Words: Ultra Magazine
She broke the British record and achieved one of her long-time ambitions – going on to cite this finish as her happiest memory, as she “knew I could do it.”
Carolyn Hunter-Rowe deserves her place in the inaugural Hall of Fame with seven British records to her name and many ultra-distance wins in the UK and around the world. Hunter-Rowe cites her best friend, Liz Smart, for inspiring her to get running “when I was a chain-smoking couch potato,” and of ultrarunning says “Nothing else gives me the same sense of satisfaction.”
In 1992 Hunter-Rowe won the British 100km Championships in Nottingham with a time of 7:39:59, the sixth best time recorded on a certified course. It was only her second 100km race (her first was in the 1992 World Cup at Palamos, where she took Bronze in 7:56:50), but she broke the British record and achieved one of her long-time ambitions – going on to cite this finish as her happiest memory, as she “knew I could do it.”
Hunter-Rowe won the IAU 100km World Championships in 1993 (7:27:19 – a British record that stood until 2023)
Hunter-Rowe set seven British records in athletics between 1993 and 1994, including four world bests at 30 miles, 50km and 40 miles at the Barry 40-mile track race at a time when Ann Trason, the top US runner, was making repeated attempts at the 30 mile/50km distances. She won the London to Brighton Road Race setting the women’s course record of 6:34:10, winning the 56km Two Oceans Marathon in South Africa, a 56 km race held in Cape Town, South Africa, in 3:51:37.
She was the 1996 winner of the IAU 100km European Championships and won the IAU 100km World Championships in 1993 (7:27:19 – a British record that stood until 2023) and 1998.
In 1997 Hunter-Rowe ran the London Marathon, finishing in a time of 2:40:32, and then in 1998 she won the World 100km in Shimanto, Japan.
In 2002 she won the Dartmoor Discovery - a 52km road race which starts and finishes in Princetown.