Two IAU 100 km world titles
Won in Duluth in 1990 and from Florence to Faenza in 1991, becoming the first woman to win the competition twice.
Source-checked athlete record · Updated Aug 18, 2026
Eleanor Adams-Robinson
Two-time 100 km world champion and multiday record setter
Eleanor Adams-Robinson won two 100 km world titles and set former world bests at 24 hours, six days, and 1,000 miles.
United KingdomBirmingham, England
The record so far
Eleanor Adams-Robinson is a British ultrarunner whose results span road championships, fixed-time events, and multiday races. She became the first woman to win the IAU 100 km world competition twice, taking the 1990 title in Duluth and the 1991 title on the Florence-to-Faenza course.
Her multiday career included five wins at the Colac Six Day Race. In 1989 she covered 866.368 km there for a women’s world best, one year before Sandra Barwick raised the mark. She also set a women’s 24-hour world best of 240.169 km in Melbourne in 1989; that record has likewise been surpassed.
Adams-Robinson continued setting age-group standards into her fifties. At the 1998 Nanango 1,000 Mile Race she finished in 13 days, 1 hour, 54 minutes, and 2 seconds, a performance listed in the IAU record tables as the W50 benchmark. She was inducted into the Ultra Magazine Hall of Fame in 2024.
Defining performances
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Five Colac Six Day victories
Won five editions and raised the women’s six-day world best to 866.368 km in 1989; Sandra Barwick surpassed it in 1990.
Women’s 24-hour world best
Covered 240.169 km in Melbourne, becoming the first woman to exceed 240 km in 24 hours; the record was later surpassed.
1,000-mile W50 benchmark
Completed 1,000 miles at Nanango in 13 days, 1 hour, 54 minutes, and 2 seconds.
Performance history
| Date | Event | Performance | Result | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rowbotham’s Round Rotherham50-mile trail | 10:39:48 | 1st W60 | View ↗ | |
| Nanango 1,000 Mile Track Race1,000-mile track | 13d 01:54:02 | W50 world age best | View ↗ | |
| 100 km de Rognonas100 km road | 8:06:45 | 1st woman | View ↗ | |
| IAU 100 km World Championship100 km road | 7:52:15 | World champion | View ↗ | |
| IAU 100 km World Championship100 km road | 7:55:08 | World champion | View ↗ | |
| Colac Six Day RaceSix-day track | 866.368 km | 1st woman · Former world best | View ↗ | |
| Melbourne 24-Hour Race24-hour track | 240.169 km | 1st woman · Former world best | View ↗ |
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