WEEKLY NEWS REPORT 7-07-2022

Kate Dzienis • July 7, 2022

Australian 24hr Track Invitational, ACT
IAU 24hr Asia & Oceania Championships, India
Adelaide 6/12/24 Hour, SA
Lakes Trail Festival, NSW
GOLD Coastal, SA
Upcoming Events

Last weekend we saw no less than four events go ahead in what was an eventful two days of racing. As always, if you find any discrepancies at all with your timed result, or have noticed a name missing, please email kate.dzienis@aura.asn.au with the information required.

We are always wanting to publish your race reports too in our monthly Ultramag digital magazine – AURA members AND race directors – so please consider putting fingers-to-keyboard and emailing us your experiences. They don’t have to be about AURA listed events either. So long as you’re an AURA member, we want to hear all about it! Email ultramag@aura.asn.au to get into the July edition.

AUSTRALIAN 24 HOUR TRACK INVITATIONAL

The Australian 24 Hour Track Invitational was held across the weekend (2-3 July, 2022) at the AIS Track & Field Facility in Belconnen, ACT. The Invitational is an elite level event with a 400m track and participants are entered via invitation or qualification only. This year, not only did the event offer an Invitational 24hr, but there was also an Open 24hr category which ran separately in the outer track lanes at the same time – an ideal option for runners who didn’t quite meet the Invitational qualifying times but still wanted to reach their full 24hr distance potential in favoured race conditions.

All participants at the Australian 24 Hour Track Invitational are AURA members.

Phil Gore flew over from Darling Downs, WA for the event and took the lead, holding on to claim 1st Male with a total of 626 laps, equalling 250.762km. This was his first track race and he walked away with an Australian 24hr Male Team A standard qualifier.

John Yoon from Kensington, Vic proudly took home the 2nd Male trophy following an impressive 242.042km (605 laps), and also walked away with an Australian 24hr Male Team A standard qualifier. According to race director Matthew Eckford, Yoon came back with a vengeance after missing out on racing ‘here in person’ in the last two years due to the pandemic, and was thrilled to see him nut out a fantastic performance.

Local Luke Thompson, from Crace in the ACT put on a brilliant show, running a total of 226.835km (567 laps) and securing himself 3rd Male as well as a new 24hr PB (adding 26km+ to his previous best and first 24hr run in March this year) and Australian 24hr Male Team B standard qualifier.

Bernadette Benson, also from WA, secured the title of 2022 Female Invitational Race Champion.

In the Open Men’s category, Chris Wilder from Holder, ACT took 1st Male – and on his 24hr debut, no less! He completed a total of 201.750km (460 laps) whilst 2nd Male was won by Greg Wilson from Kyneton, Vic who finished 170.641km (389 laps) and managed quite a few new M70 (yet to be ratified) records along the way.

In the Open Women’s, Christy Lambert from Romsey, Vic took home the prize of 1st Female with a gutsy and well-earned new 24hr PB of 184.044km.

Congratulations also go to Mark Avery from Newington, NSW who landed with 555 laps and a total of 222.012km; Barry Keem from North Wollongong, NSW with 202.191km (505 laps); Chris Murphy from Strathdickie, Qld with 154km (385 laps); Elliot Cooper from Watson, ACT with 104.322km (238 laps); and Matt Lamont from Monash, ACT with 85.912km (196 laps).

IAU 24 HOUR ASIA & OCEANIA CHAMPIONSHIPS

The excitement continued over the weekend as the Australian 24hr team spent the week leading up to the IAU 24hr Asia & Oceania Championships in Bengalore, India tapering, fuelling and exploring the Sree Kantheerava Stadium.

Team members included for the men – Stephen Redfern, Joe Ward, Matthew Griggs and Dan Symonds; and for the women – Allicia Heron, Cassie Cohen and Nikki Wynd.

Needless to say, it was hot and sticky in India, but that didn’t stop the Aussies aka Team Emu from giving it their all and showing everyone just what they’re capable of.

In total, combining men and women, there were 31 athletes competing – 17 men and 14 women.

Getting started with the Women’s competition, 1st Female was awarded to Kuan-Ju Lin from Taipei who won with 216.880km. The 2nd Female position was proudly won by our own Cassie Cohen, who gave Lin a run for her money and took the podium position with 214.590km! The Aussies rounded off the winning blocks with Allicia Heron claiming 3rd Female after a total distance of 210.640km.

Nikki Wynd gloriously finished a total of 180.400km and claiming 8th Female. A stellar performance from our Women’s Team, congratulations!

Top 3 spots for the men’s race went to Amar Singh Devanda from India (257.620km), Saurav Kr Ranjan from India (242.160km) and Geeno Antony from India (238.580km).

Our strong team of male runners carried the Aussie flag high with their performances, and congratulations go out to Matthew Griggs who took 4th Male after completing a total of 234km; Joe Ward who walked away with 5th Male after finishing 220.920km; Dan Symonds who claimed 12th Male and 172.280km; and Stephen Redfern who received 13th Male and a total of 163.080km.

The Aussies received a Team Gold for the Women after a team total of 607.63km, and a Team Silver for the Men who secured a total of 628.405km:

Women’s Team Totals:
1st 607.63km AUSTRALIA
2nd 570.70km INDIA
3rd 529.082km CHINESE TAIPEI

Men’s Team Totals:
1st 739.959km INDIA
2nd 628.405km AUSTRALIA
3rd 563.591km CHINESE TAIPEI

It’s exciting to note that in 2023, the next IAU 24hr Asia & Oceania Championships will be held in Canberra.

