IAU 24 Hour World Championships 2017

The 12th IAU 24 Hour World Championships took place in Belfast Victoria Park on July 01st/02nd 2017.  This was thanks to Ed Smith, the Energia 24 hour Race Director and a dedicated team of volunteers along with the title sponsor Schneider Electric.  


In addition to the World Championship Race there were also 100 extra places available in the Energia 24 hour open race running at the same time.  The combined event also included the AAI National Championships and for the first time the World Masters Association also included age group categories.

 In the main event there were 300 runners from 40 Countries and Ireland was well represented by an experienced squad from the four provinces of 6 Male & 6 Female Athletes with a support crew of 6. 

 

Men's Team:

1. Eddie Gallen - Captain 

2. Eoin Keith.

3. Aidan Hogan.

4. Tim Brownlie.

5. Daragh O'Loughlin.

6. Malcolm Gamble.

 

Women's Team.

1. Ruthann Sheahan.

2. Amy Masner.

3. Louise Smart.

4. Yvonne Naughton.

5. Susan McCartney.

6. Catherine Guthrie.

 

Support Crew:

1. John O'Regan - Manager

2. Kevin Belton.

3. Gary McConville.

4. Liam Tilly.

5. Louis Byrne.

6. Philip Bourke.

 

In the men´s race, Yoshihiko Ishikawa (JPN) won with a distance of 270.870km. He was followed by Sebastian Bialobrzeski (POL) in 2nd place with a distance of 267.187km and Johan Steene (SWE) finished in 3rd place with a distance of 266.515km.
In the women´s race, Patrycja Bereznowska (POL) won with a distance of 259.991km. The distance run by Bereznowska is a World's Best Performance (pending ratification). She was followed by Aleksandra Niwinska (POL) with a distance of 251.078km and Katalin Nagy (USA) finished in 3rd place running 248.970km. 
In the team´s competition, Japan won the men´s division with a combined distance of 786.463km followed by Poland in second with 766.934km, France in third with a distance of 758.599km and Ireland finished in 9th with 716.993km.
In the women´s division, Poland won the team title with 741.886km. United States of America finished second with 740.856km, Germany third in 691.274km and Ireland finished in 8th with 638.072km.

The next 24 hour World Championships is proposed for July 2019 in Irdning, Austria.

National Championships Female

1st Amy Masner (Parnell AC)                                                                                     228.581Km

2nd Louise Smart (Co Antrim Harriers)                                                                     205.608Km

3rd Susan McCartney (Belfast Association of Rock Climbers & Fell Runners)        203.883Km

National Championships Male

1st Eoin Keith (Sportsworld)                                                                                     248.436Km

2nd Alex O'Shea (St Finbars AC)                                                                              244.253Km

3rd Tim Brownlie (Willowfield Temperance Harriers AC.)                                     242.662Km

 

We also had some results in the World Masters Association Race with Collette O'Hagan (Marathon Club of Ireland) winning Gold medal in her age group with a distance of 142.085km and Eoin Keith (Sportsworld) winning a category Bronze medal with his distance of 246.784km.  Eoin Keith’s distance of 248.436Km is a new National Record beating the previous record of 248.392Km set by Thomas Maguire in Monaco on the 21^st/22^nd Nov 2009. 


For selection purposes the minimum standard required for the men's team is the International B standard of 220km.  For the women's team the minimum required distance is the International B standard of 200km.  Achieving the standard does not guarantee selection as places are limited.  


Next year the Energia 24 hour race returns to the Mary Peter's Track and with the extra interest it's sure to sell out early.   This race will again host the AAI National Championships and notable results will be considered for future Team selection. 

For enquiries regarding next year’s Energia 24 please contact the race director Ed Smith at Ed_n_Smith@hotmail.com

 

John O'Regan

International Teams Coordinator for Ultra Running.

Looking beyond the Finish Line

Over the past 15 years I’ve competed in some of the most extreme races in the world taking in the 7 continents plus the North Pole and have represented Ireland on 10 occasions in the Ultra Marathon, but my running career was almost over as quickly as it had started.

