WEEKLY NEWS BRIEF – 13/9/2018

Kate Dzienis • September 13, 2018

What an exciting month it’s been so far, and we’re not even half way!

Bright Ultra

The first race for the month of September was held on 1 September in Bright, Vic. Aptly named the Bright Ultra the event offered a 50k distance with a 12hr cut-off. Well done to AURA’s David Byrne who took first overall/first male with a speedy 4:13:53 – more than 39 minutes ahead of the closest male to follow, and Jacqui Clark who placed fifth in the women’s division, crossing the finish line in 7:29:08.

Congratulations also goes to Mark Sawa (5:42:26), Niall Roche (6:01:42), and Duc Do (8:31:01).

The Great North Walk 100s

The Great North Walk 100s is a 250km walking track that runs along the coastal strip between Sydney and Newcastle, NSW. The 100km race finishes at Yarramalong while the 100 Miler at Patonga, but there is also a 50k option as well as a 50 Miler.

An astounding effort from AURA’s Vladimir Shatrov from Kahibah, NSW took first overall/first male in the 50k event with a time of 4:28. Congratulations also to Tim Lyndon (5:39) and Roger Hanney (8:07).

AURA had another podium finisher in the Great North, this time in the 100 Miler with Joe Ward from Fairlight, NSW taking the crown in less with 24-hours and crossing the finish in 23:06. Well done to our other members who participated and completed the distance, including Adam Darwin (29:40), Melissa Robertson (31.02), Andy Hewat (33.50), Greg Brown (35:32) and Renae Brock (35:39).

It was amazing work byJulie Quinn from Macquarie, ACT who took the prize with first female in 13:12, and congratulations must also go to Morgan Sheehy who completed the event in 15:00.

Glasshouse Trail Series

Conditions were great for running at the weekend’s Glasshouse Trail Series, held in the beautiful Glasshouse Mountains of Qld. This particular event provided three ultra options – a 50k, 100k and a 100 Miler, giving everyone a taste for long distance.

Working our way up the ladder in events, AURA’s very own Daniel Williams from Ipswich, Qld took first male/first overall in the 50k in a time of 4:52:49, whilst Michael Bray claimed third male/fourth overall in 4:58:08.

For the women, Connie Stevenson from Brisbane, Qld sped through the race and took first woman/second overall right on Williams’ heels, claiming a time of 4:53:28.

Big congratulations also to our AURA members Laurie Laine (5:35:24), Kris Ryan (6:48:12) and Kelvin Marshall (7:16:21).

In the 100k Steve Marton took third male with 13:27:00 flat, while well-known runner Marita Eisler took first place for the women in 13:36:27. Superb efforts were also noted by Richard McCormick (17:51:33) and Stephen Lewis (26:02:46).

On to the big race, the 100 Miler, and NSW’s Rob Mason claimed second in an astonishing 20:22:29. Massive props to Ben Hirst who came through the finish with 26:25:15.

IAU 100k World Championships

We are still waiting on official results for the Australian team who participated in the ever-anticipated IAU 100k World Championships which were held in Croatia on Saturday (Sept 8). Preliminary results captured on Sunday were Brendan Davies (7:08:30), Barry Keem (DNF 55k 3:47:56), Gary Mullins (DNF 55k 4:06:27), Tash Fraser (8:12:37), Emilie Tan (8:30:51), Tia Jones (8:33:42), Margaret Hadley (8:56:03), Barbara Fieberg (8:58:16), Larissa Tichon (10:09:00) and Corrina Black (9:17:27).

As reported by numerous sources, including official team support member Jenny Taplin, conditions in Croatia were extremely humid and the course was classified difficult due to undulating terrain. The Aussie team had agreed the night before to slow down their average timed pace anywhere between 15 to 30 seconds to see through the humidity and finish the distance. The entire team did a tremendous job representing our country, and they did it so incredibly well – we couldn’t be more proud of each runner who headed over in the Aussie green and gold.

Tia Jones was awarded with gold in the 50-54 age category for the Worlds, an amazing effort by this outstanding athlete.

We will be keeping an eye out for a list of official results, but in the meantime, don’t miss out on this weekend’s events – the Surf Coast Century (100k and 50k) in Anglesea, Vic and the Butter24 (6/12/24 hour track) in Brisbane, Qld.

Pictured: The Australian team pre-race at the IAU 100k World Championships in Croatia. Photograph – Supplied/Facebook.

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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.