PARES FINDS THE GOING TOUGH
Buckley's John Pares had to muster every ounce of strength and determination to finish in the European and World 24-hour championships in Steenberg, Netherlands, at the weekend.
The Commonwealth champion suffered what he described as "a torrid 24 time", which makes his performance all the more creditable.
He summarised his experience as follows: "A good 8 hours, followed by an ok 4 hours, then a horrid 6 hours including heavy rain, strong winds and a touch of hypothermia.
"After two hours in the warm I went back out for a really good last 6 hours."
Despite his lengthy break John, who covered 244.335k in Llandudno in 2011, chalked up 203.175k, giving him 89th place in the European championships and 116th in the world.
Andy Smith of the GB team management was full of praise for John's performance.
"His ability to dig deep and come back out for the team shows his true spirit and determination," he said.
"It is not necessarily the distance one runs in an ultra race but the way in which you can dig deep into your reserves and over-ride the pain to achieve greatness which impresses.
"Many people are talented at something but one's ability to push yourself when things don't go according to plan shows true greatness."
Emily Gelder (Dulwich) from Llandrindod Wells, who won last year's Snowdonia Marathon, turned in another consistent performance, covering 212.213k in 58th place.
The world championship was won by American Jon Olsen with 269.675k, while Japan's Mami Kudu set a new women's world record of 252.205, beating the record set in Llandudno by England's Lizzie Hawker.
Buckley's John Pares had to muster every ounce of strength and determination to finish in the European and World 24-hour championships in Steenberg, Netherlands, at the weekend.
The Commonwealth champion suffered what he described as "a torrid 24 time", which makes his performance all the more creditable.
He summarised his experience as follows: "A good 8 hours, followed by an ok 4 hours, then a horrid 6 hours including heavy rain, strong winds and a touch of hypothermia.
"After two hours in the warm I went back out for a really good last 6 hours."
Despite his lengthy break John, who covered 244.335k in Llandudno in 2011, chalked up 203.175k, giving him 89th place in the European championships and 116th in the world.
Andy Smith of the GB team management was full of praise for John's performance.
"His ability to dig deep and come back out for the team shows his true spirit and determination," he said.
"It is not necessarily the distance one runs in an ultra race but the way in which you can dig deep into your reserves and over-ride the pain to achieve greatness which impresses.
"Many people are talented at something but one's ability to push yourself when things don't go according to plan shows true greatness."
Emily Gelder (Dulwich) from Llandrindod Wells, who won last year's Snowdonia Marathon, turned in another consistent performance, covering 212.213k in 58th place.
The world championship was won by American Jon Olsen with 269.675k, while Japan's Mami Kudu set a new women's world record of 252.205, beating the record set in Llandudno by England's Lizzie Hawker.
Amazing stuff.
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