Winschoten, Netherlands, September 10. Giorgio Calcaterra of Italy was the easy winner of the 25th annual IAU World 100K Championships and the American men won the team championship.
Calcaterra ran the first 10-km loop in 37:20 and backed that up with a 37:00 second loop to establish a gap on the field he never relinquished. American Andy Henshaw ran second for much of the race until countryman Michael Wardian caught him at the 50K mark and eased ahead. Matt Woods of Washington, DC finished sixth in 6:50:23 to secure the team victory.
Russian Marina Bychkova was the women’s winner. Meghan Arbogast was the top American woman, finishing in fourth place and winning the 50+ division in the process. Arbogast’s 7:51:10 was a world record for the 50-59 age group. Defending champion Ellie Greenwood, a British national living in Canada, led for the first 50K but experienced problems soon thereafter and eventually dropped. The American women’s team comprised of Arbogast, Annette Bednosky, and Amy Sproston took the silver medal, finishing second behind Russia in the team competition.
Men
1. Giorgio Calcaterra, 39, Italy, 6:27:42
2. Michael Wardian, 37, Arlington, VA, 6:42:49
3. Andrew Henshaw, 25, Steilacoom, WA, 6:44:35
4. Pieter Vermeesch, 34, Belgium, 6:47:01
5. Shinji Nakadai, 33, Japan, 6:48:32
Women
1. Marina Bychkova, 35, Russia, 7:27:19
2. Joanna Zachrzewski, 35, Great Britain, 7:41:06
3. Lindsay Anne van Aswegen, 41, South Africa, 7:42:05
4. Irina Vishnevskaya, 29, Russia, 7:45:27
5. Meghan Arbogast, 50, Corvallis, OR, 7:51:10
Photo above: Michael Wardian