PRESIDENT’S END OF YEAR LETTER

Kate Dzienis • December 20, 2021

2021 has been another tough year and a challenge for runners and race directors. It has been great to see the resilience and determination in the running community. There have been a lot of inspiring stories in Ultramag of members’ achievements and adventures around the country.

Our calendar had around 80 races but there was the repeat of last year with a few needing to be rescheduled or cancelled due to state restrictions. Next year’s calendar is shaping up nicely with plenty of opportunities to race multiple distances and terrains.

We introduced the flat $49 per year membership fee to simplify the process and give more value back to the members who sign up for the full year. Hopefully, with a few recurring memberships and attracting new runners with the low cost our member base will keep growing.

A highlight of the year was kicking off our series of webinars covering beginner ultra running and women in ultra running topics. A big thanks to the organisers and panel of speakers who put a lot of time into preparing content, wrangling the technical side of the delivery and then generously giving up their time to take part to share their wisdom and experience. It’s been great to see so many people wanting to give back to the sport and help more people enter the world of ultra running.

We were pleased to be able to announce the events successful in hosting AURA Australian Championships in 2022. This includes the introduction of a 100 Mile Australian Championship for the first time.

The Australian Championships this year are as follows:

50km – Fisiocrem GC50 Run Festival, 4 December 2022
100km – TBC as finalising details
24hr – Southern Sydney 24 Hour Ultra, 3 June 2022
48hr – Sri Chinmoy 48 Hour Track Festival, 25 March 2022
Short Trail – Two Bays Trail Run (56km), 16 January 2022
Long Trail – Heysen 105 (115km), 22 October 2022
100 Mile – The Glasshouse 100, 10 September 2022

We are hoping next year is a safer one to travel which will allow us to select and send Australian teams to the World and Continental Championships. There will be more info around selection and dates so those interested can plan out their calendar and build ups.

In exciting news, we secured the hosting of a championship event in our own country for the first time. The 2024 Asian and Oceania 24hr Championships are coming to Australia! For the next generation, I hope this provides motivation to work towards the dream of representing your country.

Once the year comes to a close our annual awards will be voted on and decided. It is always an interesting look back on the year and a celebration of our members’ achievements. Last year’s ultra runner of the year performances were weighted heavily in Western Australia as their vibrant race calendar was border protected offering multiple opportunities to race a full season. This year there has been a more balanced mix of states even considering the lockdowns in NSW and Victoria.

A massive thanks from myself and the committee for all the volunteers that have helped keep AURA moving forward and in a good position to keep supporting the ultra running community. Special mention needs to go to 3 retiring volunteers who have put a lot into AURA over the years. Jodie Oborne, Kerrie Bremner and Susannah Harvey-Jamieson have contributed as Australian reps, committee members and also in specialised roles.

Thanks to Kate for keeping the entertaining and educational stories flowing through Ultramag including this end-of-year special.

Personally, I’d like to say a big thanks to the committee Simone, Matty and Stephen who’s support and commitment keep the AURA wheels turning. The regular committee meetings, daily messages, side phone calls, long run discussions, votes, member management and all the activities you do to keep the association progressing are appreciated.

I hope everyone gets a few long runs in over the break and has a great 2022.

Cheers
Ewan Horsburgh
AURA President

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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.