JESSICA SMITH TAKES THE WIN AT NTTD BACKYARD

Kate Dzienis • October 30, 2023

Contributed by Jessica Smith, AURA member (Perth, WA)

NO TIME TO DIE BACKYARD ULTRA, ADELAIDE (SA), 15-17 September 2023

No Time To Die would be my 8th backyard in three years and to be honest, I was feeling a bit burnt out and feeling like I needed a break from the format. I had also been dealing with a long-term injury (plantar fasciitis) so my expectations going into the race weren’t high.

With that in mind, the goal was just to try and have some fun, enjoy the format and meet some people in a new state (I’m from WA).

Setting up camp with the WA and Tassie crew, it really was fun from the beginning. The James Bond theme made it like a big party and the first few laps with Brad Halls (aka Mr ‘smiles gets the miles’) were awesome!

Heading into the first night a little group had formed with Emma, Laura, Joel and myself – aka the ducks, settling into a comfortable walk/run strategy (QUACK!). We slowly ticked off each milestone as we headed towards 100km. I was struggling a bit so it was great to be running with the others. Jaryd (my partner and solo crewman for this event) arrived at about midnight which gave me a little boost – I no longer had to crew myself and felt I could relax between laps. The crew really are so important.

Once the sun came up I perked right up and the tutu lap, then the 24-hour milestone had me in a great mood. My foot hadn’t gotten any worse and I started to think what could be possible long term. There were 14 people left at the 24 hour mark as we headed towards Saturday afternoon. Lap 24 turned out to be my second quickest lap of the event. I was riding on the 100mi buzz and came in just under 43mins – 5mins quicker than my usual 48mins.

As it happens in the backyard, numbers rapidly dropped after 24. By lap 28 we were down to 4 runners, then two laps later we were down to the final 2, just as the sun was setting. Being top two is something I have feared in the past, but this time I was excited for it. I was so determined to be the last one standing and approached the second night with renewed energy. By this point I was certain my foot wouldn’t be a limiting factor and tried to ride this high for as many laps as I could. I knew things could turn quickly in the night.

To get me through the lonely hours of the second night, I spent time reflecting on previous backyards. I spent the time acknowledging the highlights and lowlights from previous events, reflecting what I’d been through to get here. I used those memories to spur me on and thinking that this might be my last backyard for a while, I wanted to make it a good one! I wanted to add ‘Last One Standing’ to the memories. With all this going through my head, I was also very conscious of the night getting darker and my lack of sleep starting to catch up with me.

Around 11pm (lap 36) I started to get tired. Really tired. I started bumping up the caffeine to help me make it around, whilst also trying to get some sleep after the laps. Sounds counterintuitive but I was struggling to get around the laps without caffeine. I had a stash of Panadol and no doz in my pocket and just having this with me on the laps gave me confidence that there was a strategy in place if the fatigue got worse. Lap 38 was my worst lap. I managed a 5 minute sleep just before heading out but I could barely talk.

I was so tired. I stumbled around the course, swaying back and forth every time I stopped to walk (the tail bike told me later that he was worried for me crossing over the boardwalks and potentially falling in). I worked out that I was worse when walking so I slowly jogged all the way in. I’ve been in this state of fatigue before and knew I could ride it out if I could just get through the next few laps.

I tried another nap at the end of lap 38 but had to get up for a toilet emergency. No good! Needed to try for another nap after the next lap. Popped a no doz and tried to run the whole way around for a longer rest after lap 39. This seemed to be working and I was making good progress up to half way. This is when everything changed. The other runner, Holly Ranson, came up to me and we had a quick chat where she basically said she was almost done. I tried not to read into this too much as things can change so quickly in a backyard. I focused on my game plan of getting through the lap for a nap.

Then, as we were running past the village for the final 1km, Holly said goodbye and ran in to ring the bell and DNF. I stood there dumbfounded. Was that it? Was I the last one standing? I turned to the tail cyclist confused and just said, does that mean I just need to finish that 1km loop, then I’ve won? He nodded. I yelled out to Jaryd in the village to let him know, then boosted the final km of the course. I crossed the line for the final time, the last one standing of No Time To Die 2023.

Photo Credits:

1. Elizabeth Southwell (@elizabethsnaps_)

2. Ian Lilburn (aka Mr Snaps)

3. James Raison (@rideadelaide)

4. Sebastian Lopez (@sebastiansilval)

5. Jaryd Papa (@bigpoppa807)

< Older Post

Newer Post >

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.