John Byrne: brilliant 5th in World Trophy 50k (updated)

Brilliant news from Italy:  John Byrne, representing Ireland finished in 5th place in the IAU World Trophy 50k race in Italy on Sat morning (20 Oct). In very hot conditions and a strong sea breeze finishing times were down. Participants completed 8 laps of the 6.25k ‘Lungo il Mare’ course at the coastal towns of Vallecrosia- Bordigheria. The race was won by British athlete Steven Way in 02:53:41, as the top three broke 3 hours. John finished in 03:09:54, a brilliant effort by Mayo AC’s ultra man.  In the early stages he ran in group of four in eighth place, including Daniel Oralek (Czech)  a former World 100k winner and ultra icon. As the temperature hit 25c he moved into 6th place after 16 miles, and 5th after 20. “It was a battle for survival from then on”, said John. Although he  dropped back to 6th with 4 to go,  a typical gritty finish by the Straide man saw him gain 5th again which he sustained to the line after 31.1 miles of running.  “He’s exhausted, but over the moon” was his number one supporter Sarah Syron’s message. ” I’m so proud of John”, she added and rightly so, as we all are. Well done, John!

1 Steven Way – GBR – 02:53:41
2 Collen Makaza – ZIM – 02:57:49
3 Paul Martelletti – NZL – 02:58:18
4 Joseph Gray – USA – 03:09:47
5 John Byrne – IRL – 03:09:54
6 Dave Mitchinson – GBR – 03:10:54

Full Race results and IAU report on this link: http://www.iau-ultramarathon.org/