Ellie Greenwood wins world 100K championships

After a night of running through the heat of Doha, Qatar, Vancouver-based ultrarunner Ellie Greenwood won her second 100K world championship race.

The distance, ran on the roads, took Greenwood 7:30:48 to complete. She took the lead at the 55K mark and held it until the end, though the lead chad changed several times before that point. She won by nearly eight minutes. Chiyuki Mochizuki of Japan was second in 7:38:23 and Joanna Zakrzewski, Greenwood’s U.K. teammate, was third in 7:42:02. The two U.K. runners also won the team event alongside Jo Meek, their third teammate, who finished fourth.

Earlier this year, Greenwood won her first Comrades Marathon, the world oldest ultramarathon. The two wins entrench Greenwood’s position as one of the world’s top ultramarathon runners. She also holds the course record for the Western States 100 from her win there in 2012 and won the world championships in 2010.

Like Greenwood, men’s winner Max King took over the lead shortly after the start of the 100K course’s second 50K loop, at the 60K mark. The U.S. runner won in 6:27:43. King has raced for the United States over different distances in the past, including world cross-country and mountain running championships, though this was his first world 100K championships.

Doha was recently selected to host the 2019 world track and field championships, a selection that has been met with some worries over climate and safety of migrant workers in the country.