GARDINER’S FIRST 50 MILER…AND WHAT A 50 MILER IT WAS!

Kate Dzienis • September 28, 2018

Contributed by Sophee Gardiner, WTF 2018 second placer

I wanted to participate in the WTF 50 mile race because it’s an iconic ultra event in Western Australia. I know the course and terrain well, the elevation is not aggressive, and the trail is not technical which seemed perfect for my first 50 miler.

At 4:15am on Saturday (22 September) my running buddy Alexis Oosterhoff and I started the one-hour road trip to the race start in Jarrahdale with my mum Melanee driving and crewing for the day. The race starts with little fanfare; race director David Kennedy draws a line in the dirt then while on the phone to the 100 mile race starters in Dwellingup (who start where the 50 mile race finishes) and after some brief housekeeping he says ‘go’ and off we trot.

My goal going into this race was to finish in 10 hours, an ambitious plan for a debut race. After a late review of previous years’ finish times, I realised that this would potentially put me on the podium and I started to doubt myself quite seriously. Looking at the entrants list, I knew only a few of the names so I figured I might be in with a shot depending on who turned up on the day. I then decided not to tell any more people about my 10 hour plan except my running buddy and my crew as it was just too embarrassing if everything went wrong. It was also predicted to get to 26 degrees which was unseasonably warm and would slow everyone down and likely throw the 10 hour plan out the window.

The first 20kms were on pace or a bit faster than expected, but I was happy to go with its as I was concerned about the heat later in the day. I suspected that I was sitting in second position before the first aid station as we had seen the first female runner Michelle Brown and didn’t anticipate anyone to be in front of her. At this stage, I started to feel the pressure of placing and was thinking a lot about if I could maintain the position and how much it would mean to my husband to be able to say I placed at a race. I knew he would be so proud to be able to say Icompetedin a race and didn’t only get a participation medal.

By the time we hit the next aid station at around the 30km mark it was starting to get quite hot and the pace had dropped down quite a lot. It began to dawn on me how much further this was than a marathon questioning my sanity and my motivations for spending the next seven hours or so trying to get a hunk of metal and a pat on the back. But I had a pep talk (or two) from Alexis, who is a well-seasoned ultra-runner, and kept going.

35km in on the 5km ‘out and back’ section of the course, which was wide fire trail with little tree cover, we really began to feel the effects of the unseasonably warm day. The out and back gave a good opportunity to see where everyone else was on the field and we saw the lead female runner Michelle, who was probably 6km in front. I was in no way chasing her, I was more interested in the third place runner who was about 5km behind.

By 50km both Alexis and I were struggling and calling ‘hill’ for any small rise so we can walk. It was really hot by this stage and my hips were not happy about the punishment. I started to get quite nauseous. Alexis was on and off cramping, and I was more than happy to take walk breaks when they came.

We finally make it to the Oakley Dam turn off which was a short out and back. This is an unsealed gazetted road, quite undulating with lots of downhill which I knew very soon would be uphills, so I was not happy. I knew that mum must have been waiting for quite some time as we are about 45 minutes over our ETA. Here mum decided to tell me she has realised I was in second place. I could tell she was so excited, but I’d just had it now and my body didn’t want to carry on anymore.

When I ask how far to the next aid station, they laughed at me and said it’s the finish line. That certainly perked me up, but as we were getting ready to leave, our third placer arrived into the aid station so the lead I had was shrinking. As I left, another female runner was coming in. Now I really had to hoof it as I think I had 3rd and 4th place right on my heels.

The last 17km was a very familiar section of the race as it is a part of the 6 Inch Trail Marathon also, which was almost a curse because I knew exactly how far I had to go. I started to wish that the runners behind would just overtake me so I could walk the remainder, but still they did not appear. Knowing I was getting close to the finish but trying not to get my hopes up was a delicate task. I thought I would get emotional as I usually do when I push myself to a new limit, but I was quite calm. This might have been me maturing as an ultra runner, or maybe I was too dehydrated, and there were no tears to be had.

There was a big crowd at the finish, Race Director and coach David Kennedy was there and gave me my finishers medal as soon as I crossed the finish line in 10:38:56. My overwhelming feeling at this stage was relief that I didn’t have to run anymore, and maybe slight amazement that there were so many people out here waiting for us. It’s a huge contrast to the last 10 hours of quietude.

I really enjoyed watching the other runners coming in, and I was very pleased to win a prize from sponsor Runningworks for finishing 2nd female, especially as I can’t even win a meat raffle at the bowling club.

Having the competition close behind really gave me the fire I needed to keep going and pushing through those last painful kilometres. I’ve always been competitive, but never good enough to compete at anything, so this experience of ‘racing’ instead of ‘completing’ an event is new and exciting. Everyone wants to be extraordinary, and I thought that this might be a chance to be that, to turn around from a close to last finish in my first Perth Marathon in 2015 (231 of 239) to a 2nd place finish in an ultra marathon in 2018. None of which would have been possible if not for my coach David Kennedy who has been keeping me motivated and on track for the last year or so, and the sacrifices and support my family have given over the last two years. I’m also very lucky to have had such amazing support in the race from Alexis, without whom it would have been much less fun, and probably much slower.

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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.