IAU 100km 2005 results
From AURA
- 12th - Jonathan Blake - 7:08:57
- 27th - Mike Wheatley - 7:36:33
- 58th - Mark Hutchinson - 9:08:38
Comments from Jonathan Blake:
The conditions were hot with an occasional head wind (the hoped for tailwind never eventuated) and the last 20km proved telling.
Michael Wheatley - 27th in 7:36:33 which was only 4 minutes outside his best time, and a top performance to put it together when it mattered at the Worlds. History shows that Mike knows how to rise to the occasion and yet again that was the case. He also did a top job as skipper and had a few words to say to Mark when his injury flared that no doubt helped him to decide to hobble on.
Mark Hutchison - 58th in 9:08:38 He went through 50km in just under 3:30 before his quad injury flared up and the back half became a matter of just completing the course to ensure a team result. Mark had been working on his quad from the time we arrived in Japan, and in other circumstances may have withdrawn before the start. As the "gun" runner of the team with a sub 2:20 marathon background, this was a fantastic commitment to the team to complete the course in a time that he would have been hoping to better by more than 2 hours.
Jo Blake - 12th in 7:08:57 I'd had a really solid build up and felt confident to go out at a solid pace and back myself to hold on. I ran very even splits over the first 50kms to go through in 3:25:55 which was about 18 minutes fatser than I'd previously taken out the first 50 of a 100km race, so it was new territory. I worked on maintaining form as best as possible in the balance of the race and had a struggle between 70 and 80km when I was doing it tough but pulled it together over the last 20km and brought them home strong for what was personally a thrilling finish in such company.
The team ended up 8th which was a solid follow up to last year's 4th. If Mark had have had the opportunity to perform to his ability the team would have been in the mix for 4th again.
The race had just under 2,500 starters which is amazing when we consider we're lucky to get 2 dozen for a 100km race in Australia. The atmosphere and organisation was just fantastic to be a part of. On the day the conditions were hot with none of the tailwind we believed would be present and if anything a mild headwind. There were plenty of withdrawals when things got tough and it does get tough in the backhalf where you run into the only hills on the course and have a physically and mentally tough 18km out and back stretch from the 80km mark which tended to find out those who'd spent too much in the early parts. Personally I moved up from 21st to 12th during that time.
Individually, and as a team we are able to keep things in perspective and we realise that there were any number of runners who didn't run the Worlds because they ran Comrades. That however does not need to detract from the performances. Australia is on the move in the 100km sphere, and if we can keep Dave injury free for next year, just watch out.
