Ultra runners set for 2024 Anglo Celtic Plate

The Sri Chinmoy 100km and 50km utra races in Perth this weekend incorporate the UKA championships and the annual Anglo Celtic Plate Home Countries International

International ultra running is heading to Scotland again with the annual 100km Home International event – the Anglo Celtic Plate – in Perth on Sunday (March 24).

The event will feature the British and Scottish 100km road championships for 2024. In addition, there is an accompanying 50km distance, which incorporates the British and Scottish 50km road champs for this year. There are also open races at both distances. The races take place on a traffic-free loop course at the North Inch Park on the banks of the River Tay. The loop is measured at 2.381km and is known to produce some fast times.

As usual, this year’s race features teams from Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland & Ulster and Ireland. Scotland looks set to challenge England for the team competition in both the men’s and women’s events.

Five men and four women were originally selected for Scotland. The Scottish men’s team features Chris Richardson (Metro Aberdeen), Dougie Selman (Corstorphine), Nikki Johnstone (LG Nord Berlin), Henry Hart (Belgrave) and Stuart Paterson (Ochil HR).

For Richardson, it is a fourth ACP appearance, and he has proved to be a solid sub-7hr performer over 100km. Selman ran an impressive debut, finishing fifth in last year’s ACP in Northern Ireland. Following a marathon PB of 2:20:27 at Valencia in December, he has put in a solid training block. For Johnstone, Hart and Paterson, it will be their first 100km road event, although all have impressive marathon and ultra performances behind them in the last 12 months. Johnstone set a Scottish 50km road record last February, running 2:56:21. Paterson recorded fine wins at the Cairngorms Ultra, the Ochil Ultra 50 and the Glen Ogle 33 in 2023. Hart had a victory in Italy at the Strasimeno 58km.

The Scottish women’s team comprises Catherine Cowie (Portobello), Sheena Logan (Fife AC) and Jacqui MacIntyre (unattached). Sadly Amanda Woodrow (EAC) is a late withdrawal due to injury.

Cowie won the 55-mile Caterun Trail in 2023, which incorporated the Scottish Ultra Trail Championships, and more recently won December’s 50km West Lothian Shale Trail. MacIntyre has achieved podium finishes in the last two years on the trails at the Highland Fling, The Devil ‘o the Highlands and the 95-mile West Highland Way Race. Logan, has a solid endurance background with a marathon PB of 2:54:06, several Ironman Triathlons completed and was the first woman at November’s Glen Ogle 33 in sixth place overall

The England teams look strong on paper. They are led by the experienced Ollie Garrod (Belgrave) and backed up by Alex Milne (Hercules Wimbledon), who placed 15th at last year’s Comrades Marathon in South Africa, backing that up with a superb 2:51:25 50km performance in December. Michael Young (West Cheshire), and James Turner, (Lewes) complete the England team. They have marathon PBs of 2:24:33 and 2:19:52 respectively and good form over longer trail events in the past year.

Garrod is the most experienced runner in the England team and set a fantastic 50km time of 2:51:26 at Goodwood 50km last year and a world record for 40 miles of 3:45:07 at the historic Barry 40 track race. His current 100km PB is 6:46:50 set at Perth in 2022.

“Perth’s course is definitely the quickest course I have run on,” he said, “though you have the Scottish weather to contend with. Thankfully, each time so far, it’s just been cold rather than wet or windy, so hopefully we’ll have more of the same on Sunday!

“My goal is to get a PB, to be honest, I’m not hugely swayed by the 6:38 UK individual qualifying time for the World Championships. I know full well a group will set off probably at a potentially suicidal pace to start and it’s just a case of being sensible and running my own race.

“In the ACP you’re running just as much for the team as individually, I’ve always been on the winning team at ACP, so I’d like to keep that stat running! It sounds a bit silly to say, but I’d also like (for once) not to be completely crumbling in the final 5km. It’d be lovely to actually enjoy that period for once.

“We’ve got a super-talented bunch in the England camp, so I don’t think we want to get too distracted by our opposition. Having said that, I think Joe Turner, running in the open race has the bit between his teeth, as does Henry Hart from the Scottish team. I’d back them both for big statement runs.”

The England women’s team is led by Sarah Webster, who represented the Isle of Man in the marathon at the Commonwealth Games and won last year’s Anglo Celtic Plate in a British record of 7:03:40. That time was also the fastest time yet by a European athlete. She is backed up by the experienced Sam Amend, who was second when the event was last staged in Perth in 2022, GB trail running international Julia Davis, and prolific marathon runner Melissa Gibson. Gibson placed 21st woman at last year’s Comrades Marathon and, in February, set a marathon PB in Seville at 2:36:39.

Webster said: “I’m going to adjust the feeding slightly this time. I plan to take on more energy drinks before I start feeling dizzy. Last year, I kind of held it back to 20 miles and then sort of went for it at 20 miles. I’m kind of hoping this time that that’s not going to happen and that I’m going to be more patient and stick to the plan until 50 miles. Then if I still feel good, I can start relaxing.

“I have had a good training block but I think anything can happen in 100km because it’s so long. On paper, I might be the fastest, but I wasn’t anywhere last year on anybody’s radar, and yet I came in and ran it well. So who knows what’s going to happen with people who haven’t run 100km before? They might actually find that they’re quite good at it.”

An added incentive for the leading runners is possible GB selection for the World 100km Championship in India in December. The first two GB-qualified athletes in the men’s and women’s 100km events, subject to them achieving the qualifying standards laid down by UKA of 6:38:00 for men and 7:35:00 for women, will gain automatic selection. Other fast times could put athletes in contention for additional team places, for which the standards are 6:50:00 for men and 7:47:00 for women.

Standout entries for the accompanying men’s 50km are GB international Andrew Davies, plus Ronnie Richmond. GB 24-hour runner and former Scotland 100km international James Stewart is also in the field.

Fanni Gyurko (Ochil HR), Alison McGill ( Fife AC) and Jennifer Wetton (Central) head a strong Scottish contingent in the women’s race.

The Perth event is being coordinated by Sri Chinmoy AC, with help from Scottish Athletics.  The 100km race starts at 7am, with leading men expecting to finish inside seven hours and the leading women inside eight hours. The 50km race starts at 10am.

A full list of entrants for both races is on the event race site 

Live tracking will be available HERE

Scottish 100km runners compete for the Don Ritchie Cup. To honour Scotland’s pioneering ultra-distance record holder, who passed away in June 2018, Sri Chinmoy AC, the organisers of the Perth event, together with Scottish athletics, will once again present the Don Ritchie Cups.

» Subscribe to AW magazine here

Ultra runners set for 2024 Anglo Celtic Plate appeared first on AW.