COBH, Co. Cork, native Eoin Keith shot the lights out at the World 24-hour Running Championships in Bergamo, Italy, last weekend, writes Liam Horan.

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: Eoin competing in at last weekend’s World 24-hour Running Championships in Bergamo, Italy.

He finished fifth in the World Championships, and the same race doubled as the European Championships. “There was one Japanese runner ahead of me, the rest were European, so I ended up fourth in the Europeans – very close to a bronze medal,” explained Eoin.

This was the best performance ever by an Irish man in the World Championships. Eoin ran 237.2k on the road, beating Tony Mangan’s 228k distance which was the previous Irish road record.

“There is a separate track and road record. I also hold the track record from London last October, when I coverd 235.9k,” added Eoin.

“My only objective going to Italy was to run the 24 hours. In two previous World Championships, I had to pull out early because of injuries, so I was absolutely delighted to finish time – not to mention so high up the field.”

Over 220 runners from 28 countries took part in the championships, run over a 1.113k ashphalt loop.

Eoin is 40 and says that ultra-runners tend to improve with age. “Tony Mangan was my handler in Bergamo – he set a new World Record for 48 hours on the track at the age of 50. A lot of ultra-runners are between 35 and 50, give or take,” said Eoin.

He now plans a few more big races this year, and another tilt at London in October when some more records could be in danger. More on ultra-running on www.imra.ie.