EMMERSON UNSTOPPABLE AT BTU

Kate Dzienis • July 30, 2019

Contributed by Kellie Emmerson, AURA member/2019 Brisbane Trail Ultra 110km 1st Female

Brisbane Trail Ultra 110km, Qld on 6 July, 2019

I hate training through winter. With a passion. It’s a big shame that my European A races always mean training through the cold, miserable rainy Melbourne winter! But it meant that I didn’t hesitate to say yes to a weekend away in ‘sunny’ Brisbane in the middle of winter.

The Brisbane Trail Ultra was a brand new event put on by Shona Stephenson and her enthusiastic team. It fell at the start of July, coinciding with school holidays, my mother-in-law’s birthday on the Sunshine Coast, and the perfect timeframe out from UTMB for a good lead-in race.

I flew into Brisbane very late on the Thursday night and Uber’d my way to the athlete accommodation a few hundred metres from the start line. Beth and Aaron were still up and we stood on the balcony catching up and chatting about the race excitedly whilst looking over the river and city lights. It was so nice not to feel cold for the first time in months!

The next morning we slept in and then headed for an easy trot along the last few kilometres of the course, along Southbank and over the river. Although short, this little run saved me and a few others the next day.

Coffee, breakfast, food shopping took out most of the day before heading to the athlete check in and briefing at the finish line next to the Maritime Museum on Southbank. There was a buzz of excitement in the air over lots of discussion of the unknown. There were lots of interstate runners, lots of international runners (mostly Japanese) and no-one had ever run the race before. Although exciting, it’s always a little daunting running an inaugural event. You need to go into it knowing that some things will go wrong, be prepared to deal with those, and hope that most variables have been controlled.

The next morning came quickly. My hubby Tegyn had arrived late during the night but got up with me to make me coffee and provide some reassurance. Gotta love him. I was out the door by 5.15am, picked up by Amanda and off to the start line for weigh in. The first wave with the majority of runners had started at 5am, and we were warned that one had already managed to get lost. Not a great start! It felt a little strange to be starting with less than 10 runners, but it turned out to be a great idea. I started out fairly hard, but comfortable, and without planning it Ben Duffus and I kind of used each other. I didn’t want to get lost, and knew that his local knowledge would ensure that didn’t happen! He had opted for a crappy head torch in the dawn light, and so my Ay Up provided plenty of light for us both! I stuck with Ben for about 25 mins before he ramped it up. Vlad had pulled away early.

We had lovely conditions for the first hour, but soon the sky opened up and it didn’t stop raining for the majority of the race. I was drenched, but happy to not be cold. I felt too warm to put on a rain coat so toughed it out and turned into a prune. It really wasn’t that enjoyable being so wet for so long, and brought up all sorts of extra chafe issues!

We spent the first few hours catching up to all the earlier 110km and 100mile starters. It was nice to have some company out on course and some targets to chase down. We ran through some beautiful single track and were required to clip our bib with an orienteering control punch to prove we’d been there. Apparently we also ran to a few lookouts, but there were no views today.

Up until the first crewed checkpoint at 46km (Mount Nebo public school), it was fairly runnable with a few pinchy climbs. I was happy that the last thing Tegz did before I left in the morning was to add the map to maps.me on my phone – this came in handy at a few decision points during the race. Some others weren’t so lucky and I had started to notice a few runners going the wrong way.

I made sure they put a marshal out at one of the main decision points to save any other poor souls! I ran into the 46km checkpoint feeling pretty good. A quick weigh showed that I had lost just over a kilogram. I shoved down some boiled potatoes and took some for the road. I had decided to try a new nutrition plan with a bit more savoury than sweet, and it worked a treat!

The next section was insane. I think this was Township break. I was not expecting these sorts of hills in Brisbane. And the non-stop rain just added to the challenge. Extremely++ steep ups and downs. Ropes and trees the only thing saving you from sliding all the way down. It was hard going, but nice to have a bit of a change. We soon started to get caught by the 60km and 30km runners. They had started at later intervals throughout the day. Every time I saw one of my buddies it was a great pick-me-up. I really liked this format. A nice downhill single track led into Gold Creek reservoir where my crew were waiting to refuel me.

I don’t recall much of the next section other than another lookout and lots of koala signs. I’m guessing koalas don’t like the rain either because I didn’t see any.

Slaughter falls and the red bull climb was next. I had decided that it would be silly for me to attempt anything quick after so many kms already in the legs. So I just plodded along, mostly hiking. I was surprised to later hear I came 7th up this. The last section seemed to go on and on. I was really determined to get out of the forest before darkness hit. Steph Auston ran past and had exactly the same idea.

We soon made it to a street, and that lead towards the city. Cities make me nervous. More people means more tampering, and sure enough that’s exactly what happened. We ran blindly towards the centre of town, wherever that was! I tried to keep some other runners in my sight, hoping that they knew the way. The traffic police were amazing in enabling quick road crossings, but many of the ribbons has been ripped down. I was soon turned around by someone running towards me – we were all going the wrong way! She was on the phone getting directions, and a bunch of us ran back towards Suncorp stadium and made the correct turn.

Again I tried to keep some others in my sight, but we all soon came to a big bridge unsure of the next step. A few seconds to have a good think about it, and I remembered the bridge! This is where I had been on our recce run the day before. I was so happy to know the way, leading the other guys and acknowledging that I had about 10mins to make it under 12 hours. I powered home along Southbank and finished in 11.58. The finish line was buzzing and I was very happy to be done!

I was really happy with how this race played out for me. Nutrition had been spot on, I had no real low patches. Gear had worked well – Hoka Speed Goats were perfect for this race, as was my Camelbak Zephyr to carry all the mandatory kit. I had taken my time making decisions, not panicked, and made the right choices to keep me on the right track (most of the time!).

I ran within my own comfort zone all day, and finished a lot quicker than I had initially anticipated. It was a well organised event that offered heaps of options for everybody, from 30km to 100miles, and even relay options. The team had put a lot of effort in, and I’m sure it will only get better from here!

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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.