Meet our new 2023-24 state representatives

Kate Dzienis • May 30, 2023

Every year at its AGM in May, AURA asks for its members to put their hands up to represent the organisation in their respective states. This year, from May 2023 to May 2024, we have a plethora of amazing talent to showcase AURA across the country and we wanted you all to get to know who your State Representatives are. State-by-state, please welcome your new reps for the 2023-24 ultra season.

WA
Julia Mackay

NSW
Anna Pillinger
Gary Mullins

SA
Chris Glacken
Dawn Parks

Qld
Paul Wood
Corrina Black

ACT
Martin Fryer
Allicia Heron

Tas
John Claridge

Vic
Isobel Tait
Nikki Wynd

I want WA to be represented. I love ultra running and I want to be part of decision making with AURA. I believe that AURA does a great job of providing ultra runners and ‘would be’ ultra runners with a platform to learn about this incredible sport, to have a voice about the sport and to have a central body to go to for advice. AURA is also a central point for this fantastic community of runners.

I’m relatively new to ultra running and AURA, but have already learnt so much and love the support network that AURA provides. I wanted to take the opportunity to give something back and play a part in promoting and growing AURA – a great group of people with so many great ideas and so much passion for ultra running.

My desire to serve as a State Representative for AURA stems from a profound passion for the sport, a commitment to its growth and development, and a strong belief in the transformative power of ultra running. With a focus on community engagement, collaboration, health promotion and effective representation, I’m excited to contribute positively to the advancement of ultra running in our state and create an environment that inspires and supports all runners.

I’ve run Coastal Fun Runs, where I’ve raised over $200,000 for charity and personally have run 270 official marathons and 10 ultras, coached footy at the community and volunteered at PAFC. I’ve already represented SA as a state rep before for AURA and am doing my best to promote the ultra distance in Australia. The trick is to have exciting trail courses and not the usual road marathon course; I ran all my early marathons, including many back-to-back events with no rest in between in Vic. Today, I have 15 years of serious running behind me, but being a state rep isn’t about me – it’s about what I can do to assist AURA in SA.

I’ve run three marathons in a day (on three separate occasions). I’ve run 10 marathons in 10 days. I signed up for my first 100km on the day, having never run more than 50km in one go (and even the 50km had only been once, years prior). I spent the night right before my citizenship ceremony running 100km. I’m known as ‘Blister Girl’ by people I’ve never even met due to an unfortunate attempt of running a 200 miler on improperly cared for blisters.

Running is my passion. In the early days, my passion was merely to see what my body could achieve. Now, the passion is in helping others achieve. I have an organisation – GoodRunnings – that hosts affordable running events around South Australia and I’m part of AURA.

There’s magic in running. There’s just as much magic in watching a person struggle through their first 5km, not knowing if they’ll be able to take enough steps to get to the finish, as there is in watching someone sign up for a 12 hour race on a whim and accidentally setting a new national record – both feats of which I’ve experienced watching.

Since running my first marathon in 2014, and being 30kg heavier, I’ve had a great time achieving many personal goals that I have set myself and made many friends on the way. These include completing my first 50 miler last year and my goals this year, which were to complete my first 100km run and reach 50 marathons by the end of the calendar year.

I’m an accredited Athletics Australia club and running coach, which includes Level 1-community athletics coach, Level 2 club coach and many other qualifications. I’m in the process of upskilling other qualifications.

I’m based in Brisbane, so send me a message if you require any
assistance. You can achieve anything if put your mind to it.

I’m passionate about ultra running and helping others find and participate in our sport. Due to my own involvement and representation over the years, I’ve developed a deeper interest in the direction and future of our ultra running association and running community.

I very much enjoy encouraging and motivating runners to explore new distances that they may not have previously considered.

I believe that being a State Rep will give me more opportunity to help raise the awareness of ultra running as well as the profile of AURA in Queensland, not to mention broadcasting the rewarding benefits of being a member.

Not only am I passionate and knowledgeable about most aspects of ultra running after more than 25 years in the sport, but I’m already intimately involved with most of the track, trail and road running events in the ACT in many roles including competitor, race timer, race director, course designer and volunteer helper.

I’ve been a member of AURA for almost 25 years now having been inspired in the mid 1990s by the incredible stories of ultra endurance achievements that I read in AURA magazine. This led me to my first ultra at 6 Foot Track in 1997 and a subsequent ‘slippery slope’ journey of completing more than 100 ultras since then for events ranging from 4 hours to 43 days in duration and from 45km to 2800km in distance. Membership of AURA to me means being part of a team of like-minded individuals that have been fortunate enough to see the profound effects that training for, and completing an ultramarathon, have on people’s physical, mental and spiritual health – I have seen so many people’s lives changed positively by participation in this sport and that alone is the perfect motivation to give back to the sport that I love.

I first experienced the vibe of AURA during a 48hr run in Canberra early in 2021 and decided right then and there I wanted to be a part of it all, so for the second year running I’ve put my hand up as a state representative to get more involved and encourage others to get into ultra running. I’ve always loved to run, and my favourite distance is the 100km where it’s long enough to question why on earth you’re doing it but also long enough to feel that runner’s high when you cross the finish line. I’m very much looking forward to what the next 12 months can bring for AURA!

After two decades of running ultras I wanted to give back to the sport and community that has given me so much. If I can help others to find ultras, I know they will find themselves!

I love being involved in the community of ultra running in many ways i.e. running and volunteering at races. However, not all work is needed at races, there is so much of ultra running to celebrate and promote. As a state rep, I get to celebrate what the people in my home state of Victoria are achieving. It’s great to also promote this amazing sport so even more people can be involved!

I am volunteering as an Aura state rep as it’s a great opportunity for me to give back to the sport. I also love trying to strengthen the ultra running community while helping to share my knowledge and experience.

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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.