My first Ultra Marathon was a 150 Mile race across the Sahara Desert called the Marathon des Sables and it took 2 years of preparation to go from zero to being fit enough and able enough to complete this epic race. Every day of every month was pre planned and I knew exactly what I was to do and when to do it and before I knew it I was in Dublin Airport starting my journey to western Africa.

My 2 focussed years were now leading into this one week and then all of a sudden it was all over. Crossing the finish line was a very strange experience because rather than having that feeling of success I felt empty. My first thoughts were not about what I’d done but instead I was thinking what do I do now? I was lost and without any sense of direction.

I returned home and lost all interest in what I’d done and hardly wanted to talk about it. With no intention of doing anything like it ever again, I started to regress back to my old ways. This wasn’t because I didn’t want to but I just didn’t feel motivated enough to set myself a new goal.

It was only when another interesting race presented itself almost by accident that I began to regain my focus. When I started back training I got quite a shock to realise that I wasn’t as fit as I had been and a valuable lesson about running was learned when I stopped running. Fitness is not something you can just hold onto. You either use it or you lose it.

Since then I’ve always thought ahead and had future ideas but wouldn’t get too caught up in them too soon as they can distract from the closer short term goals and you may lose focus. I now use the finish line of a race as a new start line even if only to start back training.

Learning how to deal with this negative mindset has allowed me to continue on my running journey and even though these moments still arise I feel better able to deal with them as rather than fear them I expect them and that allows me to prepare for them.

Think beyond the finish line but stay in the moment.

Always have another goal in mind.

Stay focussed.

Keep moving forward.

Never forget where you’ve come from.

Outsider People of the Year Awards 2014 – winners announced (Full List)

Outsider magazine celebrated a year of amazing achievements by people involved in outdoor adventure at its third annual People of the Year event which was supported by Trident Holiday Homes, Cotswold Outdoor and Great Outdoors, Dublin.

Tony Mangan was named Outsider of the Year for his epic adventure running around the world. Tony won a holiday which was given by Trident Holiday Homes, co-sponsor of the awards. (Photo: David Craig)

Top honours went to Tony Mangan (57) who was named Outsider of the Year 2014 in recognition of his extraordinary achievement of running around the world. Mangan, who hails from the Liberties, clocked up 55,000 kilometres as he ran around the globe. That’s the equivalent of 1,200 marathons and is longer than any human has ever run.

Receiving his award, an emotional Mangan said, “This award means the world to me.” But he was quick to add that life is returning to normal now that he’s back. “My mam is still worrying about me. She was worrying about me being walking a mile in the cold weather. I have to remind her, ‘Mam, I’ve just run around the world; I’ll be fine.’”

Jacinta Doolan, Director of Trident Holiday Homes, presented Mangan with a holiday voucher and said, “I hope after his run around the world you will enjoy a relaxing break at home in Ireland in one of our holiday homes.”

Jade O’Connor who was named Outsider Woman of the Year award and won a fantastic MSR Hubba Hubba tent.  (Photo: David Craig)

Kitesurfer Jade O’Connor (43) was named Woman of the Year. O’Connor won the British Ladies Championship in June 2014, came eight at the World Championships in Istanbul Turkey, August 2014 and fourth at the European Championships in Poland in September 2014. The Dublin woman is Ireland’s highest ranked kiteboarder. Kiteboarding is a close action, high adrenaline, high-speed water sport that sees up to 30 kiteboarders at a time race around a course reaching speeds in excess of 50km per hour. O’Connor commented, “I am over the moon… This kicks my 2015 race season off with a bang of good energy”

(L-R) Matt Roffe from Cotswold Outdoor who co-sponsored the awards, Helen O’Sullivan who picked up the Audience award, Liam Delahunty with his Most Inspirational award and John O’Regan who won the award for being most Devoted. (Photo: David Craig)

The Most Inspiring Person award went to multi-sport racer Liam Delahunty (36) who hails from Kilkenny. Delahunty was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis eight years ago and his life fell apart. He suffered from serious depression and admits that he considered suicide. Everything changed for Delahunty back in 2013 when he set himself a target of completing 24 races in 18 months. In December he scaled that mountain with a final event in Waterford. In 2014 he also came first, second and third respectively in WAR Lough Dan, MOXY, WAR Sugar Loaf and the Dingle Adventure Race (sport).

