COBURG AND BEYOND

Kate Dzienis • July 2, 2022

Contributed by Greg Wilson, AURA member (Kyneton, Vic)

COBURG 24 HOUR, COBURG EAST (VIC), 9-10 April 2022

Christy Lambert (AURA member from Romsey, Vic) had a teenage athletics career as a talented 400m hurdler, but life got in the way and it was put on hold. After a break of around 20 years, in an effort to find an enjoyable leisure activity, she again commenced running. After a few years this included longer runs, with a group of Mt Macedon trail runners.

Greg Wilson commenced running at 17 after joining the Army and being told “run”. After about 15 years and 30 marathons he retired injured. Then in the 90s came a 6 year ultra career in which he won or placed in most events. After a break of around 20 years, he decided to get fit enough to attempt a marathon again. After some years of solo training he discovered a group called Mt Macedon Trail Runners and joined them for long weekend runs.

In April of 2019 during a 2 hour group run in the Cobaw Ranges, I was introduced to a new runner, Christy Lambert. The top local female runner Sarah Schroeder said “Don’t worry about me, Christy is just starting out and will beat anything I have done.” The next day we did another 2.5 hours of solid run on Mt Macedon. I thought that’s one BIG weekend, these girls can really run. Mainly they just trained because they enjoyed exercise and companionship in the beautiful Mt Macedon bush.

Finally in Dec 2019 Christy joined us in a 24km Gold Rush trail event and came 3rd female, finishing 7 min in front of me. Except when I got lost once, this was the first time one of the locals had got to the finish in front of me. Yes, I was impressed!

Then Covid hit and interfered for a couple of years. A small group paced me in a virtual Townsville marathon (at Woodend). We stayed together for the first half and then Christy did a negative split of 20 minutes coming home! Unheard of! During Covid, Romsey local Mathew Collins and Christy went for a run and covered every street in Romsey, totalling over 70km.

Due to an ultra being cancelled, top Gisborne ultra-runner Mat Piper invented Crossing To The Cross so Georgia Thomas wouldn’t waste all her training. A couple of locals completed the 101km mountainous torture test with her. In August 2020 Philip Paton decided he would challenge this course and Christy agreed to accompany him. I was to pace them on the final section, which involved two ascents and a loop of Mt Macedon. All this on a cold winter night after being on their feet for 15 hours already. When they arrived I soon discovered that Phil was “crook” and struggling and his running partner, the novice Christy…seemed as fresh as a daisy! Eventually they achieved this epic feat together in 18 hrs 14 min.

A couple of weeks later I did the IAU 6 Hour Virtual Global Challenge. I was paced for 3 hours by Christy and then the same by Anna Jacometti, achieving around 65.5km (on my generous Strava).

More Covid and when we were in touch I realised that Christy had turned 40 and I suggested that she would be competitive at Masters running. Ever accommodating Christy said, “Okay, I will give it a try”. Two Championship events for two victories, at her first 10km track in 39min 14sec and first ever 8km cross country in 34min 05sec.

More Covid and we finally got together for a long training run on Mt Macedon at the start of 2022. Christy and I did 37km with 925m of climb and averaged under 6min kms. Christy picked up 25 Strava segment awards!

Since the Crossing to Cross performance I was convinced that Christy would be a fine ultra marathoner. This run convinced me further and over coffee we discussed 2 Bay’s Trail Run. I had no plan to run it but said, “I will if you do.” Ever up for a challenge Christy said yes. By now you know what I am going to say! 56 warm and difficult kilometres later and Christy is on the podium, with a 3rd in the AURA Short Trail Ultra Championship, in her first ultra!

We did a couple of similar training runs in February and discussed the next suitable event. With some trepidation I proposed an ultra event on the track at Coburg in April. “Which distance should I do?” I said I have a carryover entry for 12 Hours, but the main event is the 24 Hour. “Oh okay, I will do that then!” My thoughts, “What have I done to poor Christy? This is a huge leap from a debut 56km trail event, which was a huge leap from her debut 3 hr 09 marathon.” She may never speak to me again!

Onto Coburg

I hope Christy will put in a first hand report, but my abridged version follows. Straight to the front of the female field and behind only one male. Running strong, smooth and relaxed and to me looking right at home. About 100km after 12 Hours, but it is starting to hurt and it is going to be a difficult and painful second half. However Christy had built up a 10km buffer back to Fleur and this proved unassailable. There were periods off the track with stomach issues, but Christy showed great courage and just stayed out there, walked a lot, and ran when she could and won her debut 24 Hour track event with 175.340kms.

Meanwhile the bloke who put her through this was running for a mere 12 Hours and aiming to see how close he could get to the over 70 Age Record, even though he was not over 70 yet. I managed to find a strong last 45 minutes and came through the field to 4th, recording 100.940km to be narrowly in front of the record. Somehow I now need to maintain some fitness and find an event with lovely conditions, so I can do it again.

What will Christy do as a follow up? To my knowledge she has been on the podium in every race she has contested. A little water under the bridge, a training run on Mt Macedon, a cup of coffee, a suggestion…and “Okay, Let’s do it then!”

A couple of weeks later Christy, on tired legs, was still classy enough for 2nd Female in the 22km Run The Rock in 1hr 42m 59s. I took full advantage to be less than 5mins behind in 1hr 47m 18s.

Then the Mt. Macedon 50km Trail Ultra

Late in May Christy was ready for another ultra, this one in her backyard at Mt. Macedon. This extremely tough 50km was right up her alley and with everything going smoothly another podium result was in the bag. As the 5th runner across the line, Christy’s victory as 1st Female was achieved in an outstanding 5hrs 41min.

And the Southern Sydney 6 Hour Track Ultra

It was my turn a week later. Covid and injury had prevented my belated challenge for M65 AURA Age Records. In 2021 after years of Covid delays and a long recovery from a fall, I went to Southern Sydney for my first track ultra in over 25 years. Whilst Melbourne were still locked down, regional Victoria was given a brief reprieve. Unfortunately my flight was cancelled at the last minute, so I drove up and managed just over 60km.

Fast forward a year and I felt I was better prepared, I flew up on the day, but I was a year older…6 days from moving into M70. I had no idea what to expect, so just ran solidly and waited for the inevitable slowdown, as I paid for it. After a marathon in 3hr 44m I ran on okay, but couldn’t press too hard due to niggling cramps. In the end a couple of shoe changes proved the difference as I completed 65.230km and missed the M65 record by about 250 metres. Age graded this converted to 87km and stands as one of my career best performances.

Christy and Greg at Coburg 24hr upon her completion of the 24hr.

Next weekend both Christy and I will brave the midwinter chill of Canberra as we run in the open event at the Australian 24 Hour Track Invitational. With the experience of Coburg under her belt I expect that Christy will improve on her fine 175km. How much further will of course depend on how smoothly the event goes!?

My plan in the same event is to challenge John Nuttall’s new M70 records for 6 Hour, 12 Hour and 100km. The 50 mile is along the way, but even tougher. Anything that happens in the second half will be a bonus, after running the first half solidly.

The adventure continues…

Pictured (feature) Christy Lambert at the 2022 Coburg 24 Hour. 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.