New Irish 24-hr Record.

Glavin sets Irish 24 H Record

Sumie Inagaki (Japan), women's winner, pictured with Valerie Glavin (Ireland)

Galway's Valerie Glavin set a fantastic new Irish women's indoor 24-Hour Record of 217.809km (135.340 miles) at the Endurance 24 Hour in Espoo, Finland at the weekend.

Mick Rice & Ruthann Sheehan

Valerie finished second in the womens race behind Japan's Sumie Inagaki, who ran a world class distance of 240.631km.

It was girl power all the way as Glavin and fellow Galway woman Ruthann Sheehan posted the best Irish performances of the day.

Sheehan, who won the 2010 Dingle 50-mile race, posted a very credible distance of 188.714km (117.261 miles) while their club mates Mick Rice and Ray O'Connor recorded distances of 165.545km and 122.083km, respectively. 

Glavin ran steadily through the 100-mile point in 16:59:49 hrs, also setting an Irish women's best, and maintained a strong momentum until the end.

It was the first recording of Irish female performances in an indoor 24-hour IAU-labelled event. 

Women's Results

1. Sumie Inagaki (JPN) - 240.631km
2. Valerie Glavin (IRL) - 217.809km
3. Marjukka Sinisalo (FIN) - 204.567km
7. Ruthann Sheehan (IRL) - 188.714km