50KM ACHIEVEMENT FOR MIURA

Kate Dzienis • December 28, 2020

Contributed by Kyoko Miura, AURA member

River Run 100 (50 km), 11 October 2020, Brisbane Qld

Participating in this year’s River Run 50km was a last-minute decision. The race was initially sold out with a reduced number of participants allowed but as the restrictions of Covid-19 eased, more entries were allowed. So I decided to enter. It was less than one week before the race.

I have never participated in the River Run before, but I knew about it as it was a local event, and I have seen River Run race participants running around my usual run course. Therefore, the race was always on my ‘may be the next race’ list. The race is usually in September, but this year the race was moved to October. It was one of the first races to be back after the Covid shutdowns. There were two 50km race start times – midnight and sunrise (start at 4:30am). I chose the sunrise start. It was still dark and cool at the start line and it would have been a bit more chilly if the race was in September.

There were fewer people at the start line than I expected – later I found out that quite a few people did not start the race. Once the race started, the other runners flew away, they immediately disappeared. I only had a rough race plan – run my comfortable pace between 4:40 to 5:00/km, and stick with it; not be influenced by other runners. So I tried not to chase these fast runners. As the sun came up, the temperature also increased. The sun was strong – after all, it is Queensland!

The race course was 5 laps of a 10km out and back along the Brisbane River, starting at Moorland Park, with the turnaround point in the City Botanic Gardens in the Brisbane CBD, which was very familiar to me as I live in Brisbane. However, I was very worried about going the wrong way (e.g. passing the turning point) as it has happened several times in past races. I have no sense of direction (!) as well as vision problems. Thankfully, there were plenty of marshals on the course and after my first lap, I had confidence in not going the wrong way. The course was mostly flat and easy to overtake except occasionally during my 2nd and 3rd laps when the paths got somewhat busy as the marathon and half marathon race participants were also on the course.

I felt okay until about halfway I had hoped. As I was completing the laps, other race participants recognised one another and they started cheering for me. Each time, they made me smile and gave me some energy, especially after the 3rd lap when I was feeling ‘tired’ as well as occasionally nauseous (not unusual). Yes, I was getting tired at the last lap but because these runners on the course continued to cheer me up, actually I felt I had more energy than my 4th lap (but the lap speed was slower in the last lap). As I was approaching the park for the 5th time, I looked at my watch to check the distance – was it really time to run through the goal arch? I was so happy to be crossing the finish line.

The weather was nice and sunny, a bit hot, from time to time I felt a head wind but it was not too bad. The jacaranda flowers were blooming along the course and they were very beautiful – in the end, it was a nice race day. A 50km race is the shortest ultra-marathon, yet it is still a big achievement for me since my chronic illnesses. I have a few autoimmune diseases and one of them is systemic, which means the condition affects my whole body – it involves a range of symptoms such as fatigue and pain (peripheral neuropathy) and these symptoms are ‘invisible’ to other people. The symptoms have not been well controlled for a few years and they make it difficult not only in training but also in everyday life. So, in the last few years, I was not able to participate in ultra-races. Thus, completing the River Run is a positive milestone for me. I continue to be an autoimmune warrior. I am about to start a new treatment as the new year starts. I hope it is effective so that I am able to participate in more races and run a 100km race in the near future.

Thank you very much to the race organiser and volunteers in providing this safe and enjoyable race for us. I also appreciate the big unwavering support from my husband.

Pictured: Kyoko Miura taking on the 2020 River Run 50km distance. Photograph – Supplied.

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AUTRA News Report 19-02-2025

By Kate Dzienis • February 19, 2025

The latest in race results, covering Cradle Mountain Run, City Run, Oscars 100 Hut 2 Hut and Yaberoo Trail Ultra.

