Everything You Need To Know About The Pilliga Ultra

July 30, 2024

race preview

by hilary mcallister

This September, runners from across the country will come together in Gomeroi Country for the Pilliga Ultra, a three-day celebration of running, community, and nature.

The Pilliga Ultra is much more than a race. Over the event weekend, runners will participate in workshops, attend local tours, learn about Gomeroi cutulture and enjoy a range of entertainment. The goal of the Pilliga Ultra is to bring people to this often overlooked part of New South Wales, and appreciate this unique and vulnerable landscape.

The event kicks off on Friday, September 13th, with a twilight 10k, followed by the 50k ultramarathon on Saturday and the 20k on Sunday. You can tackle one, two, or even all three of the events. The field is capped at 200 runners across the three events, creating a relaxed, supportive, and fun atmosphere for all. Registrations are now open.

The event takes place at Pilliga Pottery, which is a unique, off-grid oasis nestled in the Pilliga Forest. This family-run farm has been lovingly created by the Rickert family over several decades, and has all of the essential ingredients for a wholesome weekend; delicious home cooked meals, excellent coffee, creekside camping, bespoke accommodation and most importantly, a vast network of trails to explore.

PU10

On Friday night, runners and hikers will set off at 4pm for a fun yet challenging route that takes in some of the best views of the forest. Starting with a flat, easy section to the Panorama Loop, which offers wonderful views south towards the Warrumbungles. The PU10 event can be hiked or run - please note cutoff times will be in place at the Aid Station.

Thick with Flannel Flowers in spring, this technical section is what single-track dreams are made of. After traversing east on undulating single-track, you merge onto a rough fire road, gradually ascending, before swinging south down a playful, gradual descent that connects to farm roads, leading you back to the Pottery.

Elevation Gain: Approx. 241 meters
Start time: 4:00pm Friday
Finish time: 6:30pm
Total Time for PU10: 2.5 HRS
Aid Station 1 - 6.5km

PU50 Ultramarathon

Starting at 6am on Saturday morning, the ultramarathon explores the many different rugged landscapes of the Pilliga forest. Get ready to experience exposed escarpments, native pine groves, grassy gullies, amazing rock formations, hidden caves, and vast vistas across the neverending Pilliga forest. Along the way, keep your eyes peeled for kangaroos, wallabies, emus, and circling wedge-tailed eagles overhead.

The trail is a combination of technical single track, with short and steep hills, rocky outcrops, and relaxing farm roads. From the farmland, the trail takes you into the scrub winding up and down rocky ridgelines, in and out of water-cut valleys and through ironbark forests. There are excellent viewpoints along the higher sections, some of which require a brief out and back. Highlights include Maria’s Lookout and Kerry’s Lookout.

Start 6:00am Saturday
Finish: 6:00pm
Total time for PU50: 12 HRS
Aid Station 1 - 12.4km
Aid Station 2 - 20.5km
Aid Station 3 - 30km
Aid Station 4 - 44.5km

PU20

The Pilliga Ultra 20km event includes an incredibly varied landscape and all the most technical elements of the 50km course. The trail is a combination of technical single track, that follows handcrafted singletrack and rambling fire trails. The 20k event can be hiked or run - please note cutoff times will be in place at the Aid Station.

The entire loop contains hidden and impressive rock formations, with plenty of caves, canyons and chasms along the route. From the farmland, the trail takes you into the scrub winding up and down rocky ridgelines, in and out of water cut valleys and through ironbark forests, which are home to wallabies, emus, wombats and unfortunately, plent of wild goats.

Be prepared to run through overgrown sections, jump the occasional fallen tree and get wet feet if the creeks are running! There are excellent view points along the way, with sweeping views to the Warrumbungles to the south.

Start time: 7:00am Sunday
Finish: 12:30am
Total time for PU20: 5.5 HRS
Aid Station 1 - 8.5km = 9:30am

If you’d like to join us in the Pilliga Ultra, then you can sign up today. If running or hiking doesn’t take your fancy, you can volunteer either on course, or at the event headquarters. AUTRA members are eligible for a 10% discount off event entry, which can be redeemed via this unique registration link.

For more information, head to www.pilligaultra.com or reach out to event organisers at pilliga@forwildplaces.com

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AUTRA News Report 19-02-2025

By Kate Dzienis • February 19, 2025

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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.