AMAZING ATMOSPHERE AT BUNBURY TRACK ULTRA

Kate Dzienis • August 23, 2018

Contributed by Ron McGlinn, Race Director, Bunbury Track Ultra

Where do I start? There were so many fantastic efforts by individuals and teams out there this year, that I thoroughly enjoyed myself from start to finish. The examples of mateship, love and compassion from each runner to one another was great to share in.

The support crews, family and friends were encouraging and really made for a warm beautiful atmosphere. Thank you from me personally, for really putting your best foot forward in the running community, I am so proud of all of you for making it a really successful event.

In the lead up to the Bunbury Track Ultra, I was plagued by computer and timing issues, which made it problematic and stressful, to say the least. Unable to sync the timing gear software to the hardware left me with a non-functional system and very few options. One option was to manually time the event with volunteers and paperwork, which would have left it problematic and unable to have any official records for this event, and the other was to cancel the event completely.

Mostly I was left sick with a decision that few race directors want to make at any time in their lives. To have their worst fears confirmed, and have to cancel an event in the days leading up to the race. We all know how much time and effort as well as mental preparation goes into these races and it was possibly the worst personal decision I had to make for quite some time.

While I was busy ringing the out-of-state and overseas competitors advising them to consider cancelling their flights, I was given a lifeline by Chris Lark from Belmont Squash & RunningWorks, who offered at the last minute, in the 11th hour, to come down and time the event. Truly one of the better days I have had recently I must admit. Chris worked on the timing system during those last few days and it was his hard work that largely got the event over the line.

Thanks Chris, you are a legend!

With those issues far behind, we now had an event. There were a number of other matters that do not rate a mention, although one of which was at 5pm on the evening before the event, finding out that the toilet block on the back side of the track (that we were relying on for our lights and power) had been disconnected permanently, pending building a new pavilion at some stage. A quick run around for more lights and the extra purchase of additional lights on Saturday morning after the event had started, I hoped fit the bill, as most runners seemed to be okay with what I was able to provide at short notice, and consequently we had no incidents which is always a good thing.

Having to drain so much power off the bollards we had on the trackside did cause a trip or two, but nothing that was not quickly corrected. I have since discussed the facilities and the possibility of upgrading them for all future events with the local council, and hopefully they will be able to fast track an upgrade at some point in the future. The facility is actually a hidden gem as it is a certified track, and there are so few of those out there.

In terms of the event itself, the inclusion of the 24hr Team event this year was a gift, as it provided an opportunity for a few truly great performances. One of these was the Treasure family being able to run it as a family, and smash out some great totals as individuals and as a team. Seeing family members run together and build memories would have to rate as my best running memory for this year. I felt very privileged and honoured to be able to watch that.

The other memorable experience was watching young Maddy Luscombe running the 3hr this year. In the months leading up to the Track Ultra, Maddy expressed a desire to run it, and after seeing the careful, structured approach to running that she was taking, it was decided that she could enter under the supervision of her mum, AURA member Emma Luscombe. With Maddy being a young teen, I was obviously worried about her ability to handle the run at her age, and was thrilled to watch her smiling the whole way on her journey to winning the Women’s 3hr event with 35.020km, and then continued to run laps to sneakily knock out an easy marathon distance.

So many people I could prattle on about who put in great runs from Darryl Howe, Rob Freitag and Sanath to Charlotte Rumney plugging away in Lane 5 for the 24hr Walk, I could go on all day. Then there were the people that assisted like Rob D, who dragged the trailer load of gear down from Perth, Frank who came to volunteer and runners like Warren who turned up early to lend a big hand to help get it set up, then kitted up and started running.

We all know that it is not a one person show, so I am very grateful to have friends and people who believe in what we do and help out consistently at each of these events. Thanks to those I have mentioned and those who I have not mentioned, you are awesome!

I just want to thank each and every one of you for the efforts you put in, and I hope that you accomplished what you set out to do and that you got out of the event what you were aiming for. We all know that it can be a sometimes tough job out there, so well done.

Pictured: Darryl Howe at this year’s Bunbury Track Ultra 24hr event. Photograph – Ron McGlinn.

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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.