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Top Russian runners eye Trans Australia Footrace

The athletes are:

• Konstantin Santalov, three times world 100Km champion (1992, 1993 and 1996) and European 100Km champion in 1993. He is also a four-time Russian 100 Km Run champion (1993, 1994, 1996 and 1998), and he has won more than 40 ultra races in his career. He has also won the Barcelona-Madrid, Rio de Janeiro-Santos, Vienna-Budapest and Kaluga-Pushkin multi-day races. His best 100Km time is 6:15:17. His best 24-hour distance is 260.750 kilometres.
• Anatoily Kruglikov, the 1999 Russian 100km champion (6:36), six times Russian 24-hour champion, winner of the Tasmanian multi-day run in 1994, when he defeated Yiannis Kouros. He is also listed as "vice-champion" of Vienna-Budapest multi-day Run 2000.
• Andrey Derxen, three-time winner of the Marathon de Sables multi-day run in the Sahara Desert and also a triple "vice-champion" of the Vienna-Budapest multi-day run. He has also won the Sakhalin Island multi-day run and Barcelona to Madrid multi-day run.

"We would like to suggest the three most powerful Russian ultra runners to take part in the Trans Australian Ultramarathon," Valeriy Koulichenko, chief team coach of the Russian Athletics Association has written in a letter to Trans Australia race director Bernie Farmer. "Thus, being certain of the physical capacities of our runners to overcome the 65-day long race you host, we are absolutely sure their presence would adorn your outstanding ultramarathon. Thank you in advance for Your time and trouble."

Jesse Dale Riley, race manager, said he is anxious to finalize arrangements with the Russian delegation as soon as possible and is optimistic that details can be worked out.

"Even Kourous may not be able to handle Kurglikov," Riley said. "He wasn't able to show a clear ability to outrun Kruglikov in Tasmania in 1994. That race was about 90km a day for a week. All bets would this be off in terms of handicapping the Trans Australia Race if these runners enter."

Riley said the Russian contingent would add greatly to the stature of the race. "As a three time world 100Km champion, Santalov has the speed to beat anyone in the field. Kruglikov has the experience of having already beaten Kouros in a stage race. "And Derxten has the experience of having won the Marathon des Sables three times. So he is a desert specialist. And this will be the longest desert race in the world. The Trans Australia has far more desert than any other event."

Riley said organizers are receiving good support from sponsors and from local officials in regions along the race route. "We've received especially good support from the Snowy Mountains region, a high altitude glacial region just south of Canberra, near the finish. The tourism people there are making this a showcase of summer tourist season. So we're going to bring to the public a real showcase of Australian alpine scenery."

As a result of the Russian interest in the race, Riley said the size of the field may be increased from a cap of 25 of the best runners in the world to 30 or 35 runners.

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