GET TO KNOW YOUR 24HR ASIA & OCEANIA CHAMPIONSHIPS TEAM – SHARON SCHOLZ

Kate Dzienis • November 30, 2018

FROM AN EARLY CHILDHOOD, SHARON SCHOLZ HAD AN INTEREST IN SPORT. SHE RODE HORSES AND COMPETED IN DRESSAGE AND ONE-DAY EVENTS FOLLOWING IN HER PARENTS’ FOOTSTEPS IN THE HORSE INDUSTRY. SCHOLZ ALSO WENT ON TO PLAY NETBALL IN EARLY HIGH SCHOOL AND OCCASIONALLY COMPETED IN SOCIAL NETBALL AND VOLLEYBALL COMPETITIONS THROUGHOUT HER LATE TEENS AND EARLY 20S.

But it wasn’t until 2006 that Scholz, along with husband Justin, decided to change her lifestyle to reduce stress and improve fitness, health and overall well-being, so in 2007 the couple each took their first steps as runners and they haven’t looked back since.

By the end of that year, Scholz had lost a significant amount of amount and had completed her first marathon. Whilst her time of 3:38 may not have been world beating, it was a brilliant achievement after having just put her running shoes on for the first time 10-months prior.

Scholz saw improvement after improvement, and entered her first track ultra in 2008, the 12hr Coburg in Melbourne, Vic. Not only did she complete it, but with encouragement from her partner, she went on to complete the 24-hour event which was being undertaken at the same time, and managed the then 7th best ever track distance by an Australian woman.

At this stage, there was definitely a natural talent creeping out of this Aussie long distance athlete.

Her experience includes the 2009 Caboolture ultra event, where Sholz was asked by the Australian 24hr team selectors to prove her fitness, and she did this successfully by running a slow 100kms off a very limited base. The Wangaratta resident was selected in the Australian Commonwealth Championships 24hr team and just five weeks later at the Commonwealth Championships in the UK, Scholz ran 195kms to finish 3rd best of the six Aussie women and 8th overall.

The Australian team was awarded a silver medal for their combined distance behind gold medal winners England.

In April 2010 Scholz gained selection again for the World Championships and left for France in April 2010 with high expectations. Those expectations were exceeded however when she finished the race 6th outright female and 1st placed Australian woman smashing the Australian Road Course Record by nearly 20km.

Later that same year, she competed in the 48hr Australian Championships, and despite it being her first 48-hour event, Scholz broke the Female Australian Record with a final tally just over 333km.

In December 2010 she ran in the 240km event Coast to Kosciuszko and broke the Women’s Race Record.

It’s truly not surprising that this ultra running rocket landed her the title of Australian Female Ultra Athlete of the Year as well as World Female Athlete of the Year (IAU).

Her list of achievements continued, despite 2011 not going to plan due to injuries and health issues. Scholz won the NZ 100kms Championships, broke three major track records (12hr, 150kms and 100mi) in Brisbane, and finished 3rd Female at the Coast to Kosciuszko.

The 100mi record she broke in Brisbane saw her become the first Australian female to break 16 hours for this milestone and in that race she broke records earlier established by, arguably, Australia’s three best ever female ultra-runners in Mary Morgan, Helen Stanger and Margaret Smith.

Smith’s 100mi record had stood since 1984.

She has since been again on the 24hr World Championships team for 2012 in Poland, completed Coast to Kosciuszko for the third time, and broke 12 records in 2013 during the 24hr event in Sydney as a walker following a distance of more than 187kms. It was the 3rd best ever distance walked in 24-hours in Australia.

It was also at that event that Scholz and her husband became the first married couple in history (worldwide) to have run 200kms+ and walked 100mi+ in 24 hours in the same calendar year.

“Every ultra event is an individual feat,” she says.

“We’re not competing directly against a specific person, yet we are also surrounded by camaraderie and the passion of others taking on the same challenge.

“Each runner is often surrounded by supporters and/or crew helping us achieve our best outcome for the day.

“What’s not to love about this sport?”

This weekend’s IAU 24hr Asia & Oceania Championships in Chinese Taipei will be Scholz’s 10th selection and 9th participation, and despite her incredibly impressive resume, she still gets those butterflies in her stomach.

“It was nervous excitement when I got the call that I’d made the 2018 team,” she reveals.

“I thought I should be over that feeling of anticipation, but it really never goes.”

Scholz will be racing alongside her Australian team mates at the 2018 IAU 24hr Asia and Oceania Championships in Chinese Taipei the weekend of December 1-2.

Pictured: Sharon Scholz. Photographs – Supplied.

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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.