THE WORLD TRAIL CHAMPIONSHIPS EXPERIENCE

Kate Dzienis • July 29, 2019

Contributed by Lauren Rooke, AURA member/Australian Team (Trail World Championships)

Trail World Championships, Miranda do Corvo in Portugal, 8 June 2019

On May 31, my husband and I excitedly boarded the plane for the 2019 Trail World Championships. I was stoked to be selected as one of five women and one male to represent Australia, and the only South Australian athlete. The Championships took place in Miranda do Corvo, Portugal on a 44.2-kilometre course with 2200 meters of climbing. While these numbers looked fairly timid on paper, there were large sections littered with tree roots and jagged rocks, best described as the Sturt Gorge River Trail on steroids. There were steep ups and downs, with very little flat sections on offer and caffeine was in high demand due to the concentration needed to stay upright. A high DNF rate was surprising for a World Championships and the first aid tent was kept quite busy.

The lead up for me personally had been a mix of highs and lows. I had experienced the highs of 4th female at UTA 50km, 1st at Wonderland and 2nd in the Five Peaks races in mid-2018. Then there were the lows of pulling out of Yurrebilla with Influenza A, injury setbacks and some big life events. There were certainly times when I questioned whether there were more worthwhile ways I should be spending my time, but despite this I felt called to give running a new go each day.

My typical week leading up to the championships consisted of seven to 10 runs and between 100 to 140kms with 2000m+ climb. This was a mix of speed sessions, easy runs, strength sessions and a three to four hour long run on Sundays. Sundays were my favourite because there was always an adventure to be had and about a dozen different runners joined us over time. Some mornings we chased vertical climb and managed just under 2000m in 30 to 35kms. Other mornings we ran to a destination and picked people up along the way. The only constant was that there was always a weekly brunch date at the end with my husband Kieran. We have well and truly mastered the post-run baby wipe and deodorant shower to scrub up well enough for admission into most cafés!

After several weeks of these long runs, it was time for the taper. Once the taper period started, it was similar what I hear of teachers and their start of holiday sickness time. I unfortunately contracted the most hideous gastro bug and after the 30 hours of travelling, also developed temperatures. After missing a plane due to Kieran convincing me of the necessity for this hotel buffet breakfast, we arrived in Porto.

We spent three days up in the mountains at Gondramaz, which were incredibly spectacular and I walk/jogged a few short distances on the course as able. The course surprised us with its technicality and we gained some insight into the whole distance from other European runners who had trained on it numerous times over the previous months. We then moved to the team accommodation in Coimbra and met some of the Aussie teammates for the first time.

On the day of the race I felt miraculously better than I had done all week and felt so blessed to be able to start. There were many doubts over whether I would finish but Kieran, a little more acquainted with my stubbornness and the power of prayer, assured the others I would.

The start was an elbow fest and alike anything I have been a part of, with little to no regard for cheekbones or nose heights.

The first 7kms took us straight through a river and then a tunnel knee high in water. We then began our rocky ascent and athletes resorted to helping push each other up steep sections in unglamorous ways. One athlete from a non-English speaking country asked ‘can you move in with me’, presumably meaning to say ‘can you move for me’ and I snapped out of the hurt locker into fits of laughter. There were many times like these where I was really struggling, and then something happened that would change my mindset. Another example was during the last 10kms when another runner and I started descending on the rocky, steep and tree-root laden trail. It was so ridiculous that you really had to either laugh or cry. After both of us slid down a section on our backsides, we both chose the first option and started laughing. Yet another time, a cheer squad assumed my green uniform was Brazil and escorted me up a giant stairwell with enthusiasm yelling ‘Ale Brazillia’. There were also the various ‘official’ photographers who seemed to like closeups and a fisty cuffs between kids over a cowbell. Our Aussie support crew was outstanding, albeit lacking cowbells.

While these moments are memorable, the rest was honestly a blur. What I do remember though, is feeling so much relief as I finally crossed the finish line.It was the end of a painful race, with an exhausted and sickly body, but I finished and that’s all that mattered. There was no ‘did not start’ or ‘did not finish’ by an Australian’s name. 142 of 188 female runners is nothing special but the experience truly was.

Thank you my friends, family and the many people who offered to join me on runs, to the Australian team and to the support crew. I would especially like to thank iOMerino, for their provision of such wonderful gear. Being kitted up with iOMerino arm warmers, buffs, thermals and gloves has made 5am starts in winter seem so much more appealing! Also to Salomon for their packs and shoes to keep me safe on the trails and Suunto for my new watch.

Pictured: Lauren Rooke with her Australian team mates at the 2019 World Trail Championships. Photograph – Supplied.

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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.