President's Report: March 2024

Simone Hayes • March 27, 2024

March, 2024

Hello to all our runners!

It’s been another busy month with a heap of events on the calendar that have kept runners and race directors (and your committee!) on their toes!

This month we have seen these great events take place – the Belair Marathon, kunyani Mountain Run and Washpool World Heritage Trails to name a few. The growth of backyard ultras continues with Wodonga BYU, Herdy’s Frontyard Ultra and I’m Still Standing Sydney (LOS) getting great numbers and results which continues to prove that the popularity for these events is growing.

Last week we also had our Australian Short Course Trail Championships hosted by the Noosa Ultra-Trail 50km which was another outstanding year for them. Unfortunately the weather gods hindered the race planning with weeks of rain prior causing the course to turn into a mud bath, but that didn’t stop some great results from our athletes. Congratulations to the male and female Australian Short Course Trail Champion winners, AURA Members Kellie Angel and John Dutton.

On the world scene I can’t not mention the amazing performance from Jasmin Paris at the Barkley Marathons. The first female in 38 years to complete the event and the world was watching, and we have not stopped talking about her achievement since! Outstanding!

Other news on the world stage is that next weekend we are hosting our own championships right here in Oz! The 24 Hour Asian Oceania Championships is only one week away and we are really excited here at AURA. This has been 4 years in the making and its so good to see it finally here. We hope you will all join us at the AIS in Canberra next week to watch it all unfold, support our Aussie 24 Hour reps as well as cheer on the runners that are taking part alongside them in the Open Race. It will be an amazing 24 hours.

Being a 24 Hour race and no doubt many of us will be having a sleepless night, I would like to briefly mention the tragic passing of Stephen Jackson after the 100km National Championships last month. This was a night event and like many ultra runners and volunteers do, we drove home tired after little to no sleep, and lost a great member of the running community. Please, take care of yourselves at any event that requires you to stay up all night, whether it be running, crewing, event directing or timing. There is nothing more important than getting home safely to your family. We again send our condolences to Jenn and Stephen’s family.

On the trail scene over the last 10 months we have been doing a lot of work behind the scenes building relationships with trail associations in Australia, and we are pleased to be forming an alignment which will bring trail and ultra running together. AURA has already built a strong foundation and legacy for ultra running, and by officially combining both we are recognising what AURA already does – 80% of our races listed are trail events. Having a unified body for trail and ultra running will strengthen what AURA has already built, and provide greater opportunities for athletes and members, as well as providing a consistent voice. Together, ultra and trail can achieve greater stakeholder engagement as a larger group, and AURA members will reap the benefits from a united and growing organisation. The formation of a unified ultra and trail organisation has the support of Athletics Australia, World Athletics, the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU) and the International Trail Runners Association (ITRA). We are really excited about what’s to come so watch this space!

Also in the last 10 months, we have achieved some great milestones such as:

Unprecedented membership growth
The installation of a new, modern and more functional website
We have brought in more benefits to members through our AURA Partners initiative
We have introduced a new initiative by inviting applications for our great team of AURA Endorsed Coaches, who will take your running to the next level, no matter what level you are at now. This also supports businesses within the community.
We are busy updating and streamlining our policies so that they are consistent and relevant to current international policies that affect our athletes and the organisation
We have developed greater engagement with our states by creating individual state pages on social media to bring local communities together

So that is just some of the highlights, and we can’t forget that we have also sent four representative teams overseas to compete in the 100km Asian Champs (India), the 50k World Champs (India), the World Mountain Running Champs (Austria) and the 24 hour World Champs (Taipei). It’s been quite the year! These teams don’t just get there to compete with their exceptional running talents, its takes a combined effort from the committee, the selection committee, and the team managers to make sure all the ducks are in a row to get the teams safely and competently sent to these events – no small task I can assure you – and I thank my team for making it look seamless when in fact it is many hours of work and meetings.

Which brings me to the next item on our agenda after the Asian Champs – our next Annual General Meeting will be held on 28 May. It will be held on Zoom and links to the meeting will be sent out next month along with forms to vote and nominate on the committee positions for 2024.

So that’s a wrap for March – I wish you all a safe and happy Easter break and I hope to see many of you in Canberra next weekend!

Happy running!

Simone Hayes - President

< Older Post

Newer Post >

Australian Mountain and Trail Running Championships 2027

By Jin Kato • July 8, 2026

The world-class trails of Kunanyi/Mt Wellington will play centre-stage for one of the country’s fastest-growing sports, after the Kunanyi Mountain Run (KMR) was awarded the hosting rights for the first-ever combined Australian Mountain and Trail Running Championships (AMTRC). KMR was awarded the National Championships after a competitive bid process, overseen by the Australian Ultra and Trail Running Association (AUTRA) and Australian Athletics (AA). AUTRA President, John Claridge, said that KMR “offered everything we were looking for”. “World-class trails, proven event management and a passionate community. It provides the perfect stage for Australia's first combined National Trail Championships," he said. It’s expected that Australia’s elite mountain and trail running athletes, and support crew, will travel to Hobart, as they vie for a spot in the Australian team that competes at the 2027 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships. "This is a landmark moment for trail running in Australia,” Mr Claridge said. "We're excited about what this championship represents; not just next year, but for the future of trail running in Australia... helping grow the sport and inspire the next generation of trail runners." The 2027 AMTRC at KMR will be the first time that all championship distances have been held together, at the one festival. “It aligns us more closely with the way World Championships are presented, creating a stronger pathway for athletes and raising the profile of the sport,” Mr Claridge said. KMR, a 3-day trail running festival which has been held annually since 2022, expects to draw more than 1500 runners and hikers from across Tasmania, Australia and internationally next year. The AMTRC will be embedded within KMR’s existing event program, allowing elite athletes to compete for the national titles, while sharing the same spectacular trails and event-experience as recreational runners. “We’re honoured to have been selected as host,” KMR’s founder and director, Lincoln Quilliam said. “KMR continues to welcome runners, and hikers, of all abilities. From the elites who want to represent Australia on the world stage, the group of mates or work colleagues who run the team relay together, the mums returning to running after having a baby, as well as those who are trying trail running for the very first time,” Mr Quilliam said. Tasmanian runner, Jessica Collins, who has represented Australia, said it was exciting news for KMR, Tasmania and the sport. “This is such a great opportunity for Australian athletes. I’ve run many of the KMR events and know the courses and the terrain are on par with what we see at the World Champs,” she said. The City of Hobart has supported Kunanyi Mountain Run since its inception, and Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds said she was “thrilled” with the news. “Events like this not only showcase the natural beauty of our region but also reinforce Hobart’s reputation as a vibrant destination for world-class outdoor experiences.” The 2026 edition of KMR brought in $4 million to the Tasmanian economy, generating more than 8000 bed nights across the state, which Alex Heroys, Chief Executive of Destination Southern Tasmania, said was a “significant return for the visitor economy”. “Kunanyi / Mount Wellington is one of Tasmania’s great natural assets, and the Kunanyi Mountain Run shows exactly how powerful events can be in driving regional tourism,” he said. “We have an epic mountain right on Hobart’s doorstep, an airport less than 30 minutes away, and a city that is well set up to welcome thousands of visiting athletes, support crews and spectators.” “This event also reinforces Tasmania’s growing reputation as a world-class trail running destination. With steep, technical trails and real mountain terrain, Kunanyi offers conditions that are genuinely comparable to what athletes will experience at the World Championships, making it an ideal place to compete, train and visit.” For more information: Kunanyi Mountain Run Dates: 19-21 March 2027 Pic credit: David Nolan & Ryan Slater