Perth plays host to Anglo Celtic Plate

Friday 22nd March 2019

Rob Turner crosses the line for a famous Anglo Celtic Plate win for Scotland last year

Anglo Celtic Plate- including British and Scottish 100K championships

Sunday 24 March

North inch Park Perth

International ultra running is heading to Scotland this weekend with the annual 100K Home International event the Anglo Celtic Plate, to be staged in Perth

The Perth event this Sunday 24 March will feature both the British and Scottish 100K road championships for 2019. The 50K distance incorporates the Scottish road champs for 2019 at that distance.

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 by the IAAF at 2.381K and  is known to produce some fast times.

Four women and five men have been selected with Scotland always very competitive in this event which this year as usual features teams from England and Wales with Northern Ireland involved for the first time in recent years.

The Scottish men’s team will be led by GB 100K international Rob Turner of Edinburgh AC. Turner is the defending British 100K champion having won the 2018 event at Redwick in South Wales in a close finish by a mere seven seconds.

Rob will be backed up by Metro Aberdeen athlete Kyle Greig, current Scottish ultra trail champion. Although Greig has covered the 100K distance on the trails, this will be his first effort at the distance on the road. With a marathon Pb of 2.25, he is no stranger to the roads.

They are joined by GB 24-Hour international and former West Highland Way winner James Stewart (VP-Glasgow), Dave Ward (HBT), who was fifth in Wales last year and Dublin-based Al Higgins.

Higgins was leading GB finisher at last September’s epic154 mile Spartathlon race in Greece and recently took third place at the Irish 50K championships.

Sophie Mullins will race at Perth after finishing third there three years ago – pictured her at the National Road Relays in 2018 

The women’s team is led by the Fife AC duo of Sophie Mullins and Morgan Windram. Mullins was third woman when the event was last held in Perth in 2016, while Windram has a string of solid performances in recent years in ultra trail races.

They are backed up by Carnegie Harrier Jo Murphy and Kirkintilloch Olympians Lynne Allen. The two, like Windram have a string of solid podium positions in Scottish ultra races.

Scotland look set to challenge England for the team competition in both men’s and women’s events.

There is also an accompanying 50K event which incorporates the Scottish 50km championships.

The 100K race starts at 7am with leading men expecting to take around seven hours and the leading women around eight hours. The 50K race starts at 10am.

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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 scottishathletics are delighted to have established the Don Ritchie Cup.

Ritchie, in an illustrious career spanning over 20 years at the top level in the 70s, 80s and 90s, set Scottish, GB and world records at all the classic ultra distances from 30 miles through 50 miles and 100K up to 100 miles.

Several of these records still stand today. He was inducted into the scottishathletics Hall of fame in 2018.

Two separate trophies will be now be awarded annually to the Scottish Men’s and Women’s 100K champions. Isobel Ritchie, Donald’s wife, will be present at the event this weekend to make the inaugural presentations of these two trophies.

With thanks to Adrian Stott

 

Tags: Anglo-Celtic Plate, Don Ritchie, Perth, Ultra running