Picture of Irish 24-Hour Men's Team and Support Crew in France
An elite Irish men's team takes part in the European and World 24 Hour Championships today, 13th May 2010.
The race begins at 10:00 in Brive, France, with the individual winners determined by the greatest distance covered on the course within the next 24 hours. The outcome of the team competition is determined by the cumulative distance of the top three competitors for each nation.
The Irish team is very highly regarded. It is captained by Eoin Keith, who finished 5th in the 2009 World Championship, while Thomas Maguire is the Number 1 ranked Euroean in the race based on performances since 2009. Thomas set the current Irish record of 248.392km when winning the prestigious No Finish Line race in Monaco last November.
Eoin and Thomas are backed up by John O'Regan who set a stunning distance of 220.021km on his 24-Hour debut in London to qualify for the race, and Eddie Gallen, who has previously won the Barcelona 24-Hour race.
The support crew comprises John Collins, Tony Brennan, Richard Donovan and Paul Donovan.
The team competition is certain to be tight, particularly for a European medal, where France, Russia, Great Britain, Germany and Ireland would be the top nations based on most recent performances. Outside of Europe, the additional challenge of Japan, the USA and Australia will likely be the most signicant.
The race circuit of 1.2km is located in the centre of Brive. Temperatures are forecast to be mild with a strong possibility of showers.
The Irish team's participation is sponsored and fully funded by the Galway City Marathon.
Copyright 2009-2012 Richard Donovan / UltraRunning Ireland. All rights reserved.