“I have met some amazing people through getting involved in adventure racing. It has really helped me fight against depression and not let MS take over my life,” said Delahunty.

Deirdre Mullins who won the award for Best Film and Maurice Mullins her father who took home a Lifetime Achievement award. (Photo: David Craig)

A lifetime achievement went to Maurice Mullins (72) from Skerries, Co Dublin. Mullins organised Ireland’s first triathlon in 1983 and then long-distance triathlon. He also competed himself, running 130 marathons, 20 100km races, a handful of 24-hour races and competed internationally in ultra-distance events. Although he now has cancer and has had to slow down in life, he still keeps active by cycle training in his garden shed and continues to inspire.

A modest Mullins stated, “It’s lovely to get this award but for every organiser there are so many helpers behind the scenes. When I organised that first triathlon, I had 104 helpers. They deserve this award too.”

An award voted for by the audience on the night went to Helen O’Sullivan (nee Whearity), also from Skerries. The 37-year-old mum of one suffers from cystic fibrosis but overcame the odds to run the Dublin marathon in October in a time of 3:45:56. A clearly delighted Whearity who received a huge cheer from the crowd, said, “Even through the training was hard, I loved every minute if it.”

A Youth award went to Belfast teenager Dominic Burns. This 17-year-old climber has been punching above his weight for several years now on the domestic and international scene. In 2014 won the Senior Irish Bouldering and the Senior Irish Lead Climbing Championships. He also won the Junior Irish Bouldering Championship and the Junior Irish Lead Climbing Championship as well as coming fourth at the British Bouldering Championships and the IFSC European Youth Cup. He came 27th at the IFSC Bouldering World Championships in Munich. Burns said, “It’s really great to see more people taking an interest in climbing.”

The Most Devoted to the Outdoor Scene went to ultra-runner John O’Regan (45). In 2014, the Dubliner won the Red Bull Wings for Life World Run in Killarney and finished second in the inaugural Tralee 100K just two weeks after running 227km in the Belfast 24-hour race. He is also the current National 24-hour Champion. A level 2 athletics coach, John also trained 30 first-time marathon runners at Le Cheile Leixlip AC and also ran the half marathon and Dublin marathon as an official pacer. He was advisor and online coach for Mark Pollock’s Run in the Dark, organised the crew behind the Bumbleance charity push and also helped coach Sinead Kane, the first blind Irish female to complete the Dublin Marathon in October. He is also actively involved in the local Parkrun and coaches runners in Athletic Ireland’s Fit4Life programme.

An understated O’Regan said, “We don’t do these things to get awards but it’s nice all the same.”

Conor Lavelle who won the award for Best Breakthrough Performance.

The Breakthrough Achievement Award for 2014 went to Dublin mountain biker

Conor Lavelle (17). He came third from, in the Enduro World Series junior category.

Awards were also presented for the Best Outdoor Escape, Film, Event and Photo. The Escape award went to Pure Magic Achill, a kitesurfing and water sports lodge in Co Mayo. The Film award went to Deirdre Mullins for her short film, Going the Distance about her father Maurice (see above). Best Event was the Helly Hansen Killarney Adventure Race and Best Photo went to James Jones for his picture of Ballyhass Wakeboarding Park.

Commenting on the awards, Jacinta Doolan, Director of Trident Holiday Homes said: “For such a small country, Ireland really is a big hitter when it comes to adventure. It is so humbling seeing people do such incredible things. The mind boggles.”

