GB 24 hour Rankings 2022

As we approach the end of the year, we all get into reflective mode. I have had some fun collating and reflecting on GB 24-hour rankings for 2022 at the main ultra distances of 24 hours, 100km and 50km. Here I reflect on 24 hours.

Women’s Rankings

Jo Zakrzewski’s tops the list with a new British Record.

The standout women’s performance was from Jo Zakrewski who broke Lizzie Hawker’s long-standing British 24 hr record. Lizzie had run 247.076 km/153.52 Miles when winning the Commonwealth 24hr Championships at Llandudno on 24.25 September 2011.

Fast forward almost 11 years to the day and Zakrzewski is running in the IAU European Championships in Verona. Having to dig deep in the last few hours she recorded 247.984 Km/154.09 Miles, passing Hawker’s record with literally a few minutes of the 24 hrs remaining to add an extra 908 metres to the distance. It placed her 5th overall at the championships and 5th overall in the 2022 Global women’s 24-hour rankings.

Eloise Eccles and Jen Colemen, with their fine runs of 222.566km/138.29 Miles and 221.389km/137.654 Miles respectively filled the 2nd and 3rd spots. Wendy Whearity with her 221.077Km/137.37Miles at Crawley in April fills fourth, and Sophie Power with her Verona run of 218.798km/135.95Miles is fifth.

GB 24 hour Men’s Rankings 2022

Dan Lawson leads the way

Dave Dowdle of Gloucester has held the British record of 274.480Km/170.553 Miles since 1982. Dan Lawson came with 1500 metres of breaking it this year. His distance of 273.003 km/169.63 Miles in Verona as well as the top spot in 2022 puts him 2nd on the GB all-time list. He is only the second British man to go beyond 270km/miles in a 24 hr event and you sense Dowdle’s record is living on

Six years after winning the European championships with a distance of 261.83 km, Lawson improved that distance by over 10k. However, in a sign of how much the event has moved on it was only good enough for 5th place in this edition of the European Championships.

The Sorokin effect 

The exploits of the remarkable Aleksandr Sorokin in pushing the 24 hr record close to 200 miles/220km, I wrote about PREVIOUSLY  His impact on the 24-hour event in general and the Verona championships specifically cannot be underestimated. His trail-blazing efforts seemingly, like a fast 1500 metres, pulling others along in his wake to their own improved performances.

New Talent Emerges and consolidates.

After Lawson, it is good to see new talent emerging and others improving to establish themselves as world-class performers at 24 hrs. Dan Hawkins had a breakthrough run of 257.240km/159.841 Miles in The Netherlands in March. He improved to 265.302km/164.851 Miles in Verona. Hawkins and Paul Maskell ran the championships pretty much together and finished with the same distance. Their distance move’s them to 4th equal on the GB all-time list, 7th equal in the championship and 11th equal in the 2022 global rankings. 

Damian Carr and Alex Whearity had break-through years in 2021 when recording 262.916km/163.368 and 257.037km/159.715Miles respectively at Crawley in April. In Verona, they both performed exceptionally in the championship environment but Whearity turned the tables improving to 261.039km/162.202Miles, while Carr consolidated with 260.366km/161.783Miles.

Looking ahead to 2023

The men’s performances in 2022 where 5 GB runners surpassed 260km in one event for the first time certainly bodes well for the event going forward. 

The women too are well placed. Two of the top-ranked 24 hr runners in 2021, Jo Murphy and Sam Amend targeted the 100km championships this year. Rumour is they are targeting selection for the 24-hour championships in Taiwan in the Autumn of 2023. This will only enhance the team and good performances.

2022 European Championship results

Full results of the 2022 European championships in Verona can be found HERE

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