RACE DIRECTOR REPORT: 2022 COAST TO KOSCIUSZKO

Kate Dzienis • January 30, 2023

Contributed by Greg Wallace, Race Director 240km Coast to Kosciuszko/AURA member

240km COAST TO KOSCIUSZKO, EDEN (NSW), 2-4 December 2022

After two years of COVID and weather impacted races, the 2022 Coast To Kosciuszko Ultramarathon delivered a fantastic event. With the weather gods being kind, a full field got to experience Coast To Kosci in a much better light.

There were 31 first time runners in the 2022 race, and it’s been quite a while since such a high proportion of first time runners toed the start line. These runners and their first time nerves experienced the beauty of sunrise on the beach at Twofold Bay, listened to stories from Uncle BJ Cruse of the traditional lands they were about to cross, and witnessed a smoking ceremony to protect them on their journey.

The field settled into positions early with race plans becoming evident on the initial 24km to Towamba. Trevor Allen had the honour of first to Towamba, much like every year. A full field and relaxing of COVID rules saw a strong turnout by locals at Towamba. A number of runners likened Towamba to the Tour de France where locals and support crews lined the road to cheer on the field as they came through CheckPoint 1.

A notable change to the 2022 event was a race route detour not long after Checkpoint 2 at Rocky Hall. Included in this year’s route was an ‘off the beaten track’ fire trail called Cow Bail Trail at 56km to replace the climb up Big Jack. Big Jack was closed due to a landslip. Cow Bail Trail was remote, tough and kicked up in elevation from the start, looking down upon the relatively gentler Big Jack climb. Most of the field would be happy to never see Cow Bail Trail again, however there were a few runners who found it stunning and embraced the tough going. Even if in the strong warmth of the day a few snakes came out to say hello.

Runners were settling into race positions that would stay unchanged for some time. Nick Bamford was out in front with Barry Keem not far behind. Maree Connor, Rob Mason, Tim Kacprzak, David Vroom and Thomas Dade were also within proximity. Sarah Foster was strong and Allicia Heron very consistent. Checkpoint 3 at Cathcart had echoes of Towamba with a contingent of people lining the street cheering runners through. A lovely elderly lady cheered on Renae Brock with a resounding ‘Go you little f@#$er’ – how motivating is that?!

Competitor John Yoon. Image: Supplied

Nick Bamford and Barry Keem led the way from Cathcart to Checkpoint 4 at 106km at Gunningrah Rd, opening up a distance between themselves and the next groups of runners. The heat of the long day was starting to take some toll further back in the field with some runners slowing, and back markers struggling. The state of runners could be summarised as they stopped for photos at the 100km mark at the Dead Tree (known as the Dead Horse tree by others). Some looked tired, others had their race face on, and Rob Mason even danced a jig.

As always, the stretch to Dalgety (Checkpoint 5, 148km mark) saw change. The two horse race between Nick Bamford and Barry Keem came to a premature end. Barry Keem who had been valiant, withdrew after succumbing to a hip impairment that worsened across the day. Rob Mason, Maree Connor and Tim Kacprzak formed a small cohort. David Vroom and David Turnbull remained strong. The race was starting to bite with Thomas Dade and others struggling with the heat and nutrition.

Nick Bamford arrived at Dalgety as darkness fell, in a touch under 15 hours, but with a one hour lead over Rob Mason, and David Vroom a further nine minutes back. The Race Directors say everyone has a plan until Dalgety, and that is much the way it unfolded. Dalgety saw a small number of runners withdraw or fail to make the cut-off, with other runners using the warmth, soup and welcoming locals at Dalgety Hall as a chance to regroup ahead of the step change in elevation.

The night leg to Jindabyne and the climb up the Beloka Range saw Nick extend his lead by a further 14mins, while the long day’s racing took its toll on David Vroom who had performed strongly but started to fall back. Nick was running strong, and was a long way in front. Other runners remained generally consistent through this tough part of the course and the early stages of climbing towards the Snowy Mountains. Rob Mason later stated he felt very comfortable and relaxed to Dalgety and Jindabyne, perhaps an omen of what was to come.

The section from Jindabyne to Perisher Valley (Checkpoint 7 – 214km) and Charlotte Pass (Checkpoint 8 – 223km) saw Rob Mason take his Coast to Kosci experience and racing to a whole other level. Rob set the ‘fastest known time’ in recent memory from Jindabyne to Charlotte Pass, gaining 54mins to Perisher Valley, and a further 20mins to Charlotte Pass to pressure and overtake Nick at Charlotte Pass.

The 2022 edition would come down to Nick and Rob, and the last 18km. To the summit and return, through snow traverses, with poles and with pacers. Both Nick and Rob were within sight of each other near the summit, before Rob drew away, with a superb strong finish, leaving his pacers and support crew exhausted from the pace as they crossed the finish line at Charlotte Pass. Rob Mason in his sixth finish, was the first runner home in 27hrs:53m:41s. Nick Bamford was exhausted in second place in 29hrs:17m:21s and it was clear he had given his all as race leader for 220km. Third runner home was Tim Kacprzak in 30hrs:02m:47s. David Turnbull capped a very special and personally emotional race, finishing fourth in 30hrs:49m:45s. Maree Connor was outstanding again as the first woman finisher for the second consecutive year in 30hrs:51m:28s. Maree ran an outstanding and strong race and always looked comfortable and in good spirits.

Competitor Rob Mason crosses the finish line. Image: Nathan Damcevski

Runners continued to summit and finish throughout the day and the following night, with an overall race finish rate of 80%. Each runner with their own story, their own challenges – physically, mentally or logistically. The last runners to finish prior to the cut off – Zed Zlotnick and Xanthe Spindler – showed immense strength and commitment to the goal, as did all runners. Each Akubra for first time finishers was well and truly earned. The Coast To Kosci ‘race family and community’ grew immeasurably at this race, and also made a number of contributions to local communities, reinforcing what this event is about: Community, Humility and Resilience. The 2022 Coast To Kosci was a great race and a great event from sea to summit. So many runners new to the event. So many younger runners. 80% finish rate. Many were humbled by the course, and the course gave a lot back. Many runners got so much more from Coast To Kosci than they expected.

For the full list of results, click 2022 Results here.

Nick Bamford at Charlotte Pass. Image: Supplied

David Turnbull, Maree Connor and Greg Wallace. Image: Supplied

Charlotte Pass after midnight. Image: Geoff Milgate

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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.