GRINDFEST 6HR IN CANBERRA

Kate Dzienis • June 30, 2020

Contributed by Matthew Griggs, AURA member

GRINDFEST 6HR – ULTRA Mediocre Runners of Canberra

In this time of COVID-19 restrictions, ULTRA Mediocre Runners of Canberra held a small invite-only 6hr race. The Grindfest was so named due to the gruelling false flat on the 1.75km loop course that would destroy the hopes and dreams of participants, forcing all to give in to the Grind.

Ten local starters and a virtual runner in Japan signed up for the Grindfest. Due to restrictions the race required participants to ‘self-crew’. Changes in restrictions closer to the race allowed for a small number of spectators to watch the Grinders in action.

Prior to the race, all participants were given tongue in cheek nicknames that somehow resembled (sometimes ironically) their running style or preference.

Matt ‘Goes Boom’ Robbie, a local speedster, was attempting his first 6hr ultramarathon and mused prior to the race of how slow the pace of the current Australian record is, predicting that he could rattle off a paltry 87km running at his usual ‘long slow distance’ pace.

Robbie kept his word, and set of at LSD pace, lapping the entire field before he completed his fifth lap. The rest of the field was left to Grind away as they watched Robbie fly past.

Everything was going to plan, but as he started to approach 50km Robbie started to realise that what looks easy on paper is something entirely different in reality.

Robbie mused after the race, “At about 48kms (I thought I was still slow) the strangest thing happened. I lost my passion for running, my heart left me, my mind walked away, my fire was lucky to be a candle! Nothing I tried could get my fire going or mind positive.”

At this point he was posting 6 to 10 minute kilometres.

Local Grinder and race organiser Matt ‘Cheezburglar’ Griggs pegged back a lap overtaking Matt Robbie up the soul crushing false flat. Then Griggs got back a second lap and not long after took the lead with a little under an hour to go. Griggs got a little over half a lap in front of Robbie about 66km into the race.

Then, buoyed by the support from his family (and long aid station stops), Robbie found the strength to run faster than he had all race. He started punching out three and a half minute kilometres and would run 5km in 18 minutes to take the lead with 9 minutes to go.

In the last 20 minutes of the race, participants had the option of running small 1km laps, with marking every 250m, allowing for partial lap distances to be added to the final total. Runners could still continue to run the big 1.75km lap, however partially completed laps would not count towards the final total.

In some last minute drama, Robbie ran through 70km and then continued out on to the big lap. As he was halfway through his laps the message got through to him that he had to complete the lap before 6 hours or it wouldn’t count. With around a minute to go Griggs, who had already started running small laps then come through to record 70.25km and take the lead on paper. Robbie was now sprinting for the line, he crossed over to record 71.75km with 20 secs to spare, his last kilometre run at 3:10 pace! Matt “Goes Boom” Robbie, lived up to his nickname!

Robbie’s final musings on running ultras: “WOW! JUST WOW! What a different sport this is! Feels good to be brought down off the pedestal and see that until I’ve walked (literally) in the ultra world I KNOW NOTHING and have a very long road ahead!”

Cian “The Sensible” Gray rounded out the podium with 61.25km and Allicia “Good Sport” Heron was first female with 57km. Whilst Nick “Water Boy” Hamilton completed his six hours as a solo effort in humid Tokyo.

The Grindfest was a great local event for the race-starved ULTRA Mediocre Runners of Canberra. Undoubtedly, this small local club will be having more races into the future!

Click on the image to be redirected to a video of the Grindfest 6hr Ultra.

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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.