It is clear to all who ran, minded and watched, why this event gains IAU GOLD grading.

The course is situated in and around the Mheenpark in Apeldoorn, flat, free of traffic and illuminated at night and 1,652.72m in length.

The park also provides quite a degree of shelter from the elements and this was gladly accepted, as it was wet from the 14:00 hour start until just before nightfall.

For the Scottish it was a special day as Pauline Walker from Scotland not only finished first lady, but set a new Scottish 24 Hour Road Race record and broke into the 200km club by covering 201.6688km.

As the race progressed Pauline was lying in 2nd position for the first 21 hours but her strength prevailed and over the final three hours she moved into first position which she held to place 1st lady overall.

Pauline was supported throughout the race by her twin sister Fiona Rennie who provided back-up with drinks, food, changes of shoes and plenty of encouragement. Second lady to finish was Jenni de Groot from Holland who covered 185.53 km and third was Marika Heinlein from Denmark (183.31 km).

It was a very close race for the first three men, but Alfons Vekemans put in a steady strong performance to win.

1. Alfons Vekemans (B) 220.2538 km
2. Chris Dhooge (B) 216.7073
3. Gerald Dudacy (D) 213.7759