Final 2024 Points Competition Results

By Alexis Oosterhoff • January 30, 2025

Results for the 2024 AUTRA Points Competition have been finalised, and are available on our Points Competition page. Full details of the top 10 (as shared on Facebook during January) are detailed below, and results for all participating AUTRA members can be found in the documents at the above link. It was a real battle throughout the year between our top two finishers, Phil Gore & Kevin "BK" Matthews, with both giving it their it their all at events, and through contributions to the community - volunteering at multiple events, and submitting articles to our monthly newsletter, Ultramag. They finished within 2km of total distance for the year (Phil on 1203.087km, and Kevin on 1205.510km), and it was only Phil's final volunteering effort on 6 Inch Trail Marathon in December that gave him the that very narrow victory. As you'd be aware from previous communications, this marks the end of the Points Competition. With trail running (of all distances) now incorporated into AU T RA's constitution, and after careful consideration of the costs of the competition payouts in it's current form, the committee felt it was time for it's retirement. This marks my seventh and final year of delivering the points competition to membership (2018-2024), after taking on the role from Cheryl Symons. It has brought me great joy in doing so, and I feel like I've had an opportunity to get to know so many of our members through seeing their race (and volunteering) performances over the years! I'm continuing in my role as the AUS/NZL statistician for DUV (from whom we shared the data for the points comp), and you can expect to continue to find your ultra-race result on their site. 1st Place - Phil Gore (WA) - 86 points Phil's achievements this year have included a massive 265.653km (and 2nd place) at the IAU 24h Asia & Oceania Championships, wins at the Red Dirt Backyard Ultra (33 laps), the Australian leg of Big Dog's Backyard World Team Championship (96 laps), and the Soochow/Taipei 24h Ultramarathon (270.826km). He also knocked out an easy (!) 72km at the Light Horse Ultra 24h in between supporting his amazing wife Gemma. Those two 24h wins netted Phil new Oceania 24h Open Male records, IAU Level 1 qualifiers, and pushed him to the top of Australia's 24h trophy board (with only the great Yiannis Kouros having run further). Phil topped-up his points by contributing one article to Ultramag, worked as an Event Director at Herdy's Frontyard Ultra, and volunteered at a further five events through the year. He finished on 86 points. 2nd Place - Kevin Matthews (WA) - 84 points Finishing in 2nd place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is WA's Kevin Matthews. He monstered his way through the year with finishes at Australia Day Ultra 100km, Delirious WEST 200mi, 24 laps at Herdy's Frontyard Ultra, 190km at Light Horse Ultra 24h, 23 laps at Birdy's Backyard Ultra, and also completed Feral Pig 100 miler, Sandman 50km and Six Inch 47km. And to top things off, he contributed five articles to Ultramag, and volunteered at five events. BK ran 1205km in Ultramarathon races this year, all of them AUTRA-listed, and surpassed 100 marathon finishes (including 51 Ultramarathons!) Kevin finished the year on 84 points, a massive 34 points ahead of our 3rd place finisher Sue Robertson. 3rd Place - Sue Robertson (WA) - 50 points Finishing in 3rd place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is WA's Sue Robertson. Sue completed the Ultra Series 100 miler trilogy of Delirious WEST, Irrational SOUTH and Unreasonable EAST, and rounded out her year with the Sandman 50km and Six Inch 47km races. She received 30 points from the racing at AUTRA-listed events, and was awarded a further 20 points by volunteering across eight events and contributing two articles to Ultramag, for a total of 50 points for the year. Thank you Sue! 4th Place - Margie Hadley (WA) - 47 points Finishing in 4th place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is WA's Margie Hadley . She was the top-female finisher at both the No Time to Die Frontyard Ultra & Wild Dog Backyard Ultra, 2nd at Birdy's Backyard Ultra, ran 182km at the Australian 24h Track Invitational and placed 3rd at Coast to Kosci. Margie received 47 points in the competition 5th Place - Melissa Robertson (NSW) - 44 points Finishing in 5th place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is NSW's Melissa Robertson. Melissa took out 1st place at Irrational SOUTH 200 miler, 2nd place at Lakes Trail Festival 100km, 1st place at Hume & Hovell 100 miler, 3rd place at Rumble in the Jungle and 6th place at Ultra-Trail Kosciuszko 100 miler! She also volunteered at the GNW 50km event, receiving 44 points in the competition! 6th Place - Aaron Young (WA) - 42 points Finishing in 6th place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is WA's Aaron Young . Aaron finished in 1st place at each of the Ultra Series "Triple Crown" of 200 milers (Delirious WEST, Irrational SOUTH and Unreasonable EAST), 55 laps at Big Dog's Backyard World Team Championship, and rounded his year out with Feral Pig 100 miler. Aaron receives 42 points, just nudging ahead of Maree Connor (who also finished on 42 points) on a count-back 7th Place - Maree Connor (NSW) - 42 points Finishing in 7th place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is NSW's Maree Connor. Maree had an outstanding year, achieving 2nd place with 221km (and an IAU Level 1 qualifier) at the IAU 24th Asian and Oceania Championships, 1st place at the Lakes Trail Festival 100km, 1st place with 67km at the Southern Sydney 6h race, and 1st place with 116km at the Narrabeen Allnighter 12h. Maree also competed at Spartathlon race this year (for which she contributed an article to the September Ultramag on her experience), receiving 42 points in the competition. 8th Place - Darren Linney (SA) - 41 points Finishing in 8th place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is SA's Darren Linney . Darren completed 34 laps at No Time to Die BYU, 199km at the Adelaide 24h race, and 814km at the Australian 6 Day race, for a total of 1241km raced and 41 points . 9th Place - Tristan Cameron (WA) - 40 points Finishing in 9th place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is WA's Tristan Cameron. Tristan completed the Ultra Series Triple Crown of 200 mile races (Delirious WEST, Irrational SOUTH and Unreasonable EAST), along with Feral Pig 100 miler, for a total of 1154km raced and 40 points. 10th Place - Jen Millum (WA) - 39 points Finishing in 10th place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is WA's Jen Millum . Jen finished 1st at all three of the Ultra Series Trilogy of 100 milers (Delirious WEST, Irrational SOUTH and Unreasonable EAST), and was 2nd female with 35 laps at the Wild Dog Backyard Ultra. With a volunteer stint at the Yaberoo Trail Ultra, Jen finished the year with 39 points in the competition. To view the complete list of members who secured points in 2024 click here and then follow through to Points Summary under the 2024 tab. All winners have already been contacted, with cash prizes distributed for 1st - 7th places, and AUTRA Store vouchers sent for 8th, 9th & 10th.