KOBER’S 1ST 100 MILER AND SHE SECURES A 1ST PLACE FINISH

Kate Dzienis • December 20, 2021

Contributed by Jutta Kober, 1st Female at Feral Pig Ultra 100 Miler

Feral Pig Ultra 100 Miles, 6-7 November 2021, Kalamunda WA

The Feral Pig Ultra is run on the beautiful Bibbulmun Track which runs from Perth to Albany over close to 1000km. The various distances of the Feral Pig Ultra begin at different locations but no matter where the start-line is, they all finish at the ‘Feral Pig village’ at Perth Hills Discovery Centre near Mundaring Weir in the Perth hills.

After checking in on Friday evening, 45 of us crazies were bundled into a bus and taken two hours south to North Bannister where we were unloaded in the middle of nowhere. After a pre-race motivational ritual, off we went at the stroke of midnight.

The first section is very runnable until the climb up Mount Cooke at around 30km and I settled into a nice rhythm. The climb to Mount Cooke was fun and thanks to a night recce I didn’t get lost. My expectations of beautiful views and a sunrise at the summit were disappointed, however, as it was still completely black when I got there. Not even the stars were visible with the cloud cover. A fun and technical descent and another flat section brought me to Sullivan Rock aid station at 41km.

The next section to Brookton Hwy was again mostly familiar with the steep, technical climbs to Mount Vincent and Mount Cuthbert and the gradual descent to Canning River. From there the kilometres ticked slowly by until Brookton Hwy aid station at 73km. It was so awesome to be greeted by friends and aid station volunteers who made sure I was looked after.

The next section to Mount Dale was mentally and physically hard. The day warmed up with the heat reflecting off the ground. I struggled with nutrition and my body felt fatigued. Apart from the normal muscle aches I also had a bruised back and ribs from my running vest, which had started at around 25km and was gradually getting worse and made running painful.

Nevertheless, I made it to Mount Dale aid station at 86km where the lovely volunteers fed me boiled potatoes and roast veggies. The next section starts with a long descent, which should have been fun and easy in theory. With nearly 90km on my legs and an unhappy quad I struggled to run. A constant stream of 50km runners was passing me now and I felt a little jealous of their fresh, nimble legs. A steep climb out of the valley and a couple of kilometres of undulating trail led to Beraking aid station at 97km.

I came into Beraking feeling a little sorry for myself and a reality check was needed. I was sore but still doing well overall, and I was slightly ahead of my race plan. To take back some control I messaged my partner and asked him to bring my spare running vest to Discovery Centre where he was going to pace me for the final 38km leg. Hopefully a change of vest would help with the back and rib pain.

Next stop was Allen Road Bridge aid station at 110km. I was welcomed by more friends, who took good care of me and sent me off on the final leg to Discovery Centre. This leg was brutal. So hilly and technical and slow going. Somewhere just after Helena Hut I stopped to get my head torch and hi-vis vest out in preparation for sunset. It was a little cooler now too and I felt I could eat more. Some energy started coming back as I ran the final few kilometres into Discovery Centre aid station at 126km.

Here I had a longer stop to reset for the final 38km. I ate noodles and potatoes, taped a small blister on my foot and changed shoes and my running vest.

Getting off the chair to leave was a real struggle as the sweet temptation of sleep and a DNF was very strong. But I hadn’t come this far to just give up. With my partner now pacing me for the last 38km we headed off, now in my second night of running. To my surprise I felt much better with the new vest and shoes and pacer for company. I even could run a little easier now and things were looking up.

At Camel Farm aid station (137km) the volunteers fed me and sent me off to Kalamunda for the turn-around. This leg was tough with steep, technical climbs and lots of stairs. I kept tripping over rocks in my fatigued state and I just wanted to sleep. At the same time I was determined to keep moving as I wanted to not just finish my first 100 miler but really push myself and give it my best. I was always sure I’d ‘race’ this event, not against anyone else, but against myself and against the clock. These thoughts kept me moving on despite the fatigue. With the constant positive support and slight pushing from my pacer I made it into Kalamunda aid station at 144km.

The volunteers there fed me spicy pumpkin soup, roast potatoes, wrapped me in a blanket, and even had a heater. It was delicious and warm. After eating and refilling my water we headed off again, knowing we’re on the home stretch now. The section back to the Camel Farm was still tough but after the delicious food I felt better. I had to stop a few times on the rocky sections as my legs felt wobbly, and I really had no confidence in my coordination at this point. My poles helped prevent a few falls. The fatigue was very real now.

Somewhere along the way back towards Camel Farm a sub-30 hour finish seemed almost within reach, so my pacer decided that this should be my aim. I was dubious but decided to go with it. Somehow having this goal gave me renewed energy and I managed a fair bit of shuffle running mixed with lots of walking. We were in and out of Camel Farm aid station without stopping.

The last section is more runnable, and we made good time, arriving at Mundaring Weir just around sunrise. Unfortunately, the weir gate was still closed, so around we went, down the stairs, over the bridge and back up the stairs. What torture!

A few more kilometres and I could see the finish gantry. Everyone was cheering as I ran through the finish. I had made it! I finished my first 100 miler and not only had beaten my time goal with a sub-30 hour finish, but I also snagged first place.

Pictured: Jutta Kober making her way through the 100 mile distance at the 2021 Feral Pig Ultra. Photograph – Astrid Volzke.

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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.