Stéphanie Gicquel became the first woman to complete two 100km races in under 8 hours in one week competition
Stéphanie Gicquel became the first woman on Saturday to complete two 100km races competition (Millau and Somme) in the space of a week, under 8-hour mark.
One week after winning the women’s 100km race game in Millau and becoming the first woman to break the 8-hour barrier record, Stéphanie Gicquel repeated her feat this Saturday over the same distance race: the 44-year-old runner completed the 100km of the Somme in 7 hours and 49 minutes, the (3rd in women’s ranking). This back-to-back winning in two 100km races in one week at this level – International A according to the FFA and World Athletics rankings record, meaning a sub-8-hour time for a woman – is a world first.
“The aim of this unprecedented series of runs was to learn in order to continue progressing,” which she explained. “ And I learned a lot: I now know that my body can handle long runs of 100 km or more in quick succession. And the absence of muscle soreness after the race leads me to believe that following the game it up with a third 100 km run would be feasible. This also gives me additional tools to improve my personal training planning with my coach, Jérémy Cabadet. I had already run marathons race back-to-back ( including 7 marathons in 7 consecutive days around the world to prepare for the 2019 World Championships competition), but I had never tested myself at the 100 km distance race.”
A ramp-up towards ambitious goals
The combination of these two races is part of her training plan to build up her strength towards her ultimate goal in ultra distance competitions, which is to improve the French 24-hour record title, which she set in 2022 on the road (253.6 km), as well as the world record with (278 km on the road, 262 km on the track).
Gicquel will be in the United States at the end of the year to continue building momentum in 100-mile and 24-hour formats. With the first step on the December 19 in Phoenix (Arizona) where she improved the French 24-hour track record in the year 2024 (249.3km) .
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