WEEKLY NEWS REPORT 28/06/2021

Kate Dzienis • June 28, 2021

Wild Goose Chase Running Festival, WA
Upcoming Events – COVID updates

WILD GOOSE CHASE RUNNING FESTIVAL

The Wild Goose Chase Running Festival was held across a cold weekend in the Avon Valley, WA from Friday, 25 June to Sunday, 27 June.

There were a number of events spread across the three days, with many runners participating in a combination of distances to gain ultra numbers.

In Friday’s men’s 19km Hill Climb, 1st Male went to Simon Poli (1:53:31) and 2nd Male went to Dylan Bentley (1:55:58). Third Male was won by AURA member Adam Loughnan from Karrinyup who finished the event in 1:59:35.

In the women’s 19km Hill Climb, 1st place went to Nancy Williams (2:12:01) and 2nd to Raquel Rae (2:26:05). Congratulations to AURA’s very own Jutta Kober from East Victoria Park who secured 3rd Female with a total time of 2:29:02.

Well done to all those who ran in the 19km hill climb including Douglas Bartlett (2:00:13) and James Sawyer (2:14:38).

Friday also saw a 10km Hill Climb which saw 1st Male go to Radek Dzitkowski (00:58:41), 2nd Male to Nathan Reeves (00:58:56) and 3rd Male go to Mark Webster (1:13:41). For the women, 1st Female was won by Karin Ridley (1:31:59), 2nd Female went to Courtney Swarts (1:32:58) and 3rd Female went to Jacqueline Bromell (1:45:09).

Congratulations to our AURA members who ran in the 10km Hill Climb including Mark Audet (1:13:44), Wayne McMurtrie (1:20:55) and Simone Watkins (2:49:01).

On Saturday, the ultra distances made their mark. For the men’s 100km Wild Goose, 1st Male went to Rama Wieland (12:51:34), 2nd went to Dylan Bentley (12:51:34) and 3rd went to Raoul Oehmen (13:35:51).

For the women’s 100km Wild Goose, 1st Female went to Nancy Williams (14:00:23) and 2nd Female was won by AURA’s Jutta Kober who finished the distance in 15:22:47 and having just come off the 3rd Female placing in Friday’s 19km Hill Climb. Third Female went to Raquel Rae (18:38:59).

Congratulations to all our AURA members who ran and finished in the 100km Wild Goose including Andy Thompson(15:27:24), Douglas Bartlett (15:51:49), James Sawyer (16:44:19) and Adam Loughnan (17:47:20).

Saturday also saw the 50km event played out, and podium finishers for the men’s race were AURA member Glenn Ross from Hovea who took out 1st Male with a speedy time of 4:54:59. Second Male went to Nathan Reeves (5:29:19) and Third was won by Peter Male (5:30:48).

For the women’s 50km, it was Sanja Kolonic in 1st (5:41:23), Chailee Richards 2nd (6:34:38) and Kate Ashfaq 3rd(7:19:53).

Well done to all those who ran in the 50km including all our AURA members Mark Audet (5:48:43), Aimee Brown(7:24:51), Peta Moore (7:55:09), Louise Wallace (9:23:26) and Simone Watkins (13:35:48).

Special mention to AURA’s Frank Chauveau from Busselton who ran in the 29km Trail Race and secured 10th Place with a total time of 4:42:20.

And on the 3rd day there were more events, including the 42km Trail Marathon and 21km Trail Half Marathon.

In the men’s 42km Trail Marathon, 1st Male went to Dylan Bentley (4:13:23), 2nd to Troy Harris (4:44:07) and 3rd to Scott Rumbold (4:55:45). In the women’s 42km Trail Marathon podium finishers were Tracy Ebsary for 1st Female (5:33:17), Nancy Williams for 2nd Female (5:39:54) and Jessica Greig for 3rd Female (7:52:06).

Congratulations to AURA member Jutta Kober who ran in the 42km Trail Marathon and finished it in 8:22:06.

