COMMITTEE UPDATE

COMMITTEE UPDATE

Alexis Oosterhoff • May 28, 2018

It’s been a busy couple of months for AURA and its membership.

WORLD TRAIL CHAMPIONSHIP

In May, Lou Clifton (12:09:23), Robyn Bruins (12:09:39), Gill Fowler (12:13:49), David Turnbull (12:25:13) and Jessica Schluter (12:36:08) represented Australia at the 2018 World Trail Championships in Penyagolosa, Spain and did our nation proud. A huge congratulations to them all for finishing strongly and within 30min of each other.

I spoke on Tuesday night with David (team captain) about the event, and he had nothing but good things to say about the event organisation and the very tough course: at 88kms with 5000m of ascent, it didn’t look on paper like a tough one, but in his words, it was “brutal” and “technical as … !”

In the lead-up to the event, in addition to the event briefings, each national team received an individual briefing on drug testing, and was advised that the top male and female ranked runners would be tested (in our case, that was Lou and David). They were both required to give blood samples. David stated he was grateful to have undertaken the ASADA online training before attending the event because it gave him a solid understanding of both his and the tester’s responsibilities, and also resulted in him being a lot more informed about the risks inherent in using off-the-shelf supplements when it comes to drug testing. I would encourage all members to have a read of our announcement published back in February (2018) about anti-doping, and strongly recommend that everyone does the ASADA Level 1 & 2 courses, you’ll learn a lot.

AUSTRALIAN RUNNING FESTIVAL

You may have read our notice posted following the Australian Running Festival 50km event held in Canberra on 15 April (2018). As the AURA National Championship 50km race, AURA was asked for advice on how to manage results when a large number of participants were unfortunately directed the wrong way early in the race. While the three lead men went the right way, the lead female group and a large contingent of runners behind them ran up to an additional 6km. This not only impacted the outcome of the female championship results, but also meant that many other participants chasing qualification times for events such as Comrades were affected.

The outcome of the results and the reasoning is discussed in the notice. We fielded numerous calls and emails from participants expressing their disappointment at the race organisation. ARF organisers were extremely open in their communication with us both during and after the race, and sent us a very detailed response about what happened on the day including addressing a number of the concerns that we raised. They have committed to making a number of changes for future championship events, including:

  • Providing a bike for both the lead male and lead female groups, rather than just the one lead bike.
  • Better briefings provided to volunteers, including a full walk-through of the course with key volunteers the week before the event.

In terms of the outcome of the AURA Championship, 1st place was jointly awarded to Larissa Tichon and Rachel Glasson, and third place to Alena Scurrah. A second 1st place trophy is being manufactured for Rachel. ARF agreed to award both Larissa and Rachel the 1st place prize money.

As to whether this event will be awarded the AURA Championships in future years, we will take everything that happened this year into consideration when making that decision.

CHANGE OF DATE FOR 2019 WORLD 24H CHAMPIONSHIP

The date for the 2019 World 24h Championship has been moved forward to May of that year, and will be held in Austria. As a result, applications for the team will now open on 17 December (2018), and close on 13 January (2019).

Also, a reminder the selections for the 2018 World 100km Championships to be held on 8 September in Sveti Martin na Muri Croatia are currently open and will close on 11 June, the day after the Australian 100km Championships on the Gold Coast. The team will be announced on 18 June.

2018 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS

I’d like to acknowledge the results of the three AURA National Championship events held this to date year:

2018 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS (FEMALE)

Title Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Trail (short) Two Bays 14/1/18 Natasha Fraser 4:49:14 Amelia Griffith 5:10:15 Bronwyn Young 5:29:56
48 Hour Canberra 48h 16/3/17 Kerrie Williamson 322.011 km Cheryl Symons 304.246 km Annabel Hepworth 276.824 km
50km Canberra Ultra Marathon 15/4/18 Jointly awared to: Larissa Tichon 4:00:11 and Rachel Glasson 4:09:09 Alena Scurrah 4:28:52
100km Gold Coast 100 10/6/18 Emilie Tan 8:33:17 Barbara Fieberg 8:51:39 Anya Mullin 10:17:07
24 Hour Adelaide 24h 14/7/18 Heather Hawkins 171.615 km Tia Jones 134.200 km Cherie Rothery 103.400 km
Trail (long) Blackall 100 20/10/17 Carmen Atkinson 12:35:14 Alena Scurrah 12:50:31 Chrissy Redwood 12:54:05

2018 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS (MALE)

Title Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Trail (short) Two Bays 14/1/18 Majell Backhausen 4:15:56 Ashley Bennett 4:30:27 Kay Bretz 4:36:55
48 Hour Canberra 48h 16/3/17 Kevin Muller 340.002 km Luke Mulley 310.456 km David Billett 284.475 km
50km Canberra Ultra Marathon 15/4/18 Vladimir Shatrov 3:05:12 Brendan Davies 3:08:42 Barry Keem 3:11:38
100km Gold Coast 100 10/6/18 Darryl Hill 7:18:12 Andrew Heyden 7:37:42 Kevin Muller 7:53:45
24 Hour Adelaide 24h 14/7/18 John Yoon 245.603 km Brendan Davies 224.814 km Darren Linney 214.665 km
Trail (long) Blackall 100 20/10/17 Daniel Williams 10:25:34 Luke Pryor 11:58:39 Michael Bray 11:59:15

And don’t forget the upcoming additional National Championship events:

  • 100km @ Gold Coast 100 on 10 June.
  • 24 Hour @ Adelaide 24h on 14 July.
  • Trail (long course) @ Blackall 100 on 20 October.


VOLUNTEER UPDATE

Many thanks to Dan Symonds for taking on the merchandise role. Shirts/Singlets/Buffs & Caps are now with Dan (located in Brisbane). You can purchase any of these items through the AURA shop.

Alexis Oosterhoff
Vice President, AURA

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.
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.
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IN OTHER NEWS

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.
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.
January 30, 2025
Steve Manning talks strategies for reducing trail running falls risk .
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