John Byrne runs in World Trophy 50k

Going the distance has never been a problem for John Byrne. Mayo AC’s ultra marathon athlete is heading to Italy for the second time this year.
In April the Straide man finished 33rd in the IAU World 100k championships held near Milan. This time he represents Ireland in the IAU World 50k Trophy which takes place on Saturday 21st October. It will be his sixth time to wear the Irish vest. The race location is the coastal towns of Vallecrosia and Bordighera in north west Italy.
The course is described as ‘Lungo il Mare’  – along the sea, a 6.25 kilometres stretch of promenade, traffic free, no parking on day of race, flat as a pizza margherita, which the competitors repeat 8 times.
Participating countries are each sending one man and one woman to Italy, all having qualified though a recognised national 50k event. John qualified by winning the Irish 50k championships at Donadea in February in 3hrs 07:54. In his first 50k race at the World Trophy ( Galway, 2010) he finished 17th in 3:19:00. In addition, this race incorporates the Italian 50k championships which will ensure a few hundred will line up at the start. John Byrne has shown that he is in great shape for Italy. He has the experience now to know what type of ultra training suits him and to rely more on quality than quantity. He won a bronze medal in the National Half marathon six weeks ago in a fast 71:05, and followed it with a good win over 8k a week later in 26:04. Sarah Syron has her own preparation done ahead of Dublin Marathon a week later and will have an ideal tapering break as she supports John at the event. Buona fortuna e buon viaggio. Good luck and safe journey.