I've Got a Little List
by
Malcolm Campbell

The Little Lists started nearly twenty years ago and one day I am going to "get organised" and place all the runners on these lists in some sort of order. There are a number of notable omissions and this will always be the case in a list of this type which probably says as much about the compiler as those included. Having said that I do not think such a list should be compiled by a Committee. It is my little list; it is my mistake if something is seriously wrong and it is my prejudices and (God forbid such a thought) my mistakes that are reflected. The sun will rise and set if this list is never produced. It should not be treated as a statistical document but I firmly believe that those included produced the best performances of 2002. They are:

1. Edit Berces HUN 24 hrs World Best (W)
2. Mario Fattore ITA 100kms World Champion (M)
3. Tatiana Zhyrkova RUS 100kms World Champion (W)
4. Yiannis Kouros GRE Best 24 Hrs Distance 2002(M)
5. Elvira Kolpakova RUS European 100km Champion(W)
6. Pascal Fetizon FRA European 100km Champion (M)
7. Oleg Kharitonov RUS 100 Miles World Track Best(M)
8. Grigoriy Murzin RUS Best 100km Time 2002 (M)
9. Jens Lucas GER European 24 Hours Champion(M)
10. Irina Reutovich RUS Spartathlon Course Record (W)

1. Edit Berces (HUN) World Best Performer 24 Hours Track
There can be no doubt that one of the most versatile and successful ultradistance runners is Edit Berces. It was my privilege to witness her debut over 100kms in Hungary a few years ago. She became the European 100km Champion and the World 100km Champion and her restless spirit lifted her sights to the 24 Hour Event. This year at Gravigny, France she became the European 24 Hours Champion; she followed this on the next weekend by being first scorer for her National Team in the European 100km Championships at Winschoten, Netherlands and the next weekend in Italy she became the first woman to pass 250kms in a 24 hour race. The race is detailed in this newsletter but no superlatives are sufficient to fully describe the performance of this quite outstanding athlete.

2. Mario Fattore (ITA) 100km World Champion
"Veni Vidi Vici" - This young marathoner came to Torhout, Belgium with little experience of ultradistance events and emerged as the World Champion. More than that he exhibited all the signs of greatness with a style that showed he enjoyed being World Champion. Not for him was the retreat behind closed doors whilst he recovered from his efforts- the media representatives loved him as he retold the story of his great achievement. His winning time was 6.34.23 and he finished more than five minutes ahead of the rest of the field. He has brought into the sport a freshness and lightness that enriches the 100km event

3. Tatiana Zhyrkova (RUS) 100km World Champion
The IAU 100km World Cup was a hard fought affair and during the closing stages it seemed likely that the winner would be Akiko Sekiya (JPN). We waited at the finish line and suddenly it became clear that Tatiana Zhyrkova was running a superbly judged race and had saved something for a challenge during the last few kms of the event. Zhyrkova emerged as World 100km Champion with a time of 7.37.06

4. Yiannis Kouros (GRE). Best 24 Hour Performance of 2002
It is really difficult to place the performances of this great runner into any sort of perspective. Quite simply he is the greatest ultradistance runner of all time and in terms of the 24 Hour Event his only opponent is Yiannis Kouros, himself, as we compare his achievements against distances achieved by him in the past- no one on current form seems able to come near to his records. He heads the 24 Hour Track Ranking Lists for 2002 with his performance at Soochow University, Taipei, Taiwan (284kms 070mtrs) and he heads the 24 Hour Road Ranking Lists in 2002 for his performance during the American National Championships (277kms 415mtrs).

5. Elvira Kolpakova (RUS) European 100km Champion
After the 100km World Cup the most competitive 100km race is the European Championships and in order to win this event you need to be someone special- Elvira Kolpakova is such a person and at Winschoten, Netherlands, in September she produced the best 100km time of 2002 (7.24.52)

6. Pascal Fetizon (FRA) European 100km Champion
Pascal Fetizon is no stranger to Winschoten - he became 100km World Champion here in 2000. Faced with strong opposition this very popular Frenchman won a well judged race to become European Champion and his winning time (6.34.16) was the third best of the year.

7. Oleg Kharitinov (RUS) 100 Miles World Best Track Performance
The race took place at the Crystal Palace, London on October 20th and is described in this newsletter by Dave Cooper. The previous WBP was set by Don Ritchie in 1977 and that fact alone would have been enough for inclusion on this list but another dimension was added by the strong opposition provided by Denis Zhalybin who lead for most of the race. Zhalybin had taken Silver in the European 100km Championships with Kharitinov taking Bronze. It is difficult to recall a closer finish in a 100 Mile Race with both runners beating the previous WBP. One can sympathise with Zhalybin but it has to be said that the performance (11.28.03) and judgement of Kharitonov marks him as someone really special.

8. Grigory Murzin Best 100km Performance in 2002
Winning the 100km de Santa Cruz de Bezana, Spain for the last four years is an achievement in itself but this year on October 5th Grigory Murzin won with the best 100km time of the year (6.31.18)

9. Jens Lukas (GER) European 24 Hours Champion
Europe has a great tradition of 24 Hour Racing and the annual 24 Hour European Challenge usually attracts the attention of outstanding competitors. This year was no exception. At Gravigny, France on September 8th Jens Lukas ran a perfectly judged race to become the European 24 Hours Champion with 267kms 294mtrs.

10. Irina Reutovich (RUS) Spartathlon Women's Course Record
Any finisher of the Spartathlon is a fine athlete. Completing the 246kms from Athens to Sparta within a time limit of 36 hours requires ability, determination and great stamina. A lot of midnight oil was burned before the inaugural event in 1983 considering if women should take part in a competition organised to commemorate a military feat - fortunately common sense prevailed and some fine performance have been recorded by women over the years. None finer than that achieved by Irina Reutovich this year who finished 5th overall in the race on September 28th and set a women's course record of
28hrs 10mins 48secs.