Matt Roffe of Cotswold Outdoor, stated, “It was great to support such an awe-inspiring community – the people that, sometimes against the odds, go the extra distance and pull off extraordinary achievements. When Outsider first got in touch I was stirred by the amazing stories of Maurice Mullins and Tony Mangan, both very different achievements but sharing the same driven adventure spirit. Total outdoors magic.” 

The Best Outdoor Event award went to Ollie Kirwan from Elite Events which runs the Helly Hansen Killarney Adventure Race.

Roisin Finlay, editor of Outsider magazine, added, “Everyday I hear about Irish people doing extraordinary things. Just when you think the bar cannot be pushed any further, somebody will do something that is completely incomprehensible like Tony Mangan running around the world or Liam Delahunty competing in all of those races when he has such health challenges. Ireland is really leading the way for adventurers around the world and at Outsider we really wanted to acknowledged that.

We were incredibly lucky to receive such great support from Trident Holiday Homes, Cotswold Outdoor and Great Outdoors which meant we could make it a night to remember.”

  

The event took place on Thursday 29 January at Generator, Smithfield, Dublin 7.

Outsider People of the Year Awards 2014 Winner

I’m delighted to be named the ‘Most Devoted to the Outdoors’ at the third annual Outsider magazine awards held recently in Dublin. The long list of nominees read like a who’s who on the Irish Outdoor scene and to be even listed amongst such names was an honour. Ultra Running seemed to do quite well on the night with the overall title of ‘Outsider of the Year 2014’ going to Tony Mangan for his mind boggling and epic World Run. The ‘Lifetime Achievement’ award went to Maurice Mullins the man responsible for bringing the first Triathlon and Ultra Marathon to Ireland and Maurice’s daughter Deirdre Mullins won the award for ‘Best Film’ based on the life of Maurice.

Maurice Mullins, Tony Mangan, John O'Regan.

 Thanks to Outsider Magazine for holding the awards night and creating an opportunity to learn from others while making new friends and thanks to my main sponsor Great Outdoors for believing in me from the beginning. We don’t do what we do to win awards but when it happens it’s appreciated and even more so when it celebrates your lifestyle and in the words of Tom Peters, ‘celebrate what you want to see more of’.

Going the Distance / Best Film winner at the Outsider Awards

Going the Distance is an award-winning short documentary about a running-addict who has been diagnosed with cancer. Maurice Mullins was once an ultra distance runner and is now undergoing chemotherapy. His disease has meant that he has lost his lifelong passion, but his determination to compete again in a sport that he loves drives him to face his darkest days with optimism and humour. Maurice’s story is a simple one - he just wants to run again. Through this straight narrative the film explores how he draws parallels between his years of sports training to how he copes with undergoing chemotherapy. The film brings the viewer face to face with the question of how we will respond when confronted with adversity, with our own mortality and with the loss of our greatest love or passion. The filmmaker is Maurice’s daughter and in just 12 minutes the audience gets a glimpse of many sides of the one man; the runner, the philosopher, the father, the friend and the entertainer. Going the Distance Winner of the Audience Award at Dingle International Film Festival 2013 Official Selection at Stranger than Fiction Documentary Film Festival 2013 Director: Deirdre Mullins Twitter: @DeirdreMullins Producer- Bobby McCormack Lighting Camerapersons -Eavan Ryan and Naomi Cahen Sound Recordist and Edit Assistants - Patricia Gonzalez and Shane O'Connor Editor - Tristan Hutchinson You can read an interview with Deirdre and Maurice Mullins in the Irish Times here; irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/going-the-distance-the-ironman-who-just-keeps-moving-1.1692047

24 hour World Championships Team Ireland Announced for 2015.

Eoin Keith, Eddie Gallen, John O'Regan.

The 24-hour World Championships  for 2015 will take place in Turin, Italy on April 11th and 12th.  The Irish team selected for this event will include participants in both male and female races.

