2025 Ultra Runner of the Year, Caitríona Jennings, has won the Sport Ireland Sportswoman of the month award for November on the back of her 100 mile world record.
It was in Illinois that she ran the Tunnel Hill 100 Mile in that world-record time of 12 hours, 37 minutes and four seconds, beating the previous best mark, set in 2017, by five minutes. Remarkably, this was her debut at the distance, 60 miles the longest she had run in one go before.
Jennings, who turned 45 in June, had already set a string of Irish records over shorter distances. Earlier this year, she broke the Irish record at the Donadea 50km National Championships and she also holds the Irish 100km record, set in 2021.
She has helped herself to multiple top-10 finishes at the Comrades Marathon, the 88km race between Durban and Pietermaritzburg, the world’s oldest ultra-marathon, and in 2022 she won the IAU 50km European Championships. Her best (regular) marathon time of 2:36.17 qualified her for the London Olympics in 2012.
She was, then, no stranger to lengthy runs, but this one beat all. Bedecked in her club colours of Letterkenny AC, Jennings averaged 7:34 minutes per mile (4:42/km) in Illinois, remaining under world record pace the entire way. She finished fourth overall and almost four hours ahead of the next best woman.
“Words can’t describe this feeling,” she said afterwards, crediting her coach Terry McConnon for driving her on towards the achievement. Not that she had much time to celebrate it, she was back to work with Aviation Capital Group, an aircraft leasing company, the next day.
