Summary
Overview
Katrina Jennings discusses her remarkable achievement of breaking the 100-mile world record in her debut at the distance, running 12 hours 37 minutes at the Tunnel Hill race in Illinois. The conversation explores her journey from Olympic heartbreak at the 2012 London Marathon, where she finished last while running injured, to finding success and redemption in ultra-running. She reveals how mental preparation proved as crucial as physical training, and discusses the appeal of pushing human limits at extreme distances.
Breaking the 100-Mile World Record
In her debut at 100 miles, Katrina ran the Tunnel Hill race in Illinois at 7.5 minute per mile pace, completing it in 12:37 and breaking the world record by over five minutes. She finished fourth overall, beating all but three men, and also surpassed the men's Irish record. The achievement came after careful preparation including a 60-mile training run six weeks prior, which she found harder than the race itself.
- Ran 100 miles in 12 hours 37 minutes, breaking world record by over five minutes in her debut at the distance
- Maintained roughly 7.5 minute per mile pace (equivalent to 3:18 marathon) for entire distance
- Finished fourth overall, beaten by only three men, and broke the men's Irish record of 13:18
- Won $1,250 for the win plus $7,500 bonus for world record
- Longest training run was 60 miles, six weeks prior - from her house in Glenageary to Phoenix Park
" The first 60 miles is kind of pretty much running easy, I guess. You know, it's like one of the biggest problems I actually had at the start was slowing down because it's a pace that's a bit slower than what I'd usually even train at. "
" I actually thought I might catch one of them. I could see they were, three of them were ahead of me from probably 60 miles. And I could see them because they turned around and you turned and came back towards me. And usually, rule of thumb is that women are better at pacing ultra runs than men. "
Charlie Smith's Remarkable NFL Debut
In a brief news segment, the podcast discusses County Down's Charlie Smith making his NFL debut for the New Orleans Saints, kicking a 56-yard field goal in his first career attempt with six minutes remaining. With just over a minute left, he successfully executed an onside kick that his team recovered, though the Saints ultimately lost. Smith never played college football in America, making his journey even more remarkable compared to other Irish NFL players like Daniel Whelan and Jude McIntyre.
- Charlie Smith from County Down made NFL debut for New Orleans Saints
- Hit 56-yard field goal in first ever career attempt with 6 minutes left in game
- Successfully executed onside kick with just over minute remaining that Saints recovered
- Never played college football in America, unlike other Irish NFL players
- Went over with kicking band group that included Rory Began and Mark Jackson
" You couldn't overstate Charlie Smith's journey to yesterday. Absolutely outrageous. "
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