Women's Team

Ruthann Sheahan announced herself on the global scene with a battling performance in 2012 when her 229km achieved 7th place in the World Champs and 5th place in Europe.  She backed up that form last year when winning the Irish title in a very impressive 225km.  Ruthann will seek to be very competitive in Turin.

Susan McCartney will be making her international debut over 24 hours in Turin.  She has shown impressive form in the build up to these championships and will seek to underpin these performances at the highest level.

Men's Team

Eddie Gallen (Captain) based in Madrid is probably the most experienced member of the team. Eddie performed well in last year’s national championship with a new track PB of 227km and will be seeking to reach that level again.

John O’Regan is a three time Irish 24 Hour champion who recorded a strong performance in this year’s Irish 24 Hour race.  He is an experienced international competitor and will hope to better his 33rd place in the 2012 World Champs.

Eoin Keith will seek to build on his strong performance last year when he recorded 234km to earn 25th place in the World and top 15 in the European champs.  Eoin underlined his form later in the year when he established a new 24 Hour track record of 244km in winning the Irish Championships.

  

Support Crew:

John Collins (Team Manager)

Kevin Belton (Support & Physical Therapist)

Gary Mc Conville (Support & Physical Therapist)

Athletics Ireland.

Records Tumble at 24-Hour Irish Champs Monday, July 22nd, 2013

Monday, July 22nd, 2013

By any measure of endurance it was extraordinary at the Mary Peters’ track in Belfast at the week-end as the records tumbled.

There were two national records and 5 new track records in the 24-hour race where no fewer than 22 runners topped the 100 miles mark.And, there were also records in the 24-hour relay and the 12-hour race.

The 24-hour was won by Cork man Eoin Keith,44 ,who set new figures of 152 miles(245kms).This broke his own Irish record set in London in 2008 by some 4 miles.Keith had gone through the 100 mile mark in 1 5hrs and 26mins breaking that record in the process.

Right behind him Ruthann Sheahan,38, was scattering records before her like confetti. Sheahan, from Leap Village in west Cork , in finishing second overall, did not so much beat the Irish record as demolish it.

She went past the best mark of 113 miles after just 18 hours and 48 mins and, despite the soaring temperatures, went on to record a distance of 140 miles(225kms) which will surely stand in the record books for a long,long time.

In a race started by Dame Mary Peters,it was the first national records to be registered on the reopened track indicating that even for the ultra runners - this is a venue designed for pushing the bar ever higher!

Behind Keith and Sheahan, two-time champion John O’Regan,44 from Leixlip in Kildare put up the bravest of defences of his title to finish third - his 137 miles(221kms) improving the all-comers track record he had set two years ago by 5 miles with the ever-consistent Belfast ultra-man,Madrid-based Eddie Gallen,50, also bettering the all-comers with a new PB of 134 miles(215kms).

And, there was a great family story behind them with Susan McCartney,36 from Belfast but currently living in Berkshire, posting remarkable new PB figures.Two years ago McCartney had collapsed on the track -this time she posted 122 miles(197kms) to take runner-up in the Irish Champs with, in a great battle,her brother Tim Brownlee just behind her in sixth with 117 miles(189kms).

In the 24-Hour Relay, Donadea Runners from Kildare, successfully defended their title improving their record by 4 miles to 185 miles(299kms) for the two men,two women combination each running three stints of 2 hours.

And, Aidan Blake,33, from Ballinteer in Dublin set new best figures in winning the 12-hour race covering a distance of 72 miles.

Even, Belfast’s Lord Mayor Mairtin O Muilleoir who,with Energia, sponsored the race, got in on the act joining the runners for the last hour.

Race Director Ed Smith says: “ The new track bore witness to the best ultra running ever seen in Ireland.There is a lot of blood,sweat and tears left behind but the result is a phenomenal roll-call of records and endeavour.”

Mens Irish Championship: 1. E.Keith 245kms.2.J.O’Regan 221kms.3.E.Gallen 215kms.
Womens Irish Championsip: 1.R.Sheahan 226kms.2.S.McCartney 197kms.3.D.McLoughlin 166kms.