AGE GROUP RECORDS FOR WILSON AT INVITATIONAL

Kate Dzienis • July 30, 2022

Contributed by Greg Wilson, AURA member (Kyneton, Vic) & Christy Lambert, AURA member (Romsey, Vic)

AUSTRALIAN 24 HOUR TRACK INVITATIONAL, CANBERRA (ACT), 2-3 July 2022

Christy Lambert’s previous visit to the Australian Institute of Sport’s (AIS) track in Canberra was about 25 years ago. The 17-year-old aspiring 400-metre hurdler completed the grueling event and promptly bounded up into the stands to chat with her support team. Her coach (Olympian Pam Ryan) asked Christy to turn around and look down at the track. Her opponents were all still sprawled on the track in varying stages of exhaustion. This learning experience may well have been to show Christy that she could have put more into the event, but much more likely it was to bring home the depth of Christy’s running endurance.

Fast forward to Saturday, 2 July 2022 and Christy’s second attempt at running for 24 hours, a few months after debuting with victory in the Victorian 24 Hour Championship at Coburg (175km). With a sensible, conservative start Christy was able to overcome the bitterly cold conditions and various health ailments, to achieve 1st Female victory in the Open Event with a new Personal Best of 184.044km.

By remarkable coincidence this was right in the middle of the distances achieved by training partner Greg Wilson on debut at Coburg back in 1992 (181.1km) and Wollongong 1994 (189.9km). This was around the same period that Christy was exuberantly bounding up the AIS grandstand!

The last time Wilson was at the AIS track was in February this year when after a break of 25 years he had a belated attempt at a long standing 100 Mile Australian Age Record held by ‘folk legend’ Cliff Young (Male 65-69 of 22:28:05). Having only one 6 Hour event, due to years of Covid cancellations and a bad injury, it was ‘highly ambitious’ to, at 69, attempt a record that ‘Cliffy’ set in 1988 aged 65!

So it proved, as after 15 hours of running and still 1hr 30m in front of record pace, Wilson retired from the event.

Again moving on to the present and in the same event as Christy, it was time for his first serious attempt at the records in his new M70 age group. It must be said that if aiming to complete a 24 Hour event it is not a good race plan, to attempt a series of records at intermediate distances. Going too hard early is a recipe for much discomfort later. However if you doubt you can even complete the long distance, then it would be foolhardy to bypass records along the way. Hence the plan was to aim for intermediate records, use up the petrol doing so and whatever happens later, was probably going to occur anyway!

Australian M70 Age Group Records set on 2-3 July 2022:

6 Hour 61.9km (was 58.531km John Nuttall 2022)
50 Mile 8:32:39 (was 8:38:23 Harry Davis 2014)
100km 11hr 15m (was 11:42:29 John Nuttall 2022)
12 Hour 106km (was 102km John Nuttall 2022)

Wilson: In March with one 6 Hour under my belt, I went to Canberra at 69 (Sri Chinmoy) with the belated (and cheeky) thought that I could attempt the oldest M65 record on the books (100 Mile Cliff Young 22:28:05 at 65yo). Not really believing. I lasted 15 hours (115km) and went home, though 1hr 30 ahead of record pace.

Once more back in Canberra I was again in my tent at 15 hours. Got back out and finished, along the way surpassing Cliffy’s mark by 1min 38 sec, while not even aware of it, as not on my M70 list!

At the Invitational: By the time I passed the first record I was not feeling great, so had a brief break and resumed at a slower pace. That wasn’t going to achieve an 80km record, so there were 10 laps back down to my early pace, to nab it by 6 mins.

A few slow laps to recover from the effort and then picked up the pace again, prior to a brief break and then settling on 3 laps run/3 laps walk. The calculation was this should be sufficient to attain the 100km/ 12 hour marks. This was the case as I was able to shave over 27 mins off the 100km and accrue an extra 4km for the 12 Hour.

All that effort and we were now only halfway. 8pm on a frigid Canberra night and the next record mark seemed mentally and physically impossible, over 10 hours away!

I walked. Later on when told I would need to run to be in the record ‘ballpark’, I tried running a few. Nope! I was having trouble going in a straight line on the track and knew from my ancient history that it was not a good sign. I managed a good period of 3 laps run/3 laps walk. The problem was this had been devised to maintain record pace and both my walking and running speed had deteriorated badly. ‘Losing my rudder’ after 328 laps I steered it towards my collapsed tent, wrapped myself in a doona and just lay there.

