Sarah Webster and Dougie Selman lead the way in Bengalore this weekend but will face tough international opposition
The 32nd staging of the IAU World 100km Championships will take place on Saturday (Dec 7) in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru, writes Adrian Stott.
The event will also incorporate the World Masters Association Championships.
A team of 10 athletes, four men and six women, will represent Great Britain and Northern Ireland with a total of 221 athletes entered from 31 nations.
The GB team features many of the athletes who performed well in the trial, held within the Sri Chinmoy 100km race at Perth in March.
Sarah Webster, from the Isle of Man, leads the women’s team. She set a European record of 7:03:49 when winning the trial in Perth and will be backed up by Melissah Gibson and Julia Davis, who were second and third at Perth, plus Caroline Turner.
The GB men are led by Edinburgh’s Dougie Selman and James Turner from Brighton. The two had a close race in Perth, with Selman finally winning by 10 seconds in 6:34:28, to 6:34:38. They are joined by the third, fourth and fifth placers at Perth – Joe Turner, Chris Richardson and Alex Milne – plus 2023 UK 100km champion Jarlath McKenna.
Dougie Selman (Rob Sara)
Conditions in Bengaluru will be hot and humid and the course is around the University of Agricultural Sciences campus in Bengaluru, on an approximate 5km loop with runners covering 20 laps.
Information on the event, together with a full entry list can be found on the IAU website here.
In the women’s race, Floriane Hot from France aims to defend the title she won at the last edition of the championship in Berlin in 2022. Also in the French team is Marie-Ange Brumelot, who recorded the fastest female 100km time in the world for 2024 with 6:56:54 at Steenwerk in France in April.
Britain’s Webster should also be in podium contention as she has experience running in India at last year’s IAU 50km championships, where she took the bronze medal.
The United States has Courtney Olsen on their team. Olsen was fourth in Berlin in 2022 and recently recorded a world best time for 50 miles of 5:31:56 at the recent Tunnel Hill race in the USA.
The bronze medallist from Berlin, Ireland’s Caitriona Jennings, is also on the start list.
Miho Nakata (IAU)
Japan look to have a solid team led by Miho Nakata, the current IAU world 24-hour champion from 2023, who was sixth at the last IAU 100km championships in Berlin.
Japan, on paper, also has the strongest men’s team and should lead the challenge for individual and team medals.
Their team of Jumpei Yamaguchi, Tomoya Watanabe, Toru Somiya and Haruki Okayama have four of the top six fastest 100km runners for 2024.
Frenchman Guillaume Ruel, fifth in the last championships and with the second fastest 100km time for 2024, should also contend for the podium. With his fellow compatriots, they will be looking to challenge in the team standings as well.
The United States men’s team will also be in contention and they include Charles Lawrence, who set a world best time for 50 miles in November 2023.
Sweden’s men, led by Ollie Mejir, fifth in the 2024 rankings, and Elov Olssen, seventh in Berlin, should also be team medal contenders.Â
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