RUNNING INTO A NEW DIMENSION

Many Australasian trail running fans were glued to the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run live-results earlier this year, with both Australia’s Lucy Bartholomew and Italian-Kiwi Cecilia Flori featuring strongly through the day in the women’s field.

Bartholomew is well-known in the trail scene here, improving steadily since her debut as a teenager, but Flori may have been an unfamiliar name for some.

In the past couple of years she’s started ascending ultra rankings instead of rock walls. Her invitation to Western States through the Ultra-Trail World Tour followed successes such as a win at the Mozart 100k in Austria, among others.

Despite facing her first 100 miler, amid significant heat and arguably the most competitive field in Western States’ history, Flori managed to remain relaxed and run her own race.

“I was very respectful of the course and started off