Weekly News Report 4-10-2023

Kate Dzienis • October 4, 2023

Berry Long Run, Vic
Bricks Backyard, NSW
Australian 6 Day Ultra Festival, SA
GBomb Trail Run, NSW
Insider 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 any corrections need to be made in any of the results listed below, please alert our editor via email by contacting Kate Dzienis at kate.dzienis@aura.asn.au

BERRY LONG RUN

The Berry Long Run was held back on August 12 in Blackwood, Vic but we now have gotten a hold of the official results, so let’s go back in time, shall we?!

Ultra runners were offered a 70km trail run from Blackwood where they left town quickly and got a taste of the single track along a gorge before cutting through forest along a mix of trails and dirt road down to Mt Blackwood, then onto the Blackwood Range Track and all the way to the trail head at Swans Road. The return route revisited the Track to Mt Blackwood and continued along the Lerderderg Trail all the way back to Blackwood.

In the Men’s 70km, tops spots were awarded to Jon Strachan (6:53:25), Peter Henry (7:01:13) and Stefan Taranto (7:23:08). For the Women’s 70km, 1^st female went to Holly Moreton (8:42:06), whilst AURA’s very own Jody Daff from Croydon North, Vic took 2^nd Female in an incredible time of 8:48:09. Megan Allen-Creed (8:51:27) took 3^rd.

Congratulations to all our AURA members who ran in the Berry Long Run’s 70km event, including Mal Joseland (7:47:15), Tim Kacprzak (7:55:59), Paola Flury (11:21:52) and Robert Flury (11:21:53).

BRICKS BACKYARD

New to the AURA calendar, Bricks Backyard Ultra was held weekend of 30 September to 3 October in St Ives, NSW. Sydney’s first backyard ultra challenged runners to conquer 6.706km loops on the hour, ever hour in a relentless battle until only was left standing.

Congratulations to Mark Firth who was the race’s last one standing having completed 28 yards and to Mel Simpson who was the last female standing. A massive congrats also to AURA’s Ramiro Lopez Pena, from Manly NSW, who secured the Assist with 27 yards!

Well done to all our AURA members who ran in Bricks Backyard Ultra, including Hayden Pohio (140.826km), Pam Muston (127.414km), Steven Bain (100.590km), Jeremy Rankin (87.178km), Grant Brisbin(73.766km), Heather Hawkins (60.354km), Ben Hirst (60.354km), Doug Richardson (53.648km) and Zed Zlotnick (46.942km).

For the full list of results, click here.

AUSTRALIAN 6 DAY ULTRA MARATHON FESTIVAL

It’s still on! The Australian 6 Day Ultra Marathon Festival kicked off yesterday on 1 October at Thorndon Park in SA, about 20km north east of Adelaide. For a bit of background, it used to be held in Colac, Vic from 1984 but in 2018 was brought to SA and now incorporates 72hr, 48hr and 24hr events.

There’s still a long way to go yet, but we’ll have all the results for the next Weekly Report, but keep watch on the event’s Facebook page for continuous updates on our members!

GBOMB TRAIL RUN

Another new event on the AURA calendar, the GBomb Trail Run (hosted by Coffs Trail Runners) was held on the eastern states’ public holiday Monday, 2 October in the Bom Bom State Forest near Grafton. Runners were given an opportunity to race along a myriad of single track and fire trail on a 10km looped course with the option of 1 Lap (10km), 2 Laps (20km) or 3 Laps (30km).

In the 30km Men’s event, podium finishes were awarded to Dennis Van Mill (2:30:26), Kieran McAndrew (2:35:10) and David Hessey (3:46:39). In the 30km Women’s event, Belinda James secured 1^st Female (3:05:54).

In the Men’s 20km, top spots were awarded to Eli Donoghue (1:37:09), Jake Connolly (1:41:38) and Jason Wade (1:44:23). For the Women’s 20km, it was Angela James 1^st (1:47:09), Michelle Reardon 2^nd (1:55:36) and Jessica O’Leary 3^rd (2:02:25).

Congratulations to AURA’s Chris Bennett from Holt, ACT who ran in the 20km and finished in 2:20:35.

Keep an eye out on the Coffs Trail Runners website for updates on results.

INSIDER UPDATES

Attention Race Directors! Don’t forget that AURA’s race calendar is now open for 2024. By listing early, we can allow runners to plan their year ahead more easily, so head to the link here and register your event.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Hume & Hovell Ultra will be held the weekend of 7-8 October in Tumbarumba, NSW offering up to 100mi, and BRuTUS will be on 8 October in Blue Range Hut, ACT providing ultra runners up to 60km in distance.

The Lonely Mountain Ultra is due to kick off 14 October in Lidster, NSW with distances up to 100km; the kunanyi Trail Series – Cascade Slide will be on 21 October in South Hobart, Tas; the Heysen 105 Ultra in victor Harbour, SA; and Old Mates Backyard Ultra from 27-30 October in Upper Barron, Qld.

Bondi to Manly Ultra will be held on 28 October in Bondi, NSW and the Great North Walk Ultras in Patonga, NSW will be from 28-29 October.

Looking ahead, November will also be a busy month with the Feral Pig Ultra 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: Getting ready for another lap at the 2023 Bricks Backyard Ultra. Photograph – Supplied/Bricks Backyard Ultra.

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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.