WEEKLY NEWS REPORT – 2/9/2019

Kate Dzienis • September 2, 2019

Bright Running Festival
IAU World 50k
Runners at UTMB
Six Days in the Dome

There’s no other word to describe the weekend but ‘exciting’! And whilst this week’s report may not necessarily focus just on AURA-listed events, we had a big number of AURA members running across both days, which makes for spectacular reporting.

Bright Running Festival

In order of appearance, the Bright Running Festival kicked off on Saturday, August 31 with a 50km trail event in Bright, Vic.

For the men’s event which saw 31 entrants, Matthew Crehan took top honours with 1st Male in 4:35:32 whilst Jonathan Fearn claimed 2nd in 4:41:06 and AURA’s very own Kevin Muller, who has had a successful 2019 in the ultra scene, held on for 3rd with a finish time of 5:04:05.

Ruby Greig-Hurtig claimed 1st for the women out of 11 participants with a time of 5:52:49, Naomi Ramsay took 2nd with 6:36:57, and Victoria Rebbeck held for 3rd with 6:48:36.

IAU 50k World Championships

The ever anticipated IAU 50k World Championships were held in Brasov, Romania on Sunday, September 1 and we had three AURA women compete in the race in a field of 67 women, doing Australia proud as they donned the green and gold.

Clare Palmer from Glenreagh, NSW secured 30th place after completing the 50k distance in 3:39:25 whilst Burwood (NSW) runner Larissa Tichon, who raced in last September’s IAU 100k World Championships in Croatia, took control of 42nd place with a finish time of 3:50:37. Karen Pienaar from Kidman Park, SA bowed out after 8 laps of the 11-lap course and ran it in 2:51:12.

The winner of the women’s event was (GBR) Alyson Dixon, who set a new Worlds Record time of 3:07:20 (read more here).

(GBR) Helen Davies took 2nd with 3:09:16 and (ESP) Alicia Perez held on to take 3rd with 3:15:09.

For the men the podium finish consisted of (ESP) Iraitz Arrospide in 1st with 2:47:42, (RSA) Lungile Gongqa in 2nd with 2:48:26, and (GBR) Daniel Nash in 3rd with 2:49:01.

Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc

Although not an AURA-listed event, a lot of eyes were on UTMB over the weekend with various live feeds and social posts from all over the country. Four AURA members took on the 171.62km challenge in Chamonix, France including Stephen Redfern from Engadine, NSW; Kellie Emmerson from Kilsyth, Vic; Piera Kohout from Cremorne, NSW; and Alan Wheat from Cammeray, NSW.

Emmerson crossed the finish line in 31:31:01 and finished 19th Female whilst Redfern was right on her heels, his time at 31:32:21 and ranking in at 157th.

Kohout finished her event with a time 40:57:29 and a ranking of 51st Female, whilst Wheat completed UTMB in 41:29:52 and an 804 ranking.

A stellar effort by these four Aussies!

Six Days in the Dome – The Redux

Meanwhile, the ever-enthusiastic ultra runner we’ve all come to know, Mick Thwaites, was racing in Six Days in the Dome – The Redux in Milwaukee, WI, USA; a race held at an ice rink from August 25 to September 1. AURA president Rob Donkersloot was also there to provide support, photos and updates on how Thwaites was travelling.

Thwaites held strong despite a previous stress fracture injury in the months leading up to the event, and finished in 10th Male after completing 1406 laps totalling a distance of 623.4980km and a time of 143:52:57.

According to a social post, Thwaites said despite a great start, there were some issues he had to take control of in the days following.

“To cut a long story short, I started off great on Day 1, had big stomach issues on Day 2, came good and pushed too hard on Day 3 which resulted in a shin/tendon injury for Day 4, took a big rest, and nearly sacked days 5 and 6,” he said.

“Running is my happy place and I decided to go back and complete the race in damage control mode.

“I’m so glad I did, because the medicine I gained from that was better than any prescription; there were so many fun experiences that were had, and memories made, this event will be engrained in my soul.”

Well done AURA members!

Our AURA members took on a few more races at the weekend, so the action didn’t stop with the above amazing events! The Wingello Trail Festival 50km was held on Saturday, August 31 between Sydney and Canberra and member Karen Hayward did a spectacular job, crossing the finish in 5:58:58 and coming in 10th Female.

The Surf Coast Wonderfalls 50km was also held on the same day but in Lorne, Vic. Congratulations to Tim Kacprzak who took 3rd Male with a time of 5:30:02, Alex Keys who finished with 5:55:17, and Mark Falls who completed the distance in 7:59:59.

If you’re an AURA member racing this weekend, please let us know! We would love to hear how you go – head to our Facebook page and write up a post, or email us at ultramag@aura.asn.au

Coming up

The next events on the AURA-listed calendar are Birdy’s Backyard Ultra in Toodyay, WA from Friday, September 6; the Great North Walk Ultras in Teralba, NSW on Saturday, September 14; Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail Ultra in Acton, ACT on Saturday, September 14; and Run the Great Whitsunday Trail in Airlie Beach, Qld on Sunday, September 15.

Pictured: Clare Palmer, Larissa Tichon and Karen Pienaar who made up Team Australia at the IAU 50k World Championships. Photograph – 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.