Mark Darbyshire produced a stunning performance in the South-West of England this weekend to break his own course record at the notorious Arc of Attrition.
The gruelling 100-mile ultramarathon, which features over 4,000m of elevation gain, follows the South West Coast Path National Trail from Coverack to Porthtowan.
In the women’s race, Sabrina Verjee was a dominant winner, finishing 15th overall with a lightning quick race down in Cornwall.
Darbyshire in a league of his own
Having won the race two years ago with a phenomenal time of 19:12:48, Darbyshire dropped down to the half distance event in 2023, winning the Arc50 by some margin.
Back to the full beast to start this season, the Brit took down defending champion Gavin Dale on his way to victory, clocking a truly phenomenal 18:51:54 to knock more than 20 minutes off his previous best.
Back in second place, Dale was only ten minutes slower than his winning time from last year but finished close to 75 minutes down on Darbyshire, such was the calibre of the performance from the winner.
In third place, Rob Forbes made it a British sweep of the podium as he finished in 20:30:15, a time that would have been good enough to win in six of the last eight years.
Verjee shows her class
It was no surprise to see Verjee, who has previously held the overall record for the 325-mile circuit of the Wainwrights and the women’s record for the Pennine Way, top the women’s results with a brilliant race in Cornwall.
The Brit, who won by more than two hours, was still more than an hour outside of Emma Stuart’s unbelievable course record set last year, but clocked an impressive 23:03:40 on the challenging course.
In second place, Britain’s Jenny Crouch stopped the clock at 25:03:45, with compatriot Stacey French rounding out the podium in third in 25:49:38.
La Sportiva Arc of Attrition 100 Results, Friday 26 January 2024, 100 miles
WOMEN:
- Sabrina Verjee (GBR) – 23:03:40
- Jenny Crouch (GBR) – 25:03:45
- Stacey French (GBR) – 25:49:38
MEN:
- Mark Darbyshire (GBR) – 18:51:54
- Gavin Dale (GBR) – 20:06:12
- Rob Forbes (GBR) – 20:30:15
