at Badwater [hope she's recovered].

Still relaxing lots - no loud music, no late nights, no stress ... and no caffeine.