WEEKLY NEWS REPORT 28-03-2021

Kate Dzienis • March 28, 2021

Sri Chinmoy 48hr Track Festival, ACT
Herdy’s Frontyard Ultra, WA
Upcoming Events

Sri Chinmoy 48hr Track Festival, ACT
The Sri Chinmoy 48hr Track Festival, ACT doubled up as the AURA 48hr National Championships over the weekend, with events kicking off on Friday (26 March) from 10am.

AURA’s very own president Ewan Horsburgh was entered for the 48hr and managed 866 laps to claim 1st Male with 346.546km. Not far behind him was AURA NSW state representative Stephen Redfern from Engadine who took 2ndMale with 326.441km, but it didn’t stop there.

It was a complete AURA podium, with AURA’s vice president Matthew Eckford holding on for 3rd Male after 689 laps and a total of 275.649km.

First Female in for the 48hr was AURA’s Cheryl Symons from Murrumbeena, Vic who completed 805 laps and a total of 322.352km. Her achievements not only saw her take the top spot for the women, but she was also 3rd Overall.

Legendary AURA member Nikki Wynd from Lysterfield, Vic took 2nd Female with 762 laps and 304.906km whilst 3rdFemale saw the podium blocks complete the AURA circle, with Allicia Heron from Theodore, ACT secure 665 laps and a total of 266.139km.

With all male and female podium standings seeing AURA members take the titles, the same results apply for the AURA 48hr National Championships.

Congratulations to all our AURA members who took part in the 48hr event, including Paul Mahoney (252.448km), Joffrid Mackett (219.895km), Stephan Kent (214.135km), Kris Ryan (208.436km), Colin Wiley (208.000km), Colin Brooks (205.542km), Ingo Ernst (185.600km), Cassie Smith (95.950km) and Michael Thompson (91.200km).

In the 24hr event, AURA’s very own Matthew Griggs from Torrens, ACT stepped up to the plate and took 1st Male with a distance of 244.087km. Behind him in 2nd was Ashley Colquhoun with 187.770km and Stephen Kiley in 3rd(174.598km).

For the women, AURA’s Kathryn Austin from Greenbank, Qld took the crown for top spot finishing her 24-hours with a whopping 169.223km.

Well done also to AURA’s Duc Do who finished his 24hrs in 319 laps (132.330km) and Paul Gay with 281 laps (116.574).

Onto the 12hr, and for the men AURA’s Joseph Ward from Fairlight, NSW took 1st Male with 314 laps and 125.754km and another AURA member, Adam Keighran from Helensburgh, NSW claimed 2nd Male after 312 laps and 125.085km. Third Male went to Baden Reynolds (109.863km).

There were some ground-breaking results for our women in the 12hr with 1st Female Tia Jones (AURA) from Ipswich, Qld finishing a total of 124.211km (310 laps). Her astounding achievement meant that not only was she 3rd Overall in the 12hr, but she actually set four new Australian records in the W55’s category for 6hr, 50 mile, 100km and 12hr! Yet to be officially ratified, but a big congratulations!

AURA’s Sabina Hamaty claimed 2nd Female after finishing 250 laps and a total of 100.038km, whilst 3rd Female went to AURA member Bernadette Benson from Kelmscott, WA after 205 laps and 82.km.

Congratulations to the AURA members who ran in the 12hr, including Daragh O’Loughlin (109.002km) and Vice Hazdovac (102.720km).

There was also a 6hr event and 1st Female as well as 1st Overall was won by AURA’s very own treasurer Simone Hayeswho secured 160 laps and a total of 66.613km. Second Female was claimed by Cassie Cohen (66.419km) whilst 3rdFemale was taken by AURA’s Chloe Skewes-Weir from Annangrove, NSW with 152 laps and 63.097km.

Well done to AURA members Gregory Jenkins (53.617km), Tracy Watson (52.761km) and Justin Hiatt (42.299km) for taking on the 6hr.

All results reported on today are provisional and yet to be official by the race directors.

Herdy’s Frontyard Ultra
What the WA ultra community witnessed over the weekend at Herdy’s Frontyard Ultra was something else. Held at Herdsman Lake, you would never guess that the location was less than 5km from the Perth CBD where participants were encouraged to run 6.7km laps on the hour at every hour. This Last One Standing format is relatively to the state’s ultra running community, but thanks to Ultra Series WA this sister event to Birdy’s Backyard is gaining popularity.

Herdy’s saw 147 runners step up to the plate at 4pm on Friday (26 March) and it wasn’t long before the mosquitoes starting biting, but that didn’t bother anyone there. Support crews, family, friends, volunteers and race staff were all camping out to provide a spot of respite for each runner as they tackled the course and made sure to be back at the start line before the hour was up.

Eventually the top four, which included Phil Gore, Kevin Matthews, and AURA members Margaret Hadley and Michael Hooker fell down to two by 1am Sunday, and the rest of Sunday was a battle to see who wouldn’t be backing down.

Hadley bowed out at the end of Lap 33 (33 hours). This stellar effort meant she had been the only female on the course for a whopping 18 hours and she had set herself a new distance PB. Her previous record was 30 hours (207.547km) at Birdy’s Backyard Ultra in 2020.

Hooker decided to return to the start line after starting Lap 34, a shock to everyone following as he had one both the 2019 and 2020 Birdy’s Backyard Ultra and was a massive contender for Herdy’s.

Gore and Matthews both had scores to settle, as Gore had claimed 2nd LOS (Last One Standing) behind Hooker at the 2020 Birdy’s Backyard and Matthews 12th.

At 1pm, Gore and Matthews set out for the start of Lap 46, equalling the Aussie best/record (46 for the winner, 45 for the assist by Chris Murphy and Barry Loveday, respectively, at Big Dog’s Backyard World Championships, 2020).

At 2pm, the boys set a new Australian best/record for an Australian backyard ultra.

At 3pm, they got ready to go out for their 48th lap but Matthews succumbed to the challenge and when the lap started, Gore started his last loop whilst Matthews chose not to go on.

Congratulations to all our AURA members who participated in the inaugural Herdy’s Frontyard Ultra including Michael Bellmon, Diane Breant, Aimee Brown, Mark Caldwell, Lucia Caravia, Meghann Coffey, Giovanni De Vita, Sergio Gustinetti, Beck Hefferon, Paul Hopwood, Peter Johnson, Jason Kell, Wayne McMurtrie, Glenn Monaghan, Geoff Quinton, Chetan Sadhana, James Sawyer, Colette Sims, Lizelle Smith, Andy Thompson and Simone Watkins.

Upcoming Events
If one backyard ultra isn’t enough for you, then get ready for this weekend’s Dead Cow Gully Backyard Ultra on a cattle property in country Qld. Another Last One Standing format held from 3-5 April, participants will run 6.7km loops each hour, every hour until only one runner is left to do their last lap solo.

On 11 April get ready for the Canberra Times Marathon Festival, which will also double up as the 2021 AURA 50km Australian Championships whilst from 17-18 April there will be the Coburg 24 Hour, offering a double up of it being the 2021 AURA 100km Australian Championships.

The inaugural Trails and Tails will start on 18 April in Telegraph Point, NSW offering runners to race alongside their furry best friends and the Run Larapinta 4-day, 4-stage trail running race will be held the weekend of 23-26 April in Alice Springs, NT. Then there’s The Gumby Last One Standing event on 24 April in Coree District, ACT and the Belair Marathon in Belair, SA on 26 April.

Pictured – Herdy’s Frontyard Ultra runners on Saturday with 17 participants left. Photograph – Shaun Kaesler/USWA.

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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.