Weekly News Report 7-02-2022

Kate Dzienis • February 7, 2022

Sandman 50, WA
Cradle Mountain Run, Tas
City Run, SA
Dorrigo Rainforest Run, NSW
Upcoming Events

Sandman 50, WA

The Sandman 50 was held on Saturday, 29 January, providing a 50km race from Old Dunsborough boat ramp to the Busselton Jetty and back in WA. The course is on the beach, with the nominal race line being within 3 metres of the water’s edge, and it was a glorious day for a run – with runners beating the 43 degree heat that hit Perth in the middle of the day.

In the men’s 50km solo, Stuart Caulfield took 1^st with 3:50:03, Chris Martin took 2^nd with 3:56:48 and Clint Brimsom took 3^rd with 3:56:59. It was the first time in Sandman 50 history that the first three male runners finished in under 4:00:00.

In the women’s 50km solo, 1^st female Alice Hall set a new course record with 4:16:38. Katie Lovis took 2^nd with 4:37:14 and Nancy Shaw took 3^rd with 4:54:29.

In the 50km team event the first team to cross the finish line was the Zaxon Pigs (Mike O’Sullivan and Byron Renfrey) with 4:04:51. The 50 Kays To Leave Your Lover was team number 2 (Paul Laver and Simon Shearing) with 4:08:15 and team 3 was Team Big Kim (Kimberley Thuijs and Matthew Moore) with 4:08:47. It was the first in Sandman 50 history that the first 3 teams came in under 4:10:00.

Congratulations to all our AURA members who raced in the Sandman 50, including Giovanni Da Vita (4:28:35), Geoff Quinton (5:53:21) and Frank Chauveau (6:56:17).

Cradle Mountain Run, Tas

The Cradle Mountain Run is a one day traverse of Tasmania’s famous Cradle Mountain to Lake St Clair Overland Track, with the altitude of the track in several areas greater than 1000 metres. The race is 80km and runners are given between 8 and 15.5 hours to complete.

This year, it was held on Saturday, 5 February.

In the men’s event, Scott Bennett finished 1^st Male with 7:56 whilst Gareth Hinds took 2^nd Male with 8:49. AURA’s Nigel Hill from Bullengarook, Vic took out 3^rd Male following a finish time of 9:04 at Cynthia Bay.

In the women’s division, Amy Lamprecht won 1^st Female with 10:07, both Joanna Sinclair and Jasmine Vollmer took 2^ndFemales with 11:15, and Debra Lennard took 3^rd Female with 12:02.

Well done to all our AURA members who ran in the beautiful Cradle Mountain Run, including Ingo Ernst who finished his race in 10:38.

The City Run, SA

Hosted by GoodRunnings, the City Run is the second event in a 2-event summer series called The Sizzlin’ Series, and was held yesterday on Sunday, 6 February along the Linear Path directly in the city, using the Weir Loop. It offered 60km and 50km ultra distances to long distance runners.

We are still awaiting official results, and will have those reported on shortly.

Dorrigo Rainforest Run, NSW

New to the AURA calendar of events, the Dorrigo Rainforest Run was held yesterday on Sunday, 6 February and was hosted by Coffs Trail Runners. A 24.5km* race through the World Heritage-listed Gondwana Rainforest of Dorrigo National Park, it provided participants a run along stunning single tracks and waterfalls at Never Picnic Area.

In the men’s 24.5km event, top podium spots went to Daniel Stein (1:40:05), Troy Lonergan (1:44:08) and Bruin Hutchings (1:46:08). In the women’s 24.5km, it was Annabelle Swainston (2:23:46) followed by Alice Fraser (2:36:58) and Georgina Davis (2:42:58).

Congratulations to our AURA members who ran in the event, including Matt Newhouse who completed his race in 3:03:05.

Upcoming Events

With the current pandemic as well as weather conditions (flooding and bushfires) still hitting states all across the country, it’s advised to keep an eye on events’ FB pages or websites if you have entered a race; alternatively, race directors will always communicate with their participants and volunteers on the next course of action.

The Delirious W.E.S.T is scheduled to kick off this Wednesday, 9 February. Hosted by Ultra Series WA, the Delirious W.E.S.T is a 200 miler that sees runners race 350.7km between Northcliffe and Albany in Western Australia’s very southern region.

To round off the month of February, Ultra Perth is a new event to the AURA-calendar of events, seeing participants run 50km along the Swan River in Perth, WA and finishing on the South Perth foreshore. Again, hosted by Ultra Series WA, this event is not to be missed.

In March, there is an abundance of events ready for all our members to register and race in! The Belair Marathon in Belair, SA offering a marathon distance on 5 March; the Lark Hill Dusk to Dawn Ultra in Port Kennedy, WA from 5-6 March with 25km, 50km and 100km distances on offer along the 3km loop course – and new to 2022 is a 100mi event; the Stromlo Running Festival in Canberra, ACT from 5-6 March with a 50km option; the Six Foot Track Marathon on 12 March in Katoomba, NSW with a 45km; the last one standing formatted Herdy’s Frontyard Ultra in Herdsman Lake, WA from 18-20 March; Duncan’s Run in Balook, Vic from 19-20 March with a 50km and 100km, and a new course due to storm damage in the past year. This will also be the event’s last time in operation; the Sri Chinmoy 48 Hour Track Festival is due to be held from 25-27 March in Canberra, ACT and will also be doubling up as the Australian 48hr Championships; the last event for March will be the Washpool World Heritage Trails in Gibraltar Range, NSW with a 50km event on 27 March.

We love seeing our AURA members’ names on the results sheets, so head to our Events Page where all the information for each event is available and sign up to a race!

Send all your stories, articles and photos for inclusion in our next Ultramag digital magazine to ultramag@aura.asn.au because without your contributions, there would be no Ultramag.

Pictured: Participants at this year’s Dorrigo Rainforest Run. Photograph – Coffs Trail Runners/Supplied via Website

*Although no ultra distance was on offer at the Dorrigo Rainforest Run, the event is partnered with AURA to encourage participants to get on the trails and be involved in an all-inclusive race where there is a potential of ultra distances being on offer in the future; also, if a race director of the said event has other events listed with AURA, they are welcome to list and partner with us.

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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.