Ultramarathon: Californian strikes gold with run

Dylan Bowman, Tarawera Ultra men's race winner.

Records tumbled at the Tarawera Ultramarathon with brilliant races from champions Dylan Bowman and Ruby Muir.

Bowman, from California, won the 100km race between Rotorua and Kawerau in a time of 7hr 44m 58s on Saturday - about 45 minutes quicker than the previous record set by former Tarawera Ultramarathon and Rotorua Marathon champion Sam Wreford in 2011.

Napier's Muir, a former winner, added her name to the history books winning the women's 100km race in just over nine hours, more than an hour quicker than the old record.

Conditions were near perfect for racing on Saturday and the elite field was the strongest it has been in the event's seven-year history.

Bowman said it was satisfying to cross the line first and he rated the win as the best of his career.

"It is my first international race that went well and this is a very high-profile event, so I really wanted to have a strong performance," he said.

"It helps establish myself on the international scene and this is my life, so when something goes well like this it is very satisfying."

In the women's race, Muir had a tight battle with fellow New Zealander Ruth Croft.

After leading for most of the journey, Muir was caught by Croft with about 10km to go in the race.

"I thought it was over, I was feeling pretty low at that point, but when she came parallel with me I thought 'this is not happening' and went for it," Muir said.

She had discovered some energy from somewhere and managed to pull away and win the race.

"I have never felt that before, I did a lot of road running in my training and I think that helped a lot," Muir said.

She finished 12 minutes ahead of Croft, with world champion Nuria Picas-Albets (Spain) finishing in third, 38 minutes back from the winner.

Men: 1 Dylan Bowman (USA) 07:44:58; 2 Jorge Maravilla (USA) 08:01:45, 3 Yoshikazu Hara (Japan) 08:12:14; 4 Vajin Armstrong (Christchurch) 08:26:50; 5 Michael Wardian (USA) 08:32:38.

Women: 1 Ruby Muir (Napier) 09:02:45; Ruth Croft (Taiwan) 09:14:36; 3 Nuria Picas-Albets (Spain) 09:40:49; 4 Fiona Hayvice (Wellington) 09:57:33; 5 Kovo Kowalewski (Hamilton) 09:57:45.