Weekly News Report 30-10-2023

Kate Dzienis • October 30, 2023

Smurf’s Backyard Ultra, Qld
Bondi to Manly, NSW
Great North Walk Ultras, NSW
Member Updates
Upcoming Events

We are always on the hunt for your stories and reports, so with us getting started on the next edition of Ultramag, send in your incredible tales to ultramag@aura.asn.au And remember, it doesn’t have to be about an AURA-listed event specifically! You just have to be an AURA member for the 2023 year.

If you’ve run in a non-AURA listed event anywhere on home soil or internationally, we’d love to include your race results and experience in our member updates, so please reach out to Kate Dzienis via email at kate.dzienis@aura.asn.au

If any corrections need to be made in any of the results listed below, please alert Kate via email.

SMURF’S BACKYARD ULTRA

Smurf’s Backyard Ultra was held from 27-29 October in tropical Cairns, Far North Queensland and utilised the format of Last One Standing on a 6.7km looped track on the Smithfield Mountain Bike Trail.

Unfortunately, the last two runners – Adam Fox and Rhys Williams – both decided to DNF after completing Lap 34, meaning there was no LOS winner.

The Last Female Standing for the second year in a row was Peta Travers-Jones with 22 laps (a BYU PB of 5 laps).

Congratulations to our AURA members Gary Venz from Port Douglas, Qld who completed a total of 14 laps and David Von Senden from Kuranda, Qld with 7 laps.

Race Director Joshua Duff said it was amazing seeing the community come together in the region for a backyarder.

“It was great to see so many people of all ages and from many different backgrounds come together and achieve big things,” he said.

“Around 90% of the field ran distance PBs and that’s what backyard ultras are ultimately all about. Distance and lap records are great, but a BYU is about people being able enabled to push their own boundaries and do things they never thought possible.”

BONDI TO MANLY

The Bondi To Manly Ultra was held on Saturday, 28 October and offered an 80km solo and team relay event for long distance athletes. Runners descended on Sydney Harbour in an urban ultra like no other, starting at Bondi Pavilion and following the Bondi to Manly walking track, runners ran along spectacular cliff tops to Watsons Bay then through national parks, around iconic Aussie landmarks and cultural sites, until crossing the finish line at Manly Beach.

In the Women’s 80km, AURA’s Steph Auston from Cooranbong, NSW took out the top spot of 1^st Female in a brilliant time of 7:12:16. Lucy Homan secured 2^nd Female (7:22:40) and Cheryl Greenway took 3^rd (7:34:48).

In the Men’s 80km, 1^st Male was won by Josef McGrath (6:18:32) whilst 2^nd Male was taken by AURA’s very own Dominic Bullock from Linley Point, NSW who crossed the finish line right on McGrath’s toes, with a total time of 6:20:57. Martin Jansen held on for 3^rd Male (6:24:55).

Big congratulations goes out to our AURA members who ran in the 80km solo, including Emma Grey from Mandurama, NSW (7:38:20), Michael Molloy from Seaforth, NSW (7:39:09), Monika Ludriks from Terrigal, NSW (7:53:46) and Chloe Skewes-Weir from Annangrove, NSW (7:56:47).

There was also a relay category in the 80km event. Top 3 Men’s Relay Teams were Runners In The Dark – A Team (5:32:25), RITD B (5:50:04) and Space Jam: A New Legacy (5:53:38). Top 3 Women’s Relay Teamswere Joov Gals (6:13:42), TRT Girls Gone Wild (6:40:28) and Endurance Queens (6:41:15). Top 3 Mixed Relay Teams were FMRC (6:14:58), Elma Thunder (6:26:36) and ZEWM (6:27:28).

For the full list of results, click here.

GREAT NORTH WALK ULTRAS

The Great North Walk Ultras (GNW Ultras) was held the weekend of 28-29 October, allowing participants to immerse themselves in an event that runs between Sydney and Newcastle. On offer was a 10km and 30km along with ultra distances of 50km (61 finishers), 50mi (23 finishers), 100km (15 finishers), and 100mi (11 finishers).

In the Men’s 100mi, winners were declared Michael Lough (23:24:06), Matthew Lewis (27:16:12) and Paul Doyle (28:24:41), whilst in the Women’s 100mi there were two competitors – Sarah Harvey took 1^st Female (32:06:56) and Rosemary Catton took 2^nd (34:42:33).

Congratulations to our members who finished the 100mi, including Greg Thomson from Avoca Beach, NSW (31:25:19), Damian Smith from Nowra, NSW (32:18:56) and Akira Suzuki from Chatswood, NSW (28:57:00).

In the Women’s 100km, top spots went to Nicole Paton (13:45:52), Alessandra Martines (17:01:26) and Charlie Richardson (18:23:48). In the Men’s 100km, winners were named Jay Cherry (14:06:56), Tom Joss (14:35:10) and Zach Manley (15:30:10).

In the Men’s 50mi, AURA’s very own Warren Rolfe from Narrabeen, NSW took out the top podium spot with a brilliant finish time of 8:30:36, an amazing performance. Second and 3^rd were won by Jason Tafford (8:46:31) and Elliot Temple (9:08:43).

In the Women’s 50mi, winners were named Claire Mcnamara (12:42:22), Lauren Harris (15:39:45) and Amanda Wolthers (15:39:45).

Congratulations to our members who raced in the 50mi, including Aaron Dower from Bangalow, NSW (9:14:51, 4^th Male), Geoffrey Langhans from Happy Valley, SA (12:44:41) and Ben Moffatt from Thirroul, NSW (15:38:48).

In the Men’s 50km, winners were named Nic Hoskin (5:28:55), Benn Coubrough (5:37:01) and Dean Pollitt (5:48:59). For the Women’s 50km, it was Ela Heiniger (6:02:41), Maddi Fleetwood (6:25:59) and Charlie Potter (6:39:31).

For the full list of results, click here.

MEMBER UPDATES

A big congratulations to new AURA member Dylan Kissane who resides in France for running in the Lyon Marathon on Saturday, 22 October. He snuck in under the 3hr mark with a total time of 2:57:37.

Dylan’s A Race is the Lyon SaintéLyon, a 156km trail and road ultra that is due to kick off on 2 December. We can’t wait to hear how he goes!

UPCOMING EVENTS

Looking ahead, November appears to be a busy month with the Feral Pig Ultra this weekend from 4-5 November) in Mundaring, WA; the Great Southern Stage Run from 16-18 November in WA; Hysterical Carnage Backyard Ultra from 17-19 November in Loxton, SA; GSER from 17-19 November in Harrietville, Vic; and the Stromlo Running Festival from 18-19 November in Stromlo, ACT.

Pictured: The start line of the 2023 Smurf’s Backyard Ultra. Image – Leah Bawden Photography.

< Older Post

Newer Post >

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.