Chris Richardson and Dougie Selman in India (photo by Adrian Stott)
Scots selected for World 100k Champs in India
Scottish duo Chris Richardson and Dougie Selman are preparing to race for GB and NI in the World 100k Champs.
The event takes place in India this weekend and will be a first international championship appearance for both Scots with a British team.
It’s a special moment for Chris and Dougie and their families and support teams but also their two clubs, Metro Aberdeen and Corstorphine AAC.
The selections also shine a light on Scottish ultra running and it is very clear the community are hugely excited and supportive.
Having worn the Scotland vest four times in the Anglo-Celtic meet, winning the title in 2021, Chris is chuffed to be pulling on the GB jersey for the first time.
But how does someone run 100km, or 62 miles – roughly Aberdeen to Dundee – without stopping, and let alone in the humid, 30-degree climate of southern India?
‘The World 100k is being held in the grounds of an agricultural college,’ Chris told the Aberdeen Evening Express.
‘It’s a looked road race, so I don’t know whether that means there’s tarmac all the way around. In 100K, it very much punishes bravado and stupidity.
Chris (on left) racing for Scotland a couple of years ago in Perth (photo by Steve Adam)
‘It punishes you if you get too excited, and to be able to run a good 100K you need to be fast enough to be able to do stupid things, but you also need to be willing not to do them.
‘I like to take the start quite comfortably and I like to watch people sail off into the distance thinking that they’re going to suffer more than I’m going to suffer.
‘It is halfway – or maybe a bit more like 60/66K – before I really lean into the suffering and before anything really hurts.
‘Then I tend to kind of just get my head down, sometimes start making strange noises, take on a lot of caffeine, and really I like to move through the field – if I can – and kind of pass people as many as possible.’
Corstorphine AAC interview with Dougie Selman
Dougie for his part told the Corstorphine AAC club website about some of his preparations for India.
‘The majority of the training itself has been pretty similar to what I’ve done in previous builds, but I’ve added in some heat training given the conditions I’ll be racing in,’ he said,
‘That has involved a lot of running on the treadmill in plenty of layers, or sitting in a sauna or a hot bath for a while after running. We’ll find out how well it’s worked in the next week.’
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Photo by Gary Mitchell
India hosts the World 100k and this weekend will also see the Euro Cross Champs take place in Turkey.
Peter Molloy is the sole Scot on the GB and NI team for this event following the trial races in Liverpool some ten days ago.
The Central AC athlete, who has GB honours in orienteering, will race in the Men’s U23 event in Antalya.
Peter finished third at Sefton Park to land his place in the six-strong British team in that event.
Good luck, also, to Hannah Anderson as she prepares to compete for Finland this weekend in Turkey after opting to race for her mother’s home country.
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Tags:
Chris Richardson, Dougie Selman, Euro Cross, Hannah Anderson, IAU World 100K, Peter Molloy
