WEEKLY NEWS REPORT 8-10-2020

Kate Dzienis • October 8, 2020

Butter 24 & 48, Qld
Brisbane Trail Ultra, Qld
Big Dog’s Backyard International News
More News and Events Coming Up

Butter 24 & 48, Qld
The Butter 24 & 48 event was held the weekend of 25-27 September, and the results are now official. Due to strong winds that knocked the timing equipment off, race directors were recording laps manually and had to process the uploading of data for each athlete which took a little bit of extra time.

There was a new W55 24hr Age Group Record set by experienced distance runner Tia Jones in the 24hr division (yet to be ratified), so read on for more information – and congratulations to Tia!

In the 6hr event (12 participants in total) for the women, it was Nicole Jukes who took 1st Female with 147 and 59.191km. In 2nd Place was AURA’s very own long standing member Jodie Oborne from Balmoral, Qld who secured 134 laps and 53.722km (2nd Overall). Jennie Cartwright took 3rd Female with 53.155km.

For the men, Ashley Knauth took 1st Male with 51.183km, Peter Dalby took 2nd with 47.638km whilst AURA vice president Matthew Eckford from Wights Mountain, Qld held on for 3rd Male after finishing with 106 laps to total 42.400km.

Well done to all those AURA members who ran in the 6hr including Susannah Harvey-Jamieson (12.400km).

In the Butter 12hr division where 9 runners participated, pole standings for the women went to Kathleen Judge (116.828km), Sandi Faddy (97.054km) and Shelley Coleman (80.026km). For the men it was Craig Bibby (116.032km), Trevor Lampard (111.997km) and Ben Dennien (108.804km).

AURA’s own Mick Thwaites from Banyo, Qld took 4th Male after completing 208 laps and finishing up with 83.200km.

Onto the 24hr where there were 11 participants and AURA’s Tia Jones from Ipswich, Qld took home 1st Female after 197.150km (492 laps) as well as a new W55 24hr Age Group Record (yet to be ratified). Her result secured her 1st Overall in the 24hrs.

Second Female went to AURA member Kathryn Austin from Greenbank, Qld who successfully claimed 434 laps and 173.793km. She was 2nd Overall. Amanda Pavey took 3rd Female (157.624km).

It was another top spot podium finish for the men too, with AURA’s Mark Vickers from Wooloowin, Qld claiming 1st Male after a successful 407 laps and 162.931km, claiming 3rd Overall.

2nd Male went to Lee Pratt (142.836km) whilst 3rd went to Andrew Gills (120.868km).

In the 48hr event, with 4 runners on the track (1 woman, 3 men), AURA member Kris Ryan from Pacific Pines, Qld secured top position for the women with 570 laps and a total of 228.071km.

Greg Ponych from Wishart, Qld and also an AURA member took 1st Male after a whopping total of 678 laps and a massive 271.520km. AURA’s Stephen Lewis from Stanthorpe, Qld held on for 2nd Male with 428 laps and 171.270km whilst AURA member Steven Houldsworth from Harristown, Qld claimed 3rd Male following his 209 laps and 83.600km.

Brisbane Trail Ultra, Qld
The Brisbane Trail Ultra was held last weekend on 3 October, it’s second time officially run after an inaugural event in 2019 – it offers distances of a 30km, 60km, 110km and 100mi where participants run through Brisbane’s subtropical rainforest hinterland.

Starting with the 60km distance, AURA’s Ben Duffus from Indooroopilly, Qld took out the title of 1st Male after completing the run in 5:21:18 setting a new Course Record by more than 20 minutes.

He said in an exclusive finishers interview to BTU race directors that it was a great day for a run on local trails and that the last 20km was just about getting it done.

“It was about survival, about just getting it done but by then it was on home ground,” he said.

“My strategy to manage the heat, I had crew with me so when I came to the checkpoints I got ice cold towels on me, dunking stuff in ice cold water, all of that stuff…and then on days like this, you have to remember to slow down a little bit.

“I know most of these trails that are in the BTU, but the Black Cockatoo Single Trail section of the course I’d never done before, so I was super happy to have experienced that one.”

Second Male went to Andrew Hill (6:48:54) and 3rd was claimed by Benjamin Foessel (7:01:26).

For the women it was Janet Smith 1st (7:41:24), Katie Mackenzie 2nd (7:52:24) and Rebecca Idiens 3rd (8:05:17).

Congratulations to all our AURA members who took on the BTU60 including Kelvin Marshall (10:26:04) and Sarah-Jane Marshall (10:44:18).