I could hear crew member Frankie lying straight faced to the Race Director saying ‘Don’t worry, it’s all part of the plan.’ Christy was still out there, gamely completing laps, while no doubt feeling as bad as I did. Crucially the thought that this exactly what transpired at 15 hours last time I was in Canberra.

Eventually although with no plan, I stumbled back out to the track (lap 327 took 47min 50s!) and walked…then ran. I can’t remember doing it for 6 hours but I settled into walking the bends and running the straights. Matthew Eckford (RD) asked at one stage if I was aiming for 100 Miles (meaning the record) and I replied, ‘That’s the intention!’ (meaning by the end of 24 hours).

As I came closer to the 22 hour mark, I realised that I was going to finish this thing and that the 100 Mile record was still a possibility. So it transpired:

100 Mile 22:26:27 (was 22:39:55 Deryck Skinner 2005)
24 Hour 170.5km (was 166.33km Deryck Skinner 2005)

I hadn’t paid much attention to what these final two were, as they seemed a most unlikely achievement. With a few laps to go it sunk in that I had already passed the 24 Hour record, so I just walked, smiled, danced around Christy and just made sure I got over 170km, as it was a nice round number.

Pictured: Christy Lambert and Greg Wilson at the 2022 Australian 24 Hour Track Invitational. Photograph – Supplied.

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Australian Mountain and Trail Running Championships 2027

By Jin Kato • July 8, 2026

The world-class trails of Kunanyi/Mt Wellington will play centre-stage for one of the country’s fastest-growing sports, after the Kunanyi Mountain Run (KMR) was awarded the hosting rights for the first-ever combined Australian Mountain and Trail Running Championships (AMTRC). KMR was awarded the National Championships after a competitive bid process, overseen by the Australian Ultra and Trail Running Association (AUTRA) and Australian Athletics (AA). AUTRA President, John Claridge, said that KMR “offered everything we were looking for”. “World-class trails, proven event management and a passionate community. It provides the perfect stage for Australia's first combined National Trail Championships," he said. It’s expected that Australia’s elite mountain and trail running athletes, and support crew, will travel to Hobart, as they vie for a spot in the Australian team that competes at the 2027 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships. "This is a landmark moment for trail running in Australia,” Mr Claridge said. "We're excited about what this championship represents; not just next year, but for the future of trail running in Australia... helping grow the sport and inspire the next generation of trail runners." The 2027 AMTRC at KMR will be the first time that all championship distances have been held together, at the one festival. “It aligns us more closely with the way World Championships are presented, creating a stronger pathway for athletes and raising the profile of the sport,” Mr Claridge said. KMR, a 3-day trail running festival which has been held annually since 2022, expects to draw more than 1500 runners and hikers from across Tasmania, Australia and internationally next year. The AMTRC will be embedded within KMR’s existing event program, allowing elite athletes to compete for the national titles, while sharing the same spectacular trails and event-experience as recreational runners. “We’re honoured to have been selected as host,” KMR’s founder and director, Lincoln Quilliam said. “KMR continues to welcome runners, and hikers, of all abilities. From the elites who want to represent Australia on the world stage, the group of mates or work colleagues who run the team relay together, the mums returning to running after having a baby, as well as those who are trying trail running for the very first time,” Mr Quilliam said. Tasmanian runner, Jessica Collins, who has represented Australia, said it was exciting news for KMR, Tasmania and the sport. “This is such a great opportunity for Australian athletes. I’ve run many of the KMR events and know the courses and the terrain are on par with what we see at the World Champs,” she said. The City of Hobart has supported Kunanyi Mountain Run since its inception, and Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds said she was “thrilled” with the news. “Events like this not only showcase the natural beauty of our region but also reinforce Hobart’s reputation as a vibrant destination for world-class outdoor experiences.” The 2026 edition of KMR brought in $4 million to the Tasmanian economy, generating more than 8000 bed nights across the state, which Alex Heroys, Chief Executive of Destination Southern Tasmania, said was a “significant return for the visitor economy”. “Kunanyi / Mount Wellington is one of Tasmania’s great natural assets, and the Kunanyi Mountain Run shows exactly how powerful events can be in driving regional tourism,” he said. “We have an epic mountain right on Hobart’s doorstep, an airport less than 30 minutes away, and a city that is well set up to welcome thousands of visiting athletes, support crews and spectators.” “This event also reinforces Tasmania’s growing reputation as a world-class trail running destination. With steep, technical trails and real mountain terrain, Kunanyi offers conditions that are genuinely comparable to what athletes will experience at the World Championships, making it an ideal place to compete, train and visit.” For more information: Kunanyi Mountain Run Dates: 19-21 March 2027 Pic credit: David Nolan & Ryan Slater