The NorthFace 100

NEW RECORD BREAKING TIME AT THE NORTH FACE 100!

The premier 100km trail run on the continent sees first runner powering through to the finish line in an astounding time of 9hours, 19minutes and 06 seconds.

The high-profile international field of ultra-runners rose to the challenge in this year's The North Face 100 event, proving that local knowledge is only worth so much in the gruelling and competitive world of ultra-distance trail running.

Bringing to an end weeks of speculation over who would be crowned champion at The North Face 100 in 2011, Spanish ultra running sensation Kilian Jornet, crossed the finish line in 9 Hours, 19 Minutes, 06 seconds.

Kilian looked very much at ease throughout the various stages of the 100km course, maintaining an impressive pace of 11km an hour, and commented "before racing we saw the map and we were thinking it would be very flat with a lot of road, but there were actually a lot of technical parts with a lot of single tracks. The beauty of the scenery was my favourite part, and we are very happy with the runs."

Second place on the podium is taken by French endurance runner Francois D'Heane, managing to finish the race in 9hours, 24minutes and 33seconds, followed by South African, Ryan Sandes around 30 minutes later.

Defending champion Australian Andrew Lee pushed it hard straight-away after depart, out-running Spain's Kilian Jornet and keeping a very fast pace all the way through to CP4 (67K), but unsure of the reasons, he couldn't keep up and slowed down in the second half of the race, finishing 43rd in 12hours, 53 minutes.

Whilst The North Face ultra-runner Sebastien Chaigneau (France) was amongst the leaders,he was forced to pull-out due to a back injury. He said "I hurt my back in the first part of the race, and it got worst to the point where I could not go any further than CP4. I was very disappointed not to be able to finish the race as I was really enjoying the course, but I haven't said my last word and I will be back next year!"

In the women's category, the trophy goes to local female Julie Quinn, who smashed her 2009 record of 12hrs 13mins and 45 seconds. She finished the 100k run in 11hrs 39min 07sec, beating a start studded international female field which included Nerea Martinez, Jen Segger and Devon Crosby Helms. Unbelievable!

Whilst the freezing cold weather and wind blowing on the start line at 7:00 am at the Fairmont Resort in Leura didn't dampen the enthusiasm of the crowd, the biggest challenge for the majority of the participants came as the night fell, with temperatures dropping to minus one. Determined to cross the finish line, a total of 502 runners completed the 100km distance with last pair arriving at 10.30 on Sunday morning, smiling and saying "It was the best 28 hours I've ever spent, the view is sensational, the course was challenging but every bit made it worthwhile."

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