IAU Athlete Interviews & News

Satu Lipiäinen of Finland talks to the IAU about her recent 12hr World Record. You can follow Satu on Instagram @satulipiainen

Cillian Flemming will be representing Ireland in the World Mountain and Trail Championships 2023. Irish Mountain Running Association Outsider Magazine The Kerry Way Ultra

Virginia is an ultra-distance runner on road and trail. Born in Argentina, she has lived in Italy since she was 20, and represents Italy in endurance events. Virginia has achieved 15 years of racing ultra marathons, with almost 8 000 km covered during nearly 80 races. Some highlights from her international races that she completed: IAU World Championship participations: 2007 IAU WC 24h Drummondville, 176km 2009 IAU WC 24h Bergamo, 183km (silver medal Team Italy) 2009 IAU WC Serre Chevalier, 68km 2010 IAU WC 24h Brive, 190km 2012 IAU WC 24h Katowice, 189km 2013 IAU WC 24h Steenberger 209.6km 2015 IAU WC Maxi Race du Lac d'Annecy 84km 5300+ (bronze medal Team Italy) 2016 IAU WC Trans Peneda-Geres 85km 2017 IAU WC 24h Belfast, 182km Ultra-trail Races best results: 2006-2010-2014-2016 four times winner of Cro-magnon Trail 112km 6000+ 2006 1st woman Porte di Pietra 71km 4200+ 2007 5th woman UTMB 168km 8200+ 2014 3rd woman Maxi Race du Lac d'Annecy 84km 5300+ 2015 1st woman Ultra-Trail des Balcons d'Azur 80km 3700+ 2016 1st woman Gran Trail Orobie 70km 4500+ 2016 9th woman CCC 101km 6000+ 2017 1st woman Maremontana Trail 63km 4000+ 2017 1st woman Porte di Pietra 71km 4200+ Most important ultramarathon participation: 2014 12h San Pedro (Argentina), 114km 2015 24h Barcelona, 207km 2016 finisher of Spartathlon 246km 32:46 2017 finisher of Spartathlon 246km 31:39 2018 finisher of Spartathlon 246km 34:48

Nadeem Khan the IAU President in conversation with Jacek Bedowski - IAU Director of Communication on the night before the IAU 24hr European Championships 2022 in Verona Italy. Reflecting on a discussion we had in Albi at the 24hr World Championships back in 2019 and talking about the future for the IAU. For further information on the IAU event and news you can visit our website at www.iau-ultramarathon.org

Therese did her first Ultra marathon back in 2013 which was the Stolkholm 50K and since then she has competed at a variety of distances including time based races. In 2014 she took part in the Bislett 24hr race in Norway and covered a distance of 203.549Km and the following year she represented Norway 24 hour European championships in Torino Italy. Jump forward to 2021 and Therese took part in the Bislett 24 hour race once again but this time she covered a distance of 261.170Km and set a new European Record. This distance is the third best distance covered for a Female in a 24hr race and puts her second on the list to Camille Herron who holds the current IAU World Record for 24hrs which stands at 270.116Km set in Albi France at the World Championships 2019.

Associate Professor Peter van Wijngaarden is an ophthalmologist and medical scientist with research interests in diabetic retinopathy, Alzheimer's disease and retinal imaging biomarker discovery. He has research experience in retinal vascular biology and central nervous system regeneration. In his spare time he competes in Ultra Running and has represented The Netherlands at European and World Championships.

This episode is an interview with Dr Lee who is the winner of the Taipei ultra-marathon 48h race 2021.  His winning performance is also a new record for Taiwan and this interview was an opportunity to highlight the development of ultra running in Asia.  

Jacek Bedowski the IAU Director of Communications talks about the successful Global Solidarity Run weekend 2021 and the plans for next year.

Megan qualified for Team USA by winning the North Coast 24 Hour National Championships with a distance of 226.217Km (140.569 Miles) in Cleveland on September 22,2018. She went on to compete in the IAU 24 Hour world Championships in Albi, France. Megan is also ranked number 10 on the US women’s all time list for 100 miles with an impressive time of 14:50.28 You can follow Megan’s journey by checking out her blog www.runningoffthebeatenpath.wordpress.com and you can follow her on Instagram @run.megan.avocado

Paula Wright from Finland but living in Ireland was the Athletics Ireland 24hr Champion 2019 and in the same year she represented her home country of Finland in the 24hr World Championships in Albi, France. Paula has completed over 100 Marathons and would be a familiar face at races throughout Ireland. You can follow Paula on Instagram @paulawright_runner

Priyanka Bhatt from Mumbai, India represented her country in the 24 hr World Championships in Albi, France 2019.  Like many Ultra Runners she was a late starter but on completion of her first 50K race she knew that she had found what she was looking for.   Priyanka has a passion for the sport and this comes through in her interview where she also mentions her other interests including Yoga & Travelling. You can follow Priyanka on Instagram @pribhatt29

IAU Virtual Global Solidarity Weekend 20–21 March 2021 – invitation The Global Solidarity Run was a resounding success last year. The global community has gone through several hardships last year. However, given the uphill challenge, the ultra community has stepped up and found ways to stay active and motivated. We wanted to highlight this and have designated the third weekend of March as the IAU Global Solidarity Weekend.

Rolando Espina represented The Philippines in the IAU 24 hour World Championships 2017 in Belfast, Ireland. He currently holds the National 24hr record with a distance of 218.092Km and holds the course record for the 250Km Manila to Baguio race in The Philippines. He has completed numerous races of 100 Miles or long and has finished the Spartathlon 4 times. Outside of running Ronaldo has worked as an ICU Nurse in Ireland for the past 19 years.

