TIPS TO GET YOU THROUGH LOCKDOWN

Kate Dzienis • July 31, 2021

By Kate Dzienis

The last few months have been stressful for millions of Aussies, with so many dealing with grief, stress, financial difficulties, job losses and isolation caused by the pandemic. Right now, all across Australia, we’re dealing with either a lockdown or some form of COVID-19 restriction.

Before we continue, this is just your little reminder that exercise triggers a release of endorphins into the bloodstream, relieving pain and producing a feeling of well-being. As ultra runners, we all want to stick with our routines, especially our training programs, and keep our eyes on future events that hopefully won’t get cancelled or postponed – yet it can be hard to find that motivation sometimes, and that’s completely understandable.

We spoke with 8 AURA members who provide their tips and tricks to staying active and sane during lockdown.

ISOBEL ROSS, VIC

“I get up at the same time in the morning as when I am working. 5.10am and go through the same routine and head out for my run at 6. If I allow myself to think ‘I have time now that I’m in lockdown’, well then it just downs to happen! As soon as I get home from my run I shower then eat. Once again, easy to think that it doesn’t matter about showering because you can’t smell on zoom, but it’s about maintaining routine and pride in yourself which is important for avoiding depression. I still do weights. I do that later in the day and out on motivating running videos on YouTube whilst I workout. This really helps. I believe while in lockdown it’s super important for your mental and physical health to maintain routines.”

STEPHEN REDFERN, NSW (AURA SECRETARY)

My main advice is to stay positive. When waking up in the morning look out at the beautiful day and enjoy the rays of sunshine coming in. One can always stay active. This is the greatest part of our amazing sport of running. All one has to do is put on the running shoes and just get out there (within the limits of restrictions). Think of a new route to run or even walk each day, and go and enjoy it. There is always somewhere new in your local area that is worth exploring. I am always thankful that our sport allows us to keep enjoying it no matter what the situation is.

MARITA EISLER, QLD

Queenslanders have been lucky so far in that we are still able to leave our homes to exercise. One challenge has been dealing with the uncertainty around last minute event cancellations and staying motivated to train for events that may not happen. The good thing about being an ultra runner is having a great fitness base that can be transferred over to other sports and activities that we might not be so inclined to try when we are focused on a particular running event. I’ve been hiking and cycling more and have enjoyed learning new skills and finding areas where running has (believe it or not) left gaps in my overall fitness.

JOHN YOON, VIC

Now that the realisation of ‘this situation is not going to change in a hurry’ has sunken in, it’s very tough. It’s still about focusing on your goals and at the same time learning to relax a bit to look after your body. I still try to keep a routine by getting up early to run and get changed for work even though I’m working from home. I will sneak in a 20 minute workout during the day, then an easy recovery run after work. After that it’s time to relax with bit of music, cooking dinner and a glass of wine.

MATTHEW ECKFORD, QLD (AURA VICE PRESIDENT)

Staying active for people who know how to remain active regardless of circumstances is pretty easy in my opinion, but remaining sane can be much harder to master when stuck indoors, particularly with kids staying at home all day, every day. This is what has worked for us:

Start the day by making your own bed
Coffee first up in the morning is quiet/quality time between parents, kids breakfast/needs come after that
Audiobooks instead of TV
12pm to 1pm is quiet time so sleep, read a book, self-entertain, parents time to work
Get the kids to help out with x3 chores each during the day
When kids are entertaining themselves, use that time work
Do one fun thing/something the kids ask you to do for play, per day
After the kids go to sleep, it’s quality time for the parents, not time to work. If need be do an hour of work, then come back together

KAY BRETZ, VIC

Just in time for the first lockdown in 2020, I moved from Sydney to Melbourne. Great timing to fully embrace five lockdowns so far. My tip is to have a daily outdoor exercise routine to keep sane. Enjoy your runs and, most importantly, don’t dwell on the frustration of not knowing when lockdown will end. On rest days, I recommend going out for walks.

EWAN HORSBURGH, NSW (AURA PRESIDENT)

Making the most of working at home by running at lunch times, or the occasional dog walk, bush walk or jog around the block with the kids is a great way to get some fresh air and exercise.

CASSIE SMITH, QLD

I have to say that Queensland was amazingly lucky when it came down to lockdowns. Speaking to other interstate friends, they were going mad though so how it has affected me personally was like a bit of a brick in the head. I’ve been dealing with some serious mental health issues since late 2018 and just as I was starting to feel well enough to strap the shoes back on, contact my coach to get the program ready and enter some races, COVID hit with all of its rules and regulations. All that said, my tip to staying active in this lockdown is mental stimulation. Our lockdowns were short and sharp but I did find myself ignoring a run from my program using COVID as an excuse. The cancellations of local events also made it tough as we would usually use them as training runs so I got into the habit of running my eyes over my training runs and sit for ages looking at my running photos from when I was really fit. I thought to myself that if I could stay onto it mentally by looking at all of the huge wins I had experienced in the past it would help. That was my strategy and it worked most days. So I guess, apart from my personal situation, but you want to know something, once you get out the door it is fan-bloody-tastic!

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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.