Martin Fryer of Weston Emus (ACT) has had a brilliant international representative running debut over the weekend, finishing 11th in the World 24 Hour Ultramarathon Challenge in Taipei, Taiwan. Fryer made a charge through the field in the final hours to cover 233kms 239m and finish 11th. The winner, Ryoichi Sekiya of Japan, completed 272km 936m, well ahead of runner up Magroun Mohamed of France with 248.6kms and third placed Vladimir Bychkov of Russia with 246.1kms.

Other Australian finishers were Mick Francis 30th in 210kms, Paul Every, 49th in 185kms, and Simon Phillips 52nd in 177kms. The Australian team finished eighth. Fryer’s previous best ultra running accomplishment was winning the 246km Coast to Kosciusko in December, running 31 hours and taking several hours off the old record.

By comparison, Fryer’s weekly efforts in the ACT Orienteering Summer Series were mere sprints!