Caitriona Jennings is the Irish National 50K Record Holder with a time of 3:19.50. Caitriona has represented Ireland in the Marathon at the 2012 London Olympics and has also represented Ireland in the 50K World Championships with a 4th place finish in Qatar 2015 and a 7th place finish in Brasov 2019. Caitriona also finished 3rd in the 2019 Comrades Marathon with a time of 6:24.12. Instagram: @jenningscaitriona

Camille Herron is an American ultramarathon runner. She is the first athlete to win all three of the IAU's 50K, 100K, and 24 Hour World Championships. Camille holds the World Best performances at the following distances and surfaces: 50 miles (80 km) Road 5h38min41s. 6:46 per mile (4:12 per km) 100 miles (160 km) Road/Trail 12h42min40s. 7:37 per mile (4:43 per km) 100 miles (160 km) Track (24Hr split) 13h25min00s. 8:03 per mile (5:00 per km) 12 Hours Road (24Hr split) 90.857 miles (146.220 km) 7:55 per mile (4:55 per km) 12 Hours Track 92.66 miles (149.12 km) 7:46 per mile (4:49 per km) 24 Hours Road 270.116 kilometres (167.842 mi) 8:35 per mile (5:20 per km) 24 Hours Track 262.192 kilometres (162.919 mi) 8:50 per mile (5:30 per km) www.runwithcamille.com

Eddie Gallen made his International debut at the IAU 24hr European Championships 2007 in Madrid, Spain. In the same year he took part in the IAU 24hr World Championships in Drummondville, Canada. Since then Eddie has take part in all the IAU 2hr World & European Championship. In this podcast Eddie talks about some of his ultra running experiences

The IAU President Nadeem Khan discussed the further development of ultra-running in different countries and regions. We asked Pablo Barnes (Argentina), Sunil Chainani (India), Josè Daniel Vaz Cabral (Cape Verde) and Mirsad Abdakovic (Bosnia and Herzegovina) to share their experiences, vision for next years. Podcast by John O’Regan and Jacek Bedkowski

Ernesto Silva was representing Team Uruguay at the IAU 50Km World Championships in Brasov, Romania.  He had travelled to the race alone and was self supported.  We got talking before the race and I thought his story to be quite interesting.  He agreed to take part in this interview and we met up after the race in the hotel during dinner.  We skipped dessert and went looking for a quiet location but had to settle for the only available room.  Hope you enjoy..

Jacek Bedowski in conversation with John O'Regan on the evening after the IAU 50Km World Championships 2019. IAU Communications Committee Chair Jacek Bedkowski, Director of Communication (POL) Members Lucas Alves (BRA) John O´Regan (IRL) Frank Kuo (TPE) Wayne Botha (NZL) Linda Doke (RSA) Shibani Gharat (IND)

Paul Martelletti is a New Zealand marathoner and ultra-marathoner. His notable victories in 2015 included the Greater Manchester Marathon,Bath Half Marathon, Wokingham Half Marathon and Watford Half Marathon.In 2014 Martelletti won the Chelmsford Park Marathon and the Windsor Half Marathon.   He also represented Great Britain at the 2014 IAU 100 km World Championships in Doha, Qatar. In 2016, Martelletti claimed victory at the Brighton Half Marathon for the fourth successive year. Other Victories In April 2015, Paul Martelletti ran the quickest ever marathon by someone dressed as a superhero at Sunday’s Virgin Money London Marathon. Initially clocking 2:30:12, Martelletti’s time was later adjusted from gun to chip time meaning he managed his target of breaking 2:30 with 2:29:57. In 2014 he won the UK leg of the inaugural Red Bull Wings for Life race, where he outran a chaser car for 69.37km to place 5th in the global rankings.  In this episode Jo Zakrzewski chats to Paul about his running journey, training and the strategy he applied during the IAU 50Km World Championships 2019 in Brasov, Romania.  Paul was part of the Team that finished in 3rd place to secure a Team Bronze. This podcast includes some unavoidable background noise because of the location used.

Dan Nash respresenting Team GB finished 3rd in the IAU 50Km World Championships 2019 in Brasov, Romania.  His time of 2:49.01 is a new national Record for the distance and as well as securing a bronze medal in the race his result also help his Team to win a Team Bronze.  Dan runs for Cardiff ACC and is also one of the club coaches.   In this episode Dan is interviewed by Joanna Zakrzewski, the British Team Manager.

Alyson Dixon from Great Britain won gold medal and set a new World Best Performance (currently under ratification process) for 50 km in an amazing time of 3:07:20. She improved on the 30 year old record set in 1989 by South Africa’s Frith van der Merwe 3:08:39. In this episode Alyson is in conversation with Joanna Zakrzewski, the British Team Manager.

Iraitz Arrospide - 50Km World Champion 2019.  This Race was held in Brasov, Romania on Sunday 01st September. You can follow Iraitz on Twitter @ArrospideIraitz

Jesper Olsen is the National Coach for the Danish Ultra Running Team.  From 1st January 2004 to 23rd October 2005 Jesper Olsen completed the first fully documented run around the world with 26232 km in total.  For more information on Jesper and his World Run you can visit his website at www.worldrun.org In this episode Nadeem Khan the IAU President is in conversation with Jesper on the day before the third IAU 50km World Championships (2019) in Brasov, Romania.