Sarah Webster and Dougie Selman lead the way in Bangalore this weekend but will face tough international opposition
The 32nd round of the IAU 100km World Championships will take place on Saturday (December 7) in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru.
The event will also include the Masters Association World Championship.
A team of 10 athletes – four men and six women – will represent Great Britain and Northern Ireland with a total of 221 athletes from 31 countries.
The MB team features many of the athletes who performed well at the Sri Chinmoy 100km in Perth in March.
The women’s team is led by Sarah Webster of the Isle of Man, who set a European record of 7:03:49 when she won the trial in Perth, and will be supported by Melissa Gibson and Julia Davies, who were second and third in Perth, plus Caroline Turner.
The GB men are led by Edinburgh’s Dougie Selman and Brighton’s James Turner, who both had a close race in Perth, with Selman winning by 10 seconds in 6:34:38.They are joined by Perth in third, fourth and fifth places: Joe Turner, Chris Richardson and Alex Milne, plus the 2023 Great Britain 100km champion Jarlath McKenna.
Dougie Selman (Rob Sarah)
Conditions in Bengaluru will be hot and humid and the course is around the Bengaluru University of Agricultural Sciences with a loop of around 5km where the runners complete 20 laps.
Event information, along with a full entry list, can be found on the IAM website here.
In the women’s race, France’s Florian Hott aims to defend the title she won at the last round of the championships in Berlin in 2022. The French team also includes Marie-Ange Brumello, who recorded the fastest time for a woman in 2024 6:56:54 in Steenwerk, France.
Britain’s Webster should also be in contention for the podium as she has experience running in India at last year’s IAU 50km championships, where she won bronze.
The U.S. has Courtney Olsen on the team.Olsen was fourth in Berlin in 2022 and recently set a world best 50 mile time of 5:31:56 in the U.S.’s last race at Tunnel Hill.
The bronze medal winner of Berlin, Irish Caitriona Jennings is also on the starting list.
Miho Nakata (IAU)
Japan looks set to have a strong team led by Miho Nakata, the IAU world 24-hour champion from 2023, who was sixth at the last IAU 100km championships in Berlin.
On paper, Japan 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 are four of the fastest 100km runners in 2024.
France’s Guillaume Ruel, fifth in recent championships and with the second-fastest 100km time in 2024, should also be in contention for the podium.
Also in contention will be the United States men’s team, which includes Charles Lawrence, who set the world best time in the 50 mile in November 2023.
Sweden’s boys, led by Olli Mejir, fifth in the 2024 rankings, and Elov Olsen, seventh in Berlin, should also be contenders for team medals.
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