BRITISH ATHLETICS TEAM AWAIT 24 HOUR TEST

The eleven-strong British Athletics team have arrived in Belfast, Northern Ireland ahead of tomorrow’s IAU 24 Hour World Championships (Saturday 1 July).

Heading up the quintet of senior men are Robbie Britton – a World and European bronze medallist from 2015’s combined championships in Turin – Pat Robbins and Dan Lawson, with Robbins’ lifetime best haul of 256.801km securing him a highly commendable seventh place finish back in 2015, while Lawson earns his third British vest having won European gold in Albi, France last October.

Marco Consani, James Stewart and Steven Holyoak complete the men’s team due to complete in Victoria Park.

Of the women, 2016 IAU World Trial team bronze medallist Beth Pascall will contest her first 24 hour championships in a British vest following one previous attempt which brought victory at 2015’s Self-Transcendence race in Tooting, thanks to a run of just over 230km.

Company to Pascall comes from experienced 24-hour runner Sharon Law, with the championships serving as her fifth attempt at the competition, while Ali Young (Bryan Smith) steps up to contest against the world’s best ultra-runners following an 18th place finisher at last year’s IAU 24-Hour European Championships.

After finishing as the top Briton back in 2015 for 12th out of the 123 females in Turin, Debbie Martin-Consani will hope to show strongly once again, with Jess Baker also looking to go well at the home championships against a stacked international field.