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‘Herdy’s is about being there, having fun’

Kate Dzienis • March 31, 2022

Contributed by Julia Mackay-Koelen, AURA Member (Stirling, WA)

HERDY’S FRONTYARD ULTRA, HERDSMAN LAKE (WESTERN AUSTRALIA),

18-20 March 2022

My plan going into every event run is to ‘finish with no new injuries’. Herdy’s Frontyard Ultra two weeks ago presented a unique challenge – what was ‘finish’? I was also recovering from a ‘hip thing’ (MRI, sports doctor, physio, etc) and hadn’t run for three weeks so I had no idea how my hip was going to behave or if it would play up like various other body parts do from time to time.

I’m not usually a fan of laps but wanted to try the Herdy’s format after a bad case of bed bugs forced me to withdraw from Birdy’s Backyard Ultra when I couldn’t get back to Perth in time. I signed up with one of my running wives – Kylie – and we had our minds set on at ‘least one lap, try for two and it will be a miracle if we make three.’

Arriving at the Herdy’s village was glorious and I love that feeling of being part of something special (similar to Lighthorse Ultra) however Kylie and I couldn’t help but notice all the marquees, couches, tables, etc. when we only had our little trolley – our reality was that we were there for a very short but fun time and definitively not a long time. Some of the set ups were magnificent and fit the bill for a classic Taj-ma-hutchie!

I am a tortoise runner (pole pole – Swahili for slowly-slowly is my running mantra) and it usually takes me at least 5kms to find my feet, warm up my legs and work out how to breathe, but Kylie and I knew we would have to leg it for the first lap. We started at the back so that the stampede of what seemed like a thousand runners could take off and we, well, legged it as much as possible. The weather was perfect, the brilliant drummers at the start line and the support from folk along the roadside and other runners was fantastic. Coming along the spooky part I worried that I wasn’t going to make the lap so Kylie graciously told me to ‘rack off’ (she said it much more nicely) and I legged it a bit more to get in the first lap. Kylie made it too.

The second lap was awesome – I found my legs, could breathe properly, ran most of the way and came in with a whopping 10 mins to spare. Grabbed some lollies and a lady in a marquee next to me very graciously lent me her phone charger. I didn’t see Kylie but knew she was around somewhere. Soundtrack. These Boots Are Made For Walking. That meant it was almost time for the next lap. And off for the third lap. Stampede in front.

I am used to being Tailend Charlie so it was no deal being at the back. It was actually quite lovely seeing all the runners in front snaking around the path but as it got a bit darker other snakes came to mind and the words of one of my colleagues held heavy in my head: ‘The tiger snakes come out at dusk, Julia.’

Oh stop it. But I felt okay – until I didn’t. My hip started to feel a bit tight so I slowed down and just counted steps of eight (a trick I learnt while trekking in Nepal) until I felt I could speed up a bit. Then I realised I needed the porta loo. Why is it that when I run, other, ahem, things happen? Seriously. This body of mine is not always my friend. The porta loo stop cost me precious minutes which I tried to make up for but the hip tightened again. Dammit. The ‘spooky bit’ was even spookier (winding double and single tracks amongst marsh-like trees), and I was all by myself. I didn’t want to stop and put on my head torch so I used what knowledge I had of the track and kept going at a slow shuffle. No new injuries, Julia.

I saw the end point and also saw that everyone had left which was a bit sad as I knew I hadn’t made the third lap, but there was Kylie welcoming me over the finish line thingy which was the best sight ever. I shuffled to the bell and rang that gong! Fist pump from race director Shaun Kaesler and I got my well-deserved DNF fork trophy. Elated. Finished a great night off with a cup of tea at Kylie’s house.

I would love to have stayed longer but working Saturday and Sunday was a bummer – next time I will take the weekend off work! Wait, did I say next time? I said I would never do it again, but I have learned not to say this anymore as the lure of a great event, a wonderful village/community atmosphere and another goal (maybe four or even five next time) will have me heading back again. Herdy’s is not about how far, it’s about being there, doing it and having a bloody great time. Thank you to Shaun, all the organisers and magnificent vollies for a fantastic event.

Julia Mackay-Koelen takes a selfie at the start line of Herdy’s with her running ‘wife’ Kylie Sherwin. Photograph – Julia Mackay-Koelen.

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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.