TRACK ULTRA, BUNBURY RECAP BY FIRST FEMALE BRESSER

Kate Dzienis • August 31, 2021

Contributed by Kerriann Bresser, 1st Female 24hr Track Ultra

24h Track Ultra, 14-15 August 2021, Bunbury WA

This was my first 24-hour track ultra! My longest ever event prior to this was the Race to the Stones in 2019, taking me 16hrs in a fog of jetlag to complete 100kms of the Ridgeway to the stone circle at Avebury UK. So I am totally thrilled to be able to reach 150 kms in this race!

My training for the track ultra was mostly intuitive with many, many hours of brisk walking, at least 1 hour a day. I aimed for a weekly running milage of 50 kms/week, building up to 80 kms at the end of a cycle of three weeks, at 6:40 min/km with little to no speed work but a weekly 6-8 km tempo run (mostly because the slow pace was becoming very tedious).

The race day strategy of 30 minutes run (6:40 min/Km) and 10-minute walk (10 min/Km) worked well for the first half but eventually dwindled to 15 minute shuffles and the walk breaks were getting longer and longer….. and this is where I realised I had neglected my quad muscles in the weekly strength training sessions.

The best part of the experience by far was the comradery from my fellow runners with their endless encouragement and inspiration, as they appeared to orbit and align up with me momentarily, like some strange solar system. Also, worth a mention was being able to watch the sun rise after a long, tough night and that magical coffee from Gabi! Very grateful for all the volunteers who made it happen. Thank you so much!

Looking forward to returning next year to get that 100-mile milestone! Hope to see you there!

A MESSAGE FROM MYRA KEEP, 2ND PLACE FEMALE

Myra Keep – One of the great things about a track ultra is that no matter how far ahead they are, the winners and elite athletes are always right there with you. It means you can be chatting on and off during the race, be there cheering when Dave Kennedy crossed for his 200th kilometre, and it means you can watch in awe as Kerriann Bresser plugged away during the night, for a fabulous win.

Kerriann was one of a group of us “mature” runners, all in our 50s and 60s, who had turned up alone and unsupported, happy to look after ourselves. Our long-suffering spouses had all politely declined to come and sit beside the track for 24 hours (once is probably enough). In addition to Kerriann, Charlotte Rumney, Ian Dougan and I had come across each other before in previous races, and Pamela Williams was a delightful addition to the “seniors strip”, where we all set up our little stations next to each other. The camaraderie was superb, and we ended up supporting each other for the duration of the race. Our little group of “Masters athletes” kept each other going. Well, they certainly kept me going, I hope I returned the favour!

Of note is that the winners of the women’s race have a combined age of 177! At ages 53, 55 and 69, the Masters led the way, establishing our dominance in the “doggedly determined” category. Also of note were some of the rich experiences that fuelled conversation – among our group were World Champion triathletes, competitive powerlifters, and a range of really interesting races (the Berlin Wall 100 miler anyone?). And all this despite various injuries and sometimes life-threatening health conditions.

So I just wanted to acknowledge the tremendous achievements of my fellow Masters athletes on so many levels, and for their wonderful support and camaraderie. Thank you all for being there, for sharing your stories, and for competing despite injuries and illnesses. You made the experience so much richer and worthwhile. It would not have been the same without you.

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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.