Home countries international ultra-running event, which incorporates the British champs, unfolded in Limerick on Saturday.
Runners set off at 8am to run 51 laps of a 1.9km loop around the sports grounds of Limerick University, Adrian Stott reports.
In addition to teams representing the home nations, the accompanying open race had some strong contenders.
Men’s race
In the men’s race, Daniel Rothwell of Swansea and Wales took an early lead over a large group of runners that included the England trio of Hugh Tibbs, Joe Turner and Dave Barratt, along with Tom Almond, Chris Kelly and Sage Pierce-Higgins.
Rothwell was to continue setting a good pace, with a three-minute lead at 25km, which he stretched to over four minutes by lap 26 at around the halfway mark, reached in approximately 3:12:00.
Turner, Tibbs and Almond were through in around 3:15 with Dave Barratt and McKenna around 30 seconds back.
Rothwell started to pay for his early efforts, and around the 60km mark, Turner took the lead, with Tibbs and Almond still in touch. Barratt and McKenna were still looking comfortable just off the lead pace.
Turner pushed on and opened up a small lead, but then started to fade slightly, leaving Almond to take the lead by 75km.
Turner was to suddenly pull up at the side of the track and retire shortly afterwards, leaving Almond, Barratt, Tibbs and McKenna fighting for the podium places.
It was Barratt who was now looking the stronger, and he took the lead around 85km.
This seemed to act as an inspiration for between then and the finish, he ran his fastest splits of the race, finishing strongly in 6:31:04.
Almond, also in his first 100km race, was to hang on and finish second in 6:33:29, with McKenna, the 2022 champion, coming home third with 6:37:47.
For Barratt, having never raced further than 50km before, it was an incredible debut, catapulting him to fifth fastest in the UK all-time 100km rankings. Only Don Ritchie, Steve Way, Simon Pride and Cavin Woodward have run faster. Almond now sits at the seventh fastest.
The leading two secured the two automatic qualifying spots for the GB and NI team for September’s IAU World 100km Championships, should they wish to run.
Women’s race
The women’s race, by contrast, was more straightforward. Ireland’s Patricia McLaughlin and the English trio of Katie Young, Nicole Funnell and Fiona Cook running together as a team were the early leaders, with the Scot Jacqui Wilson a short distance behind.
As the race progressed, McLaughlin and Cook were to fall back, leaving Young and Funnell in the lead, together with Wilson in third and well in touch.
Lap 26, at half-way, was reached in 3:50 with Wilson a minute back. Cook was holding fourth, five minutes back.
Young and Funnell continued running as a duo well beyond 50 miles, pacing the race well and looking comfortable. Young was to prove the stronger in the final kilometres, finishing in 7:50 36 with Funnell holding on very well to take second place in 7:51:45. Both were well inside the GB qualifying standard to secure the two automatic women’s spots for the World Championships. Wilson held on well for third to also dip under the eight-hour mark in 7:58:24 and also put herself in contention for a GB call-up.
McLaughlin from the host Ireland took 4th in 8:14:57.
In the accompanying 50km races, there were wins for Cornwall’s Sam Mitchell Harriers in 3:13:33 and Scotland’s Jo Wilson in 3:47:25.
Full results here
