WEEKLY NEWS REPORT 10-08-2020

Kate Dzienis • August 10, 2020

Elephant Trail Race, NSW
Birdy’s Backyard Ultra (Last One Standing), WA
Upcoming Events and News

Elephant Trail Race, NSW

The Elephant Trail Race was held the weekend of 17-19 July (2020) in Port Macquarie, NSW and offered three ultra distances for participants – a 50kms, 100kms and 160kms.

With a great line up of participants, and ultra runners just raring to go post-COVID, we saw AURA members take to the start line and run some great results.

Starting with the 160kms distance, it was a field of 12 entrants with 6 finishers within cut-off.

For the men, Jochen Hess claimed 1st Male with 33:54:20 whilst AURA’s very own Jeremy Rankin from Normanhurst, the ACT claimed 2nd Male right behind Hess in a time of 35:21:42. Third Male went to Michael Murdoch (37:28:45).

For the women, Maree Connor took the 1st podium finish after crossing the finish line in 33:54:21 and AURA member Renae Brock from Wallsend, NSW held on to claim 2nd Female with a time of 40:22:06 – this was her 2nd ETR.

Brock is also to be congratulated on becoming the ETR’s very first Ambassador for 2021.

In the 100kms event (14 finishers within cut-off) 1st Male went to Aaron Dower (16:08:58) whilst AURA member Sinclair Park from Bellingen, NSW was right behind him on his heels to claim 2nd Male with a finish time of 17:52:05. Third was awarded to Thomas Godfrey (18:40:02).

There was only one entrant for the women’s division – Deborah Castres finished in 28:29:58.

Congratulations to all those who ran in the 50kms, of which there were 83 participants, 80 finishing within cut-off.

Birdy’s Backyard Ultra (Last One Standing), WA

As WA’s first official AURA-listed event of the year, this was an event that was more like a reunion for some of the state’s best ultra runners. Held in Moodiarrup, WA the weekend of 7-9 August (2020) the weather wasn’t exceptional for Birdy’s Backyard Ultra – in fact, it was windy with a chill factor, so for those finishing the 6.71kms loop and waiting for the next hour to begin may have very well been uncomfortable throughout the weekend.

It took 40 laps, but AURA’s Michael Hooker from East Perth took out the title of Last One Standing, meaning his total distance equalled a finish of 268.40kms – not to mention his lap times were fairly consistent. Lap 40 saw a time of 32:31; Lap 39 was 30:01; Lap 38 totalled 30:57…we could go on, but all 6.71kms loops were less than 33 minutes, and none under 30.

With the different format of all participants DNFing, there were no ‘real’ podium standings with everyone receiving a DNF wooden spoon.

However in the men’s category Phil Gore was right behind Hooker, finishing 39 laps before bowing out, while AURA’s Jon Pendse DNF’d at 31 laps, totalling a distance of 217.27km after going out for lap 32. This made Gore and Pendse second and third (respectively) top male finishers.

For the women, it was another couple amazing performances by WA’s prestigiously well-known ultra runners and AURA members.

Margie Hadley from Henley Brook timed out after securing herself a new PB with a total of 201kms and DNFing at 30 laps, but determination was her end-goal, never giving up and giving every lap conquered a red hot crack. She was the top female finisher.

Behind Hadley was the ever strong-willed Jen Millum from Karnup, WA who showed what she was really made of. Also known for podium finishes in the WA ultra community, AURA member Millum completed a total of 27 laps, meaning it was a distance of 180kms for second top female finisher.

Third top female title went to Ky Lee Bell who DNF’d at 24 laps (100mi).

Congratulations to all AURA members who went out and competed at Birdy’s Backyard Ultra over the weekend, including Kate Ashfaq, Doug Bartlett, Timothy Bond, Kerryann Bresser, Jimmy Brook, Bob Colligan, Rob Collins, Ian Dougan, John Fisher, Amy Glen, Sergio Gustinetti, Beck Hefferon, David Kennedy, Jutta Kober, Emma Luscombe, Julia Mackay-Koelen, Kevin Matthews, Peta Moore, Sue Robertson, Glen Smetherham and Georgia Snowball.

Hero Run, SA

The Hero Run was held at the weekend, and we are awaiting official results.

Coast 2 Kosci Registrations

Don’t delay, get those entries in for your participation in the 2020 Coast 2 Kosci Ultra. There is already a total of 84 registrations, and less than 24 hours to apply. There are qualifying criteria, so be sure to back your entry up with your racing resume. Head here to register.

IAU 6hr Virtual Global Solidarity Run

In case you missed it, AURA announced its successful applicants to the IAU 6hr Virtual Global Solidarity Run to be held 29-30 August (2020) across the country. All runners will have two days to complete the virtual run and have been given the option to run however they like i.e. track, treadmill, stairs, trail or road.

For the women, the team consists of Cassie Smith (Qld), Julia Mackay (WA), Emma Luscombe (WA), Harmony Waite (WA), Amelia Griffith (Vic), Donna Urquhart (Vic), Karen Mickle (Vic), Heather Hawkins (NSW) and Kristen Brace (NSW).

For the men’s team it will be Clay Dawson (Qld), Dan Simonds (Qld), Barry Loveday (Qld), Matthew Eckford (Qld), Jeremy Rankin (ACT), Patrick O’Leary (Vic), Greg Wilson (Vic), Joe Ward (NSW) and Stephen Redfern (NSW).

Coming up

Coming up on the AURA-listed calendar of events is the Berry Long Run which will be held on 15 August (2020) in Vic. However due to recent Stage 4 restrictions coming into place by the State Government, changes have been made:

Instead of a Berry Long Run, race organisers have announced a Berry Long Week.
The event will now take place from 5am Monday (17 August) to 8pm Sunday (23 August) and participants can run their distance throughout the week in their own time.
Participants must record their activities on GPS, preferably uploaded to Strava (join the Strava club titled BLR2020).
If you don’t like using, or don’t have, a Strava account, email your GPS files when the week is over to the BLR organisers.
No more than one activity per day.
No more than one hour per activity. Disqualifications will occur if this rule is breached.
Stay in your 5km radius perimeter. Disqualifications may occur if breached.
Vert is not required, but will be considered in rankings.
Any runs recorded outside of curfew will trigger immediate disqualification.

For more information regarding the new rules for the Berry Long Run (Week) visit their FB page here.

Pictured: Margie Hadley leading the pack at Birdy’s Backyard Ultra (Last One Standing) in WA at the weekend. Photograph – Astrid Volzke.

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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.