RACE DIRECTORS’ REPORT – GREAT SOUTHERN ENDURANCE RUN 2021

Kate Dzienis • December 20, 2021

Contributed by Megan and Matt, Great Southern Endurance Run race directors

The Great Southern Endurance Run (GSER) has changed from its traditional beginnings of a point-to-point Victorian High-Country endurance run – Mt Buller to Bright (2017) and Bright to Mt Buller (2019) – although changed course out and back from Harrietville.

Under new ownership in 2021, we revised the event to allow a central Race HQ in Harrietville, which in return allowed the event to support the local community and provided support crews and pacers easier access to their runners. Another revision to the run’s traditional format, by using trails closer to the township of Harrietville before runners venture out along the Australian Alps Walking Track. Adding a 28 km event (which is a perfect introduction to sky running) to our 50 and 100 mile events. This allowed runners to support each other whilst on the trail through comradery and showed the true spirit of ultra runners. These changes provided an element of difference to the event with a greater connection to the Harrietville and surrounding community, Mt Hotham Resort and the Alpine National Park.

We also introduced a new profile series called ‘Women of GSER’ which was all about raising the profile of amazing women in the trail community, providing inspiration to other women and encouraging women to participate and get out of their comfort zone to give trail running a go. The addition of the 28km run to the schedule of events, we wanted women to use this as a stepping-stone into the world of ultra running. To our delight, the event gained traction especially with female entrants and we ended up with more females than males in the 28km.

The lead up to this event was filled with anxiety and stress due to the unknown nature of the pandemic, lockdowns and border closures across the country. There were many sleepless nights thinking about all possible scenarios, do we have a plan B, C, D, depending on which borders may still be closed and whether even in Victoria if metro Melbourne would be allowed to enter regional Victoria by the event date.

Planning was well underway and we pushed ahead as if the event would run on the planned day. A month out from the event there was a glimmer of hope that we may get runners to the start line, vaccination rates were rising and state governments were hopeful that this would allow borders to open. Two weeks from our runners taking the start line, the Victorian Government gave the okay for metro Melbourne to enter regional areas and a week later NSW and ACT governments also allowed travel across the border to Victoria.

As race directors we were ecstatic, our hard work leading up was not going to be for nothing, we could put on our event. We were feeling disappointed that our runners from WA, NT, Qld, Tas and SA could not make the event as their borders were not going to be open in time (we look forward to welcoming them in 2022). As the realisation hit, we had less than 2 weeks to get everything in place ready for the excited trail community. Events were back on!

In the week of the event, the weather started to take a turn for the worst. We had many phone calls back and forth with our Endurance Medical Services, deliberating on what the safest option was for our runners. The event was only 2 days away, so we made the hard decision that we needed to change the course as the conditions were not safe enough to have runners out across exposed ridgelines in the remote high country. The run changed from an out and back to a loop course, 26km loop with 1500m vert. The course had to minus the summiting of Mt Feathertop and therefore the 28km turned into a 26km loop, with the 50 mile 3 loops and 100 mile 6 loops.

Logistics were flipped on their head and we scrambled to change our plans accordingly. We knew loops were a mental battle for many runners and it might not have suited everyone but there were so many positives that came from it. Runner comradery was high, having every runner on the same loop meant that 28km, 50 mile and 100 mile runners encouraged and supported each other throughout their whole run. The runners’ support crews could stay in one place and be ready to help their runner as they re-entered the HQ aid station and Harrietville was a hive of activity, providing a positive and enthusiastic atmosphere that helped encourage runners to go out for another loop even if they were struggling as they came in from each one.

The conditions on Friday as the 100 mile runners started were not the best but this was predicted. Rain, wind and overnight temperatures dropped. The wind chill was high especially between M.U.M.C Hut and Federation Hut, where runners were required to put every piece of mandatory gear on to ensure they did not succumb to the cold. Our medical team had a crew based at Federation Hut where they checked on every runner’s welfare before sending down Bungalow Spur to Race HQ.

As the 100 milers ran into Saturday morning the weather started to improve and our 28km and 50 mile runners took off from the start line.

The weather in Harrietville was warm with very little wind, deceiving for what they would find at the top of North West Spur. The 28km runners enjoyed the best conditions of the weekend and the race for top 3 was hotly contested, with only 1 minute 35 seconds between 1st and 2nd males.

Our winners for each event were:

100 mile female – 1st Liz Woodgate

100 mile male – 1st Thomas Dade, 2nd Joel Read , 3rd Ross McPhee

50 mile female – 1st Gill Fowler, 2nd Claire Healy, 3rd Leeah Cooper / Leah Alexander

50 mile male – 1st Justin Hiatt, 2nd George Morton-Ramwell, 3rd Marcus Brownlie

28km female – 1st Kellie Emmerson, 2nd Shivonne Sieber, 3rd Monika Holmwood

28km male – 1st Blake Hose, 2nd Charlie Hamilton, 3rd Viv Johnson

Our run is not all about the top 3 but the strength and determination of every runner. The memories and stories of all our runners have inspired many, especially that of Vince Villarosa who completed the 100 mile in 49:55:42 seconds (50 hour cut off). Vince was going to pull out after 3 laps, then 4 laps, and then on the 5th lap but the support and encouragement of everyone around him made him get back out there and keep going. His mental toughness to complete a loop course and in the weather conditions with the extreme vert on each lap should have deserved more than a medal and the 100 mile finishers blanket.

The winner of the ‘Women of GSER Spirit’ Award, Belle Campbell deservedly won this award by showing strength, determination, support of others and having fun while completing the challenging GSER course. She received a gift voucher for Espire Clothing to design her very own locally made, organic cotton garment. Espire Clothing, a Bright family business that uses 100% organic cotton in their garments made right here in Victoria.

A big thank you to every person involved this year to make the event happen, our volunteers went over and above in the conditions and to the Harrietville community for allowing us to run the event.

GSER would not be possible without the generosity and support of our sponsors: Alpine Shire Council, Hammer Nutrition, Foot Pro, T8 Running, Espire Clothing, Parks Victoria, Mt Hotham Resort Management, Harrietville and Surrounds.

We have our sights set on getting runners across the mountain ridges from Mt Feathertop to Mt Murray and The Viking next year, 11-13 November 2022.

Photograph – Supplied.

< Older Post

Newer Post >

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.