SPOTLIGHT ON: MICHAEL HOOKER

Kate Dzienis • March 1, 2023

ntroducing a new feature we like to call Spotlight On, where our AURA members get to know a little bit about some other AURA members!

Name: Michael Hooker
Age: 42
Location: East Perth, WA

FAVOURITE DISTANCE AND WHY

100 Miles would be my favourite distance. I think it’s an iconic distance to be able to run as an ultra-marathon runner. It’s always a great challenge, no matter the course or event and can never be taken lightly.

WHAT’S THE STORY BEHIND YOU GETTING INTO ULTRA RUNNING?

I’ve always loved running, and was an above average runner in my younger years, but never trained. I received a phone call from a great friend of mine, Timothy Hamilton one afternoon back on 24 February, 2015.

He asked me to come and do something crazy with him, I asked ‘What now?’. He said ‘Come and run an ultra-marathon with me’. I asked him how far it was, having no idea at the time. He told me it was a 50km race, and I replied, ‘Are you serious? I haven’t even ran a marathon yet, and you want me to run 50km.’ He reassured me that I would be fine as we would run together and at his pace so it would be easy for me. That very afternoon I skipped the gym and Tim and I went for a long run together to check out the event course. I ran 36km, a distance PB for me at the time, 32km being the furthest I’d run before that.

So on 28 February, we ran the Dusk to Dawn 50km. I finished in a time of 5:05:18, and from this germinated my love for ultra running.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVOURITE ULTRA RUNNING EXPERIENCE SO FAR?

My favourite ultra experience would have to be my Feral Pig 100 mile race in 2020. It’s my favourite so far as it was a redemption run for me and the tail of that journey really has been the foundation of my future success in running.

You see, in 2017 I attempted the Feral Pig 100 miler, as my first ever 100 mile event. It was and is known by those in the know as ‘the hot year’, 40 degree temperatures made it difficult for all entrants, and many DNFd because of the conditions.

I managed to handle the conditions very well and towards the end of the course found myself unexpectedly in the lead with only the trip from Perth Hills Discovery Centre to Kalamunda and back to complete. After reaching Kalamunda and turning for home I reached the final checkpoint at Camel Farm. This left me only about 9km to cover in just over an hour in order to complete my first 100 miler and reach my goal of a sub 24hr finish. Unfortunately about two kilometres later, my pacer and I took a wrong turn and got off course onto the Munda Biddi Trail and we couldn’t find our way back on course.

By that stage I had been off course 5 times already during the event, each time managing to get back to the right trail. But this final mistake turned out to be my end. I was exhausted, delirious and mentally and physically started to shut down. I had already run 160.4km, which was a 43km PB at the time. The night time conditions and disorientated situation that I found myself in deleted me and my race was over. I had back surgery a month later to correct a prolapse disc issue that had me suffering from sciatica for over the previous 18 months. Then came 6 months of agonising recovery and a very slow build back to my best running form and from there I was ready to attempt the 100 mile beast in 2019 once again.

An extreme fire ban cancelled the event and I was devastated after such a long and patient journey. I refocused and then aimed for the event in 2020. In an extremely well planned and executed run, I reached my original goal in the 2020 race.

Not only did I complete the course in under 24hrs, but I actually won the event in a new course record time of 18:28:42, slicing a huge 2:17 from the previous record time!

IF YOU COULD HELP PACE ANYONE IN A RUN/EVENT, WHO WOULD IT BE AND WHY?

I don’t have any one person that I would love to pace, but I have paced several friends in the past and will again in the future. Schedule permitting, I would be honoured to help anyone of any level achieve a goal that they set for themselves.

If I did have to choose someone, Kilian Jornet Burgada would be my choice to pace. Widely known as one of the best ultra trail runners of all time, I feel I could learn so much from his knowledge and experience, not to mention the amazing challenge it would be to try to keep up with him. But most of all, as a world class athlete, to play a small part in a massive achievement that he would set for himself would be very satisfying for me.

AND NOW THE OPPOSITE. WHO WOULD YOU WANT RUNNING ALONGSIDE YOU?

That one is easy after the previous question, a reverse role with Kilian Jornet Burgada pacing me would also be just amazing. If he wasn’t available, Alexsandr Sorokin, another world class ultra runner and record holder.

WHAT ARE 3 THINGS WE WOULD ALWAYS FIND IN YOUR DROPBAG?

Chocolate, frozen water bottles and Bix Hydration electrolytes.

WHAT’S YOUR DREAM RUN OR EVENT?

That one is easy too, UTMB Mont Blanc 100 miler.

< 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.