In an ultra-marathon boasting a line-up of highly credentialed elite athletes, Mt Victoria’s Lou Clifton romped home to claim third in the Ultra-Trail Australia 100km race in Katoomba on Saturday.
The 45-year-old completed the gruelling course, which was changed at the last minute to exclude Kedumba Pass due to the amount of rain that had fallen, in a time of 11 hours 24 minutes 6 seconds.
"I would have been happy to get top 10 and then I would have been happier with top five, but top three wasn't even on my radar."
The mental game was tough, she said, trading third position with the fifth-placegetter five times, and having fourth-placed Robyn Bruins breathing down her neck for the final 25km.
"I had a few moments where I didn't believe I could do it. I had to focus on the now and just keep moving and hope that would be enough," Clifton, who is trained by Brendan Davies, said.
The overall UTA100 title was won by Tim Tollefson (USA) in 8:52:00, with Melbournian Lucy Bartholomew the first woman in 10:52:35, followed by Hobart’s Hanny Allston 19min later.
Locals also featured on the podium in the 1.2km quad-busting UTA951 stair climb. Marnie Ponton from Glenbrook cleaned up for the women in 9min 25sec, while Ben St Lawrence, formerly of Bullaburra, claimed the overall title in just 8:23.