In the BTU110, 1st Male was claimed by Andrew Dey (12:02:42) and 2nd by Tom Brimelow (12:48:06). A great achievement by AURA’s Aaron Dower from Clunes, NSW who secured 3rd Male placing after completing the 110km in 14:12:06.

For the women, it was Hayley Teale 1st (14:42:28), Carol Robertson 2nd (17:06:24) and Jade Davis 3rd (17:23:54).

When it came to the BTU100mi, AURA’s very own Noelis Rheault from Carindale, Qld secured top spot with 1st Male, coming in across the finish line with a whopping time of 20:38:17 – a new Course Record. 2nd Male finisher was also an AURA member in Kieran O’Brien from Auchenflower, Qld who came in at 22:18:44 whilst 3rd Male went to Damian Espinase (24:39:44).

Just 1 female ran in the 100mi and that was Jacqui Bell (28:11:39).

What a stellar effort from everyone at the BTU for the event’s second ever running.

Big Dog’s Backyard International
As ultra runners, we’ve all heard of the infamous Lazarus Lake. This year, his Big Dog’s Backyard Ultra World Championship is being held on 17 October across the globe and he’s claimed that the event will feature the greatest array of talent ever assembled to compete in the backyard event. With all things COVID-19 this year, the format will be different – each nation competing will have its own satellite event running simultaneously, with each event a stand-alone race and the winner being the last man or woman standing.

With 15 runners minimum needed on the Australian team, we have some amazing AURA names on the list who will be running at the Oxley Creek Common (same venue as AAA Racing’s The Clint Eastwood event). In alphabetical order:

Kerrie Bremner from Nicholls, ACT (AURA)
Suzanne Chatterton
Ryan Crawford
Susannah Harvey-Jamieson from Bowen Hills, Qld (AURA)
Barry Loveday
Neil MacNeil
Cam Munro
Chris Murphy
Jodie Oborne from Balmoral, Qld (AURA)
John Pearson from Coolum Beach, Qld (AURA)
Greg Ponych from Wishart, Qld (AURA)
Kris Ryan from Pacific Pines, Qld (AURA)
Guy Schweitzer
Lisa Spink from Maroochydore, Qld (AURA)
Dan Symonds from Taringa, Qld (AURA)
Mark Taylor
Mick Thwaites from Banyo, Qld (AURA)

More News
Last week, Stephen Wright from Oxenford, Qld was running a six day solo run in his state on a 4km circuit around Damian Leeding Lake, starting 27 Sept and ending 3 Oct. He successfully completed a whopping 661km and found an immense amount of support both online on the socials and in-person.

The Irrational S.O.U.T.H 200 Miler was supposed to be held from today (7 October) from Murray Bridge to Clare Valley in SA, however with border closures and event postponements, the official event was cancelled. Event director Shaun Kaesler has said that 4 participants, all of whom were entered, are currently running their own Irrational S.O.U.T.H 200 Miler and that he would donate the equivalent of their entry fee to their nominated charity (plus an entrant rollover) if they were to go ahead.

If you’re an AURA member, or know someone who is and they are running an event, please email kate.dzienis@aura.asn.au so their achievements may be included in our weekly news reports.

Coming Up
The River Run 100 will be going ahead on 10-11 October in Auchenflower, Qld but has limited its entrant numbers to 500 due to COVID-19. Volunteers are still needed according to the event’s FB page so visit for more information. Distances for ultra runners include a 100km and 50k.

The Western Coastal Running Festival will go ahead on 11 October with a 60km option for ultra runners in Semaphore, SA.

The Margaret River Ultra Marathon will be held on 17 October in Margaret River, WA offering a full 80km course for solo runners and teams through the forests, trails, beaches and bluffs of the Cape to Cape coastline.

Victory Harbour in Waitpinga, SA will be run on 17 October. Known to be a challenging and technical course, participants will take trails through the Newland Head Recreation Park. A 60km option is offered for ultra runners.

Also held on 17 October is Big Dog’s Backyard International World Championships. Hosted by America’s Lazarus Lake, it is likely to be the only international team event due to COVID-19 restrictions across the globe. The event will be held at Oxley Creek Common, Rocklea, Qld and the team has already been selected with a large number of participants in the Aussie team being AURA members.

Unfortunately both Ultra Trail Australia (22 October) and the Ned Kelly Chase (24 October) have been cancelled for this year.

Pictured: Butter 24 & 48 competitors. Photograph – Jude Co/Facebook.

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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.