Irish Olympian and ultrarunner Caitríona Jennings set a women’s 100-mile world record in Illinois
The 45-year-old clocked 12:37:14 to carve over five minutes off the previous record set by Camille Herron in 2017.
Jennings was making her debut at the 100-mile distance, having made a major splash elsewhere in the ultrarunning scene in recent years, setting Irish records at 50K (3:16:33) and 100K (7:43:01) and recording several top-10 finishes at the famed Comrades Marathon in South Africa.
Jennings averaged 7:34 per mile or 4:42 per kilometre in Saturday’s race, the Letterkenny AC athlete staying below world-record pace for the entire event. She earned a world record bonus of $7,500 on top of the first prize of $1,250.
Ireland’s Caitriona Jennings passes through the historic landmark of Leadenhall Market in the City of London during the 2012 Olympic women’s marathon as she trailed in last position. (Photo by Julien Behal/PA Images via Getty Images)
“Words can’t describe this feeling,” she wrote on Instagram after the race. “I’m truly honoured to now hold the record set by a true champion! Huge thanks to Steve Durbin for organising a phenomenal race, to Terry McConnon for his wonderful coaching guidance and Zach Bitter for answering all my novice questions! And, of course, to my wonderful husband Martin McCoy for being the best crew on course today!”
A former triathlete, Jennings was previously best known for her exploits at the marathon, setting her PB of 2:36:17 in Rotterdam in 2012 in just her second try at the distance, a time that qualified her for the London Olympics later that year.
She lined up in London carrying two injuries that she picked up in the final weeks of preparation – plantar fasciitis and a metatarsal stress fracture – and battled around the course in considerable distress, managing to reach the finish in 3:22:11. Last year, she clocked 2:40:31 to finish 11th at the Dublin Marathon.
In 2019, Jennings finished third in 6:24:12 at the Comrades Marathon, an 87K race, and has been focused primarily on ultrarunning since.
“The ultra starts off slower than the marathon, so you’re running at training pace for a lot of it,” she said in 2019. “It takes longer to get to the point where you’re struggling, but once it starts, the pain is definitely worse. I potentially have a bit of a talent for the ultra, so I suppose I should embrace it – give it a proper crack.”