ADELAIDE 6/12/24 HOUR

The Adelaide 6/12/24 Hour, also known as the Adelaide 24 Hour Festival, was also held at the weekend of 2-3 July, 2022. This event has a rich history, first under the stewardship of the Sri Chinmoy Team, then under URSA and Ben Hockings, and now under the race directorship of Dawn Parks.

Each loop is 2200m AIMS-measured and held at the so-called ‘uni loop’ on a dirt path.

In the Men’s 24 Hour, it was an all-round AURA member podium with all three runners being members. Tamas Lorinczfrom Windsor Gardens, SA claimed 1st Male after finishing a total of 79 laps which equalled 174.790km; David Billettfrom Coromandel Valley, SA took 2nd Male with 75 laps and a total of 165.593kms; and Michael Smail from Lobethal, SA took 3rd Male when he completed his race in 72 laps, equalling 158.459km.

In the Women’s 24 Hour there were two top podium finishers – Kay Parkin with 54 laps (118.803km) and Karen Bentley with 52 laps (114.405km).

Also a stellar effort, and congratulations, to AURA’s Colin Brooks from Semaphore Park who came 4th Male with a total of 153.637km (69 laps).

Onto the Men’s 12 Hour, where Johan Botha took 1st Male (120.247km) and AURA’s very own Dave Brown from Modbury Heights, SA claimed 2nd Male with a total of 44 laps, equalling 97.037km. In for 3rd Male was Peter Bice (93.172km).

In the Women’s 12 Hour, Nadene Gillett took 1st Female (103.874km), Michelle Salerno took 2nd Female (91.140km) and Tanya Caro took 3rd Female (87.999km).

In the Men’s 6 Hour, Justin Brock won 1st Male (61.648km), Timothy Irvin 2nd Male (57.483km) and David Costie 3rdMale (55.962km).

In the Women’s 6 Hour, Kirsty Wilson took 1st Female (61.648km) whilst AURA’s Nadya Caminer from Watsons Bay, NSW held on for a very close 2nd Female after completing a total of 58.999km, a total of 26 laps. Third Female went to Natalie Blacker (50.623km).

Well done to AURA’s Tracy Watson from Bonner, ACT who finished her 6 Hour event with 26.400km.

LAKES TRAIL FESTIVAL

The Lakes Trail Festival kicked off on Saturday (2-3 July, 2022) and offered runners an opportunity to complete either a 100km, 75km, 50km or 25km. There was also an option to do the 100km as part of a relay team.

In the 100km category 17 women, 26 men and two teams competed.

Starting things off with the Men’s Solo 100km, 1st Male was claimed by Jamis Turner who finished in 9:56:54. AURA’s Rob Mason from NSW took top honours with 2nd Male after he completed the course in 10:08:46. Mark Bailey took 3rdMale with 11:15:30.

In the Women’s Solo 100km, podium finishes went to Jenny Friend (12:29:48), Merlene Dilger (12:39:57) and Jessica Garner (13:09:06).

Congratulations to everyone who ran in the 100km event, including Chris Perritt from Menai, NSW (14:40:54) and Fran Boorer from Botany, NSW (20:31:09).

The 75km distance had a total of 10 finishers. In the Men’s 75km, top three spots were won by Jethro Geier (8:06:37), Jay Doyle (8:39:14) and John Yeomans (8:46:28). For the Women’s 75km, the race saw two official finishers – Linda Minter in 1st Female (13:09:28) and Eva Petalio (15:46:08).

A big congratulations to AURA’s Matthew Harris from Charlestown, NSW who finished in 8:49:05 equalling 4th Male.

Onto the Men’s 50km, which saw winners named Brendan Hancox (4:40:49), Dave Gwyther-Marchant (4:56:38) and Geoffrey Barnes (5:19:30). In the Women’s 50km, it was Monika Ludriks (4:51:45), Anne Moss (5:47:53) and Melanie Holbrook (6:16:21).

Congratulations to our AURA members who ran in the 50km, including Gregory Brown from Umina Beach, NSW who finished his 50km in 7:42:55, Nicole Kruse from Tascott, NSW who ran her race in 7:52:19 and Mellita Bingley from Wamboin, NSW who finished the distance in 9:41:41.

GOLD COASTAL 2022

The GOLD Coastal was postponed and will now be held this Sunday, 10 July, offering a 50km AURA-listed race in Semaphore.

UPCOMING EVENTS

This month is jam packed full of races. The GOLD Coastal, as mentioned above, will be held this Sunday in Semaphore, SA.

The Brisbane Trail Ultra in Kangaroo Point, Qld on 8-10 July offers a miler, a 110km and a 60km for ultras, 3 Marathons in 3 Days in Kuranda, Qld from 8-10 July provides 126.6km across 3 days, and Ultra Adelaide in Adelaide from 9-10 July offers a 100km and 50km distance for those on the hunt for an endurance event.

To finish off the month of July, we have Antsy for Anstey in Tea Tree Gully, SA on 23 July and Yaberoo Trail Ultra in Neerabup, WA on 24 July.

ULTRAMAG

We want your race reports and story ideas for our monthly Ultramag digital magazine. Without your tips and leads, there wouldn’t be an Ultramag, and there would be nothing for you to read, so please consider contributing at least once in the new year where you get a chance to share your ultra running experiences with other members! Plus you get a bonus point for contributing, in the points competition!

Email ultramag@aura.asn.au with either your race report or a story lead.

Pictured: ‘Team Emu’ in Bengalore, India pre-race in the lead up to the 2022 IAU 24hr Asia & Oceania Championships. Photograph – Supplied.

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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.