Nerang 100 Miler Race Director’s Report

Kate Dzienis • October 23, 2017

By Ian Cornelius

Back in the 1990s a race, called the Tamborine Trek, took place from the beach at Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast, to the top of Mt Tamborine and back for a total of 68kms. The course went through Nerang National Park going out and then coming back in – 13kms each way.

It was a great race but with increasing traffic and a steady growth of competitors, the narrow winding Guanaba Road became too dangerous so from 2007 the race was converted to trails.

The maximum distance on offer was 50kms, but with the popularity of the sport increasing in recent times, more people are participating in trail running and more still are opting for even longer distances.

It has become a natural progression to build a 100-mile race – the loop in the national park was almost 25kms so we installed an out-and-back section to get it to 25kms exactly, which became two loops for 50kms, four for 100kms and six and a bit for 100miles.

Thus, the Nerang 100 Miler was born in 2016.

We didn’t promote the race so much in the first year, preferring to use the experience more as a shakedown, enduring it ran without incident. Not everything went to plan though and competitor Matt Grills ended up in hospital with severe dehydration, having to be evacuated by a 4WD overnight.

Out of the experience that first year, 2017 means we did things better, including having a qualified First Aider at the event for 33 hours as well as warnings to contestants about hypothermia and necessary emergency supplies.

This year’s Nerang event was most successful – it was incident free and we had records broken in the 100-mile, 100kms and 50 mile events.

Performances

In the 100-mile races, all who finish deserve the description of having achieved a stand-out performance. We had Kevin Muller, acclaimed by AURA as the 2016 Ultra Runner of the Year and our race winner last year, who finished in just under 24-hours. We also had our first ever female finisher Seivland Poh (30:39:55). This year also saw 55-year-old Stephen Wright (last year’s winner of Run Down Under and the oldest contestant in the Miler) finish in 6th place.

The 100kms was won by Jason West and Amy Strong in 12:28:56 and 15:24:27 respectively (both records).

The 50-mile was won by Justin Blom and Katheryn Jones in 10:12:28 and 12:27:23 respectively. Katheryn’s time was a record but Justin’s time was eclipsed by Kevin Muller’s split which was 9:20:44.

The 50kms was won by Hamish Hamilton and Kylie Butler in 4:42:52 and 6:16:38 respectively.

A tough 100-miler

The elevation gain for Nerang is about 6,200-metres, much the same as two other tough milers, the Alpine Challenge in Victoria and the Great North Walk on the central coast of NSW. What sets Nerang apart is the shorter, yet seemingly never-ending ups and downs. Running up Heartbreak Hill is out of the question because it is too steep to run (except for our 25kms record holder Andrew Arkinstall 1:49:39) but even walking up it six times is not for the faint hearted.

Party time

Thanks to well-known ultra runner and musician Ben Dennien, we had a great after party, and anticipate it to get bigger and better every year. Next year, it will again be from late afternoon on the Saturday to coincide with the finish of the 4 x 25kms relay, the 50-miler and the first of the 100kms solo runners who should finish around 7pm to 8pm.

UTMB ranking points

Those who finished the 100 miler will receive 6 ranking points with 4 points to those who contested the 100kms or 50-miles. As anyone contemplating entering UTMB you need a total of 15 points. Nerang will definitely help get you on your way.

Thanks to our many sponsors, volunteers and, above all, the athletes, without whom this event would not be possible.

Pictured: Kevin Muller racing in this year’s Nerang 100 Miler.

Ian Cornelius is the CEO of Gold Coast Ultras, and is a race director for the Nerang 100 Miler.

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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.