IAU 50km World Trophy Final – 31 October 2014 – Doha, Qatar

The International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU) is pleased to bring the IAU 50km World Trophy Final to Doha, Qatar.

This is the first time Qatar is hosting a major IAU competition. Thirty eight selected athletes will be toeing at the start line on 31st October. Athletes have been selected from selection races around the world based on qualifiers and wild card spots.

History of the IAU

The International Association of Ultrarunners came into existence in 1984. Today there are more than a thousand ultra races around the world with more than a hundred thousand ultra runners. It is no more an unrealistic event.

The IAAF granted its patronage to the IAU in 1988 and the 100km race became a standard distance recognized by the Federation. Today IAU organizes 4 major events: 100 km World Championship, 24 Hour World Championship, The Trail World Championship and the 50 km World Trophy Final. IAU is also a strong supporter of the Commonwealth Championships.

This is in addition to the IAU labels that are attached to several races around the world.
With more than 75 federations in its current membership and thousand of elite athletes having participated in its events over the years, IAU has respectfully upheld its mandate of developing the sport of ultrarunning.

While it continues to serve the ultrarunning community, the IAU is looking forward to the next 30 years as it envisions reaching its 50th Anniversary.

10th IAU 50km World Trophy Final (Doha, Qatar)

The 10th IAU 50km World Trophy Final will take place on 31st October 2014 in Doha, Qatar. Phil Anthony (GBR) and Emily Harrison (USA) are the top runners in the field this year.

The 10th IAU 50km World Trophy Final takes place on 31st October in Doha, Qatar. The tenth and the final version of this IAU Series of events will be held on Aspire Grounds, a sports city in the heart of Doha, taking athletes through the state of the art sports facilities here in the Gulf country.

This is the first time, since the inception of IAU, that the ultrarunning association is bringing its major competition to the Middle East. Given the popularity of the 50km distance, next year we will be introducing the 50km World Championships, and will be hosted in Doha from 2015-2017.

The 50km Series ran over two years (2013-2014) and had 21 races in its folds encompassing qualifications from Australia through to Japan, Germany and Canada. In the end we have 38 athletes in total representing 17 countries which is a new record for the Trophy Final.

Qualifications were based on men and women running under 3hr 20min and 3hr 50min
respectively. In case of open spots, wild cards were issued, based on running performances in marathons and longer distances.

In the men’s field, Phil Anthony (GBR) has posted the fastest time to be the top qualifier. His time of 2:56:23 surpasses 2010 champion Collen Makaza (ZIM) by about 90 seconds who ran 2:57:49. Paul Martelletti (GBR) completes the top 3 running 2:58:18 at his qualifier. Former champion from Assen, Kiplagat Biwott (KEN) and multiple podium finisher, Michael Wardian (USA) are also in the field.

In the women’s field, rising US start Emily Harrison leads the women’s field with a time of 3:15:01. Tina Major (AUS) has had a good season and has run 3:35:08 to be the second qualifier and former 100km world champion, Marina Zhalybina (RUS) gets into the top 3 with a 3:35:17 in the series. Jo Zakrzewski (GBR) fresh from her marathon run at the Commonwealth Games and Irina Antrapova (RUS), current silver medalist from the 100km world championships are at the start line as well.

The race starts at 6:30pm (Doha Time) on Friday and will take the athletes through a 5km fairly flat loop. The course has been measured by an A-measurer. In addition to winning the Trophy Final, athletes will be vying to share from a total prize pool of $10,000 (distributed amongst the top athletes in male and female divisions) which has been posted by the Aspire Zone Foundation.

Top Men:
1) Paul Anthony GBR 2:56:23
2) Collen Makaza ZIM 2:57:49
3) Paul Martelletti NZL 2:58:18
4) Gary O’Hanlon IRL 2:59:19
5) Michael Wardian USA 2:59:32

Top Women:
1) Emily Harrison USA 3:15:01
2) Tina Major AUS 3:35:08
3) Marina Zhalybina GBR 3:35:17
4) Rita Nordsveen NOR 3:35:53
5) Mai Fujisawa JPN 3:38:52

Future of the Championship

The 50km World Trophy Final brings a unique dimension to the IAU international calendar. Athletes qualify in races around the world and then line up against the very best in the world at one Finale event.

The race series and the Trophy Final have proven to us that 50km is a popular event. It provides us as the gateway between the marathon and the ultrarunning world. The notion has resonated over the years and has been evident by the steady increase in our athletes qualifying for this event.

Next year we are introducing the 50km World Championships to the IAU calendar. This will
give all member federations an opportunity (like our other world championships) to send athletes to the event and compete on an international level.

The future of the sport and the championship looks very bright. We hope that 50km world championship will further elevate the popularity of the sport and will welcome more federations and athletes to the sport of ultrarunning.

 
Nadeem Khan
IAU Director of Communications
nadeem.khan@iau-ultramarathon.org
+1-716-392-6657