Taipei, Dec. 11 (CNA) Japanese runners Ryochi Sekiya and Mami Kudo were both determined to win the 2010 Soochow International 24-hour ultramarathon for good reason when the competition started at 9 a.m. Saturday in suburban Taipei.
Kudo hoped that by the time the race ends on 9 a.m. Sunday, she will have surpassed her own world record of 254.425 kilometers, set in the Taiwan event last year, while Sekiya was aiming for his sixth men's title in Taipei.
Sekiya and Kudo were among 30 runners from around the world participating in the unusual race, a competition organized by Soochow University (SCU) in which all participants run as far as they can over the 24-hour period on the school's 200 meter track.
Whoever runs the farthest is named the winner.
Kudo, 46, won the race last year and set the women's 24-hour marathon world record. She will face a tough challenge from 39-year-old French rival Anne-Celile Fontaine, who has a personal best of 243.644 km.
With a personal best of 274.884 km that outshines his challengers, 43-year-old Sekiya was favored to capture the men's title again.
Martin Fryer of Australia, Ulrich Gross of Italy, Kenji Okiyama of Japan, Lee Dong-mun of South Korea and Taiwan's Chen Chin-tsai were expected to put up a good fight in the men's group.
In addition to the 24-hour competition, competitions in other categories, including the 12-hour competition, the 10-km challenge and half marathon relay, were also being held at the annual event.
The competition, which is celebrating its 10th edition, was first held in 1999 and has been awarded a silver IAU (International Association of Ultrarunners) label.
If five male or female runners surpass minimum distance requirements -- 240 km for men and 220 km for women -- in the same race, the competition will be awarded a gold label, the organizers said. (By Chris Wang) enditem/ls