Double win for England at the Anglo-Celtic Plate 100k

In sunny Limerick, Ireland, the annual Anglo-Celtic Plate 100k team competition saw England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Northern Ireland compete against each other in what was also the British 100k Championships.

The weather was cold, but clear at the start on the gravel paths of Limerick University sports fields. The race started as any ultramarathon does, with a close pack in the men’s and women’s competition, although Dan Rothwell of Wales took an early lead ahead of the group.

Katie Young (Fulham Running Club, Neil Bryant) and Nicole Funnell (Springfield Striders, Edwina Sutton) worked together at the front of the women’s race, ticking laps away as if out on a Sunday long run together and this was the case for around 90km of the event. Fiona Cook (West Cheshire AC) joined them for around 25km but then ran her own pace, with Sophie Power (Guildford and Godalming AC, Edwina Sutton) pacing smart from the start.

In the latter stages it was Young who pushed ahead, but only barely, and both athletes secured the automatic selection spots for the World 100k Championships in Spain this September with 7:50:34 and 7:51:42 respectively. Cook was fifth in 8:27:11 to secure the team gold and Power was seventh just behind with 8:34:10 in a dominant team performance.

When Dan Rothwell stepped off the course around 60km the lead pack behind started battling for the win, with Joe Turner pushing into the lead until around 80km until he had to stop due to problems with the temperatures. At this point Dave Barratt (Salford Harriers) was lapping quicker than anyone in the field and it wasn’t long before he overtook Thomas Almond, who was in the British Championships open race and finished an excellent second in 6:33:29.

David Barratt was flying when he crossed the line in 6:31:04 and now sits fifth fastest on the UK all-time rankings. Hugh Tibbs (Cambridge Harriers) was next home in 6:42:29 in fourth, and Gary Marshall (Ryde Harriers, Geoff Watkin) battled home in 7:40:27 to secure the team gold for England on a challenging day for the Isle of Wight runner.

Results

Team results are calculated from cumulative time off three team athletes.

Men

1: England
2: Northern Ireland
3: Ireland

Women

1: England
2: Scotland
3: Ireland

Photos by John O’Regan
More on his Facebook page