Finishing off the weekend and any combination events for runners was the 21km Trail Half Marathon. For the men, top spots went to Nathan Reeves for 1st Male (2:07:26), Will Hammond for 2nd Male (2:13:11) and Radek Dzitkowski for 3rdMale (2:15:05). For the women, podium finishers included Maddy Luscombe for 1st Female (2:23:26), Melissa Gildenhuys for 2nd Female (2:23:45) and Liz Hawker for 3rd Female (2:31:06).

Well done to all those AURA runners who completed the weekend with the half marathon including Mark Audet(2:28:49), Wayne McMurtrie (2:56:28) and Bryan Wright (4:27:17).

As mentioned, some runners participated in a combination of distances.

The Duck’s Nuts included the 19km Hill Climb, 100km Ultra and 42km Marathon (the longest distance on each day).

A whopping congratulations to AURA’s Jutta Kober who was named 2nd Female to win the Duck’s Nuts having finished all three events (1st Female went to Nancy Williams).

The Loose Goose was a combination of the 10km Hill Climb, the 50km Ultra and the 21km Half Marathon (the shorter distances on each day).

Massive high fives to AURA’s Mark Audet who was named 2nd Male to win the Loose Goose having finished all three events (1st Male went to Nathan Reeves).

*All results are provisional as of Monday, 28 June and are yet to be ratified by the event director.

UPCOMING EVENTS

If you are registered to run in any of the following events, please keep an eye out on the event’s preferred method of communication to stay up to date with any changes resulting from the current COVID-19 situation across the country. The following information is correct at the time of writing (Monday, 28 June).

Unfortunately it was announced by race director Matthew Eckford on Monday, 28 June that the Australian 24 Hour Track Invitational, due to be held from 3-4 July at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, will be cancelled due to instability from current COVID situations across the country.

He said he was devastated to come to the decision but it was the most logical one to make.

“It kills me to make this decision,” he said.

“Last week it looked like most of our NSW partiicpans couldn’t attend but now after the weekend and today further, a majority of our participants are impacted or at risk.

“Right now it seems lockdowns, lockouts, travel restrictions and requirements are trending for the worse, and it’s time to look towards rebooking and rebuilding for July 2022.

“The quality and depth in the field this year easily made it the most competitive 24hr in Australian in a really long time, and I only hope that most of you can make it back next year so we can do it properly with everyone there pushing each other to run their best.”

The Lakes100 across the same weekend in Hawks Nest, NSW has also been postponed due to the current lockdown situation in the areas of Greater Sydney, the Central Coast, the Blue Mountains, Wollongong and Shellharbour. The date for the Lakes100 has been moved to 30-31 October. According to race directors, all entrants will be sent an email with the option to either move to the new date or defer to 2022.

“We are absolutely gutted and were primed for the weekend,” race director Richard said.

“The medals are ready, the race t-shirts printed, course is confirmed, banners made, checkpoint food has been ordered, volunteers pumped, music prepped for the finish line – everything is in place ready for race day.

“We will hold on to it all ready for the last weekend in October; it will be a little warmer, a little drier and the days will be longer plus you’ll have more time to train.”

The Brisbane Trail Ultra is due to be held the weekend of 9-11 July and will be doubling up as the 2021 AURA Australian Long Course Trail Championships in the event’s BTU110 distance.

3 Marathons in 3 Days will be held the same weekend, from 9-11 July in Kuranda, Qld and is entering its 10th year. With routes for Day 1 and Day 2 changed, it will be harder than ever before.

The Elephant Trail Race, due to be held from 9-11 July has made the decision to split the event to accommodate those participants located in NSW lockdown zones. Race directors Mathew and Kerry made the announcement at the weekend that in a bid to not disappoint those who have trained hard for the event, those who live in an area that is under lockdown or in a hotspot on race day, those race entries will be transferred to what they are calling ETR21 2.0 due for 1-3 October 2021.

The Tassie Trail Fest will be held from 16-18 July offering runners to race through the trails around the iconic Cataract Gorge in Launceston, Tas. On offer is a 100 miler, 100km, 45km, 23km, 12km and 2km kids run/walk.

Pictured: James Sawyer racing at the 2021 Wild Goose Chase Running Festival. Photograph – Jacky Bromell.

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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.