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WEEKLY NEWS REPORT 19-08-2021

Kate Dzienis • August 19, 2021

Birdy’s Backyard, WA
Track Ultra WA, WA
Berry Long Run, Vic
Upcoming Events/Cancellations

BIRDY’S BACKYARD

Birdy’s Backyard (Last One Standing) kicked off on Friday, August 13 in Moddiarrup, WA for its third running.

With everyone keeping a close eye on the socials for updates, it was a battle between 2020 Birdy’s Backyard winner Michael Hooker (AURA member) from East Perth and Phil Gore (AURA member) from Darling Downs who claimed the assist in 2020 then went on to win the 2020 Herdy’s Frontyard last one standing event.

Smiles all around, Gore ended up taking the win with 51 laps finishing the final lap in just over 28 minutes; Hooker claimed title of Assist with 50 laps.

AURA’s Margie Hadley from Henley Brook finished out on the 39th lap, making her 38th lap the furthest by a female in Australia (yet to be ratified).

Congratulations to all AURA members who ran and DNFd at Birdy’s Backyard including Beck Hefferon, Jutta Kober, Jen Millum, Georgia Snowball, Sergio Gustinetti, Alexis Oosterhoff, Glen Smetherham, James Sawyer, Doug Bartlett, Timothy Bond, Bianca Harding, Chris Kirkwood, Adam Loughnan, Peta Moore, Jon Pendse, Sue Robertson, Heath Watkins, Jason Kell, Chris Martin, Jerry Peters and James Brook.

On Tuesday morning, race director Shaun Kaesler announced Gore had accepted an invitation to represent at Big Dog’s Backyard Ultra World Championships in October. Gore said he was incredibly grateful for the path his ultra running had taken him.

“I have been overwhelmed by the amount of support I’ve received over the last 24 hours,” he said.

“This is my number 1 dream race, and to compete on the international stage among some of the best ultra runners in the world will just be incredible. Thank you to all of you who are helping to make it a reality.”

TRACK ULTRA WA

Set in the south west region of WA in Bunbury, the Track Ultra WA was held at the Bunbury Athletics Track over the weekend of 14-15 August (2021), a glorious two days of pristine weather over the Perth skies.

Offering a range of ‘time’ distances, participants could run laps of the track for 24 hours, 12 hours, 6 hours and 3 hours, and is generally held as the perfect event for those in WA who are unable to get to any track events over east.

Kicking off with the 24hr Run/Walk, there was one competitor with Justin Scholz taking out the title after completing 376 laps (161.692km).

In the 24hr Women’s event, it was an all-round AURA podium finish with AURA’s very own Kerriann Bresser from Lesmurdie taking out 1st Female after completing 381 laps with a total of 152.400km. AURA member Myra Keep from Perth held on for 2nd Female with 332 laps and 132.800km, whilst AURA’s Pamela Williams from Esperance took 3rdFemale after 332 laps and 132.800kms.

In the 24hr Men’s event, AURA’s David Kennedy from Silver Sands claimed 1st Male following his 505 laps and a total distance of 202.000kms. Another AURA member, Bryan Wright from Victoria Park, took 2nd Male with 419 laps and 167.600km, whilst Thomas Wieman took 3rd Male (163.600km).

Congratulations to all AURA members who took on the 24hr division including Graham Bell (154.000km), Glen Smetherham (121.200km), Alexis Oosterhoff (105.600km), Harmony Waite (84.800km), Charlotte Rumney(80.800km) and Cassie Hughes (49.200km),

In the 12hr Women’s event, podium spots went to Raquel Rae (99.528km), Emma Clack (80.452km) and Emma MacLennan (73.817km).

For the 12hr Men’s it was James Coffey (76.920km) and Steven Williams (46.032km).

Congratulations to all AURA members who raced in the 12hr including Louise Wallace (70.084km).

In the 6hr Women’s top spots were claimed by Cherie Savin (60.546km), Claire Slater (58.473km) and Belle Kennedy (50.593km).

In the 6hr Men’s competition 1st Male went to AURA member Nathan Fawkes from Waikiki who completed 184 laps for a total of 76.305km. Second Male was followed up with AURA’s well known ultra runner Mick Francis who clocked in 159 laps and a total of 65.937km. Third Male went to Ben Treasure with 59.630km.

Well done to AURA member Mark Caldwell who finished up with 113 laps for a total distance of 46.861km.

BERRY LONG RUN/WEEK

It was with sadness that in the days leading up to the Berry Long Run in Victoria, race director Joe Lewis announced the event would be cancelled for a second year in a row. However, with an abundance of support from the running community, a Berry Long Week was created with participants encouraged to do their event distance between Saturday, 14 August and Friday, 20 August. Using no more than 2 consecutive hours per day, runners were encouraged to run as far as they could over the 7 days and would be rewarded for vertical gain, using the formula propounded by one Jason Koop – every 100m of vert was worth an extra 1km of distance.

Rules of course were followed with many in zoned areas requiring to stay within their 5kim radius.

Because the event is still continuing and due to finish tomorrow, results of our AURA members will be posted in the next race report.

UPCOMING EVENTS/CANCELLATIONS

Unfortunately with the current pandemic hitting states all across the country, the majority of events are being cancelled or postponed. If you have registered for any events in the coming months, it’s advised to keep an eye on their FB pages; alternatively, race directors will always communicate with their participants and volunteers on the next course of action.

The Cairns Port Douglas Trail Ultra scheduled for 21 August has been cancelled.

The BottleButt Bash Trail Run at this stage is still scheduled for this Saturday, 21 August however race directors will make the call whether or not it will go ahead by 11am on Friday, 20 August. Participants should have received an email on Tuesday, 17 August.

It was announced on August 10 that Rapid Ascent’s Run Larapinta Stage Race will not proceed 26-29 August and has been deferred to the provisional date of 28 April-1 May 2022. The decision was made due to the ongoing restrictions and recent changes to the NT border entry requirements.

AAA Racing’s The Clint Eastwood (last one standing) in Rocklea, Qld is still going ahead on 27-31 August as is the Great Trail Relay WA in Kalamunda, WA on 28 August but it’s encouraged everyone stay up to date with their relevant social media platforms.

Pictured – AURA members Michael Hooker and Phil Gore battling it out for last one standing at the 2021 Birdy’s Backyard. 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.