BOYD’S 3 DAYS AT THE FAIR IN THE GOOD OL’ US OF A

Kate Dzienis • May 28, 2022

Contributed by Marie Boyd, AURA member (Bishop, CA-USA/ACT)

3 DAYS AT THE FAIR, NEW JERSEY STATE FAIRGROUNDS (NJ, USA), 9-15 May 2022

The New Jersey Trail Series includes the famed 3 Days at the Fair, a timed loop format race. Over the years, a 6 day event has been added, and on occasion a 10 day race.

Held at the New Jersey State Fairgrounds, the event has wonderful infrastructure to support over 200 athletes as they attempt 6hr, 12hr, 24hr, 48hr, 72hr and 6 day events plus marathons, 50mi and 100mi distances as well.

The accurately measured and certified one mile loop is almost completely paved, with a short gravel section linking two roads. Exposed, with some late afternoon shade, hot and humid afternoons can be problems for those unused to such combinations of conditions. At times, cloud cover was so welcome, and a rain fall lasting for a couple of hours during the last night was a change of pace as well.

Runners are supported by the McNulty family, who do the cooking, timing, awards and general race support. A family atmosphere prevails, with all runners feeling welcomed, supported and running efforts cheerfully recognised.

Rental RV and trailers are available, and are fully set up and ready for occupancy before the race. A pumpout service can be scheduled for waste water collection. There is a wonderful rest room block, with several hot showers available at any time.

My own race, over 6 days, was so much fun.

Meeting several of my Team Old Biddy comrades for the first time was unforgettable. Helen, Scotty, Terrie and Fran became my sisters over this week – we have been doing virtual races for 2 years, and this was our first gathering at an actual race. Fran picked me up from Newark Airport, and offered the hospitality of the house that night before we drove to the fairgrounds. Her kindness made all the difference in my ability to attend this event.

My goal was to improve on 249.2mi (400km) set at Across the Years in January. This is my third improvement on the Women’s 70-74 6 day record, possibly the last! Finish mileage of 257mi was entirely acceptable, considering some of the trying weather conditions during the week. At my advanced age, I know the need for a slow and steady pace, with sufficient rest (3-4 hours a night), close attention to foot care, electrolyte, fluid and calorie intake, and new for this year – sunblock on chapped lips.

Having a compact trailer close by, with heating and cooling, hot shower, toilet, fridge, stove, freezer and comfortable bed made the world of difference. With no crew, planned rest stops take longer. However, time was well spent in laying out the next clothing change, shoe change, fluids, supplements, quick clothing change and so on.

The days flew by – an hourly commitment to taking fluid and electrolyte supplements comes round so quickly. I developed a schedule that worked – quick break every 5-10 miles, a shoe change, cold or hot drink, and off the course by about 1am.

Day 1 was my big mileage day with 51mi. Day 2 – 47mi, and then Days 3 to 6, I tried for about 42mi per day. This worked well for me, and when I hit 250mi and broke the record, I rang the bell, and retired for a well-earned 4 hour sleep, just as the rain started pouring down.

By 5am, I was back out on a wonderfully cool course, and cheerfully put in another 7mi before calling it good, and deciding against a full on sprint for one more mile. Awards were given – I received a 200mi medallion, and 202mi belt buckle. Scotty carried a brick around the course to celebrate 1500mi at the Fair – we all walked the lap with her, enjoying her achievement vicariously.

All too soon it was time to vacate the trailer, pack Fran’s car, and return to her home for an overnight stay before flying back to the west coast. We helped Fran and Scotty break down their tents, bid so many new friends a fond farewell, exchanged information on other 6 day events, and hit the road for the 45mi drive.

Arriving at Fran’s, to my horror, I discovered my phone and watch were not in my purse. A brief moment of anguish, and then we remembered the “Find my Phone” app on the iPad! Hurrah – it was at the fairground, in the trailer, which wasn’t being moved until the following day. My dear friends didn’t hesitate – we drove back, retrieved the items, and returned home. It was my pleasure to take us out for dinner at a small Italian restaurant, where we had a proper meal for the first time in a week.

The next morning I flew back to the west coast via Denver and Reno, stayed overnight, and then drove the 4 hours back to Bishop. Piece of cake!

Pictured: Team Old Biddy at the start of the 3 Days At The Fair event. 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.