FINALLY GETTING TO THE SILVERTON ALPINE MARATHON

Kate Dzienis • July 19, 2023

Contributed by Hailey Hanney, AURA member (Engadine, NSW)

SILVERTON ALPINE MARATHON, SILVERTON (COLORADO, USA), 8 July 2023

When I was getting a baby cut out of me the week before Christmas the last thing on my mind was running a high-altitude marathon in Colorado. Originally, I was set to take on the Silverton Alpine Marathon in 2020 but like many runners Covid saw all events shut down for the unforeseeable future. When my husband was chosen in the Hardrock lottery and we started planning our USA trip, it gave me the chance to finally take on the challenge.

Any runner knows the toughest part of getting to any start line is getting to the start healthy and uninjured. But I also had to factor in a C-section that meant no running until 12 weeks after birth. As a personal trainer and running coach, I had planned to be active during my pregnancy. Severe morning sickness put an end to running as early as the first trimester.

So I kept myself as strong as possible right up until the birth and began light strength work and regular walks just four weeks after having our son. I was cleared to start running again in early March and got my coach Andy Dubois (Mile27) on board. In the four-month build up to the race, on top of looking after two young kids and studying architecture, I undertook 3-4 strength sessions per week and ran 3-4 times per week (most of those runs on the treadmill while the baby was napping, hopefully).

Remember that bit about healthy and uninjured? Just days before our trip to the USA a bout of Laryngitis and a cough/cold came home from daycare.

Layer on 30 hours travel with two kids and no sleep for the entire trip, let’s just say I was feeling pretty rotten when we finally arrived in Colorado. So I laid low for a week in the lead up to my race and hoped it was enough time to recover. Turns out I still wasn’t 100% by race day, but I was going to start anyway and give it everything I had on the day.

I got up early after a good night’s sleep (thank you little man) and walked up to the Silverton Memorial Park which was the Start/Finish area for the race. My husband and the kids showed up just before the start to surprise me and I also saw some friends from the last time we had visited Silverton in 2018 and 2019.

The race started on time, and I headed out with our friend Ryan Seher as we ran along the streets out of town and onto the jeep trails to the north-east. This section was quite flat. However Silverton is at 2,800m elevation and was the lowest point on the course so it would only get tougher from here. My game plan was to take it easy the whole day and just try to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Surprisingly, the first 13km had plenty of runnable sections, even though the elevation chart for the race made it look like it was mostly uphill till 30km. I mixed running and walking as we passed through Howardsville, Eureka and Animas Forks. There were many old building remnants along the way including rusted out mining equipment that speaks of the area’s history.

As we left Animas Forks the jeep road started to climb and I knew there wouldn’t be any more running until after we hit California Pass at about 27km and 3,950 metres (12,960 feet). The roads had been pretty soft underfoot up until this point, but now there were a lot more rocks and you really had to watch where you were putting your feet or you could easily roll an ankle. It was slow going and every time I looked up it seemed the trail towards the pass got longer and longer. I took a lot of photos here, surrounded by snow covered mountains and with some snowbanks over two metres tall.

This section seemed to go forever and as it got steeper I got slower and slower. I got passed by a few people who tried to make conversation but I was all out of breath, and could only speak if I stopped moving. It was a strange feeling to be totally out of breath while the muscles felt like the effort was easy, but that’s altitude for you!

The wind had been getting stronger as we climbed, and some of the gusts really pushed you around. I had to hold onto my hat as it almost flew off a few times, and I kept my buff around my neck so I could cover my mouth and try to keep the dirt out. There were actually a lot of ATVs and 4WDs out on the course, which brought up a lot of dust whenever they went past. It was getting pretty wild.

About 400m from California Pass a couple of men were overtaking me and pointed out the aid station ahead. We could finally see the top and I would soon be over the highest point on the course. It was a huge relief and really lifted my spirits. I had been telling myself that if I could get to this point then I could get to the finish. I knew the downhill would feel much easier and that I would be getting more and more oxygen as we continued descending to the finish line.

California Pass was spectacular, but I didn’t stay long as the wind gusts up there were super strong. Even the aid station had been packed away to prevent it blowing off the mountain. I grabbed a few photos and started to head down the steep trail ahead of me. I knew there would be another small amount of uphill to the nearby Hurricane Pass (3,880 metres/12,730 feet) but after that it would be mostly downhill. Descending proved so much slower than expected as it was super steep and rocky in most places, but I ran as much as I could as we passed through Gladstone at 32km (20.4 miles) and Niagara Gulch at 39km (24.6 miles).

My breathing started to feel easier as the road descended and got flatter. I was able to start running a little more and even catch some people who had overtaken me earlier. My legs felt surprisingly fresh but there were a lot more vehicles here and the dust made me cough quite a lot.

The watch ticked over to 43km and there was no sign of the finish line yet, “surely it couldn’t be too far?” I kept moving, running every downhill and walking a few small sections when I needed to catch my breath. A random timing mat sitting alone on the side of the road gave me hope that we were getting close.

The watch ticked over 44km and the road up ahead became tarmac. I begged the run gods for this to be the last corner. As I turned the corner I could see the Silverton Memorial Park down below and all I had now was a small downhill section to the finish line. The tarmac felt hard underfoot but I mustered every last bit of strength and started to increase my speed.

I had a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye as I hit the grass on the final 100m. I could see my family standing at the finish line, my daughter waving and cheering out loud. Finish lines have taken on a whole new meaning now I’m a mother, as the hurdles to overcome are greater, and the example you’re setting for your kids means so much more.

As I sat recovering in the gazebo, my daughter playing with my finisher’s medal, I felt incredibly lucky. Lucky to be in this beautiful place, and lucky to have the most supportive family and friends anyone could wish for.

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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.