Weekly News Report 9-03-2022

Kate Dzienis • March 9, 2022

Delirious W.E.S.T, WA
Ultra Perth, WA
Lark Hill Dusk to Dawn, WA
Stromlo Running Festival, ACT
Events Coming Up & What’s Happening

DELIRIOUS W.E.S.T

Australian point-to-point 200 mile race, the Delirious W.E.S.T was held mid last month from 9-13 February, providing a glorious trek for participants running from Northcliffe to Albany in the southern most part of WA. This year, the event not only offered a 200 miler, but a 100 miler was also on the cards.

In the men’s 200mi, the top 2 leading spots were won by AURA members. Sergio Gustinetti from Tuart Hill came out on top with a win time of 54:59:49, a fantastic effort, whilst Michael Hooker from East Perth placed 2^nd Male after crossing the finish line in 57:07:00. A brilliant effort from both AURA members. Third Male was won by Charles Bosveld (66:56:50).

In the women’s 200mi, Sharene Blake took 1^st Female with 71:58:00 and Veronika Kretzer took 2^nd with 78:53:28. Congratulations to AURA’s Nicola Walters who came all the way from Broome and took 3^rd Female with a brilliant time of 79:28:00.

A smashing effort from absolutely everyone who took on the 200 miler – whether they finished or not, in particular our AURA members Kevin Matthews (68:38:47), Adam Loughnan (81:26:02), Sarah Niven (85:42:26), Sue Robertson(98:35:07), Tim Bond and John Cooke.

In the men’s 100mi, podium spots were claimed by Ally Willcox (21:51:01), Oliver Page (23:25:53) and AURA’s very own Chetan Sadhana from North Perth who claimed 3^rd Male with his time of 27:45:25).

In the women’s 100mi, 1^st Female was taken by AURA’s Jen Millum from Karnup, who secured a fantastic time of 23:44:58 whilst 2^nd was claimed by AURA member Jessica Smith from Perth, who was right behind her and crossed the finish line in 28:05:18. Kylie Bell took 3^rd Female (33:30:05).

Congratulations to all of our AURA members who ran their best in the 100 miler, including Chris Kirwood (30:19:10), Alexis Oosterhoff (30:28:37), Harmony Waite (37:21:59), Greg Benn (39:37:21), Peta Moore and Kelli O’Neill.

The next Delirious W.E.S.T has already been earmarked for 8-12 February, 2023.

For a full list of results, click here.

ULTRA PERTH

2022 was the first running of the new Ultra Series WA event Ultra Perth, which was held on 27 February along the Swan River offering runners a suburban/metropolitan 50km and 25km race with splendid views of the city.

In the women’s 50km, AURA member Margie Hadley from Henley Brook secured herself 1^st Female in a time of 3:42:15, 72 minutes ahead of 2^nd Female getter Laura Firth (4:52:52). Third Female went to Erin Vaisey (4:58:51).

In the men’s 50km, top podium spots went to Justin Scarvaci (3:17:55), Stuart Caulfield (3:29:07) and Michael Bellmon (3:32:19).

Congratulations to every single AURA member who took on this new event and gave it a red hot crack for the 50km including Geoff Quinton (5:27:04), Martin Flahive (5:41:27), Mark Caldwell (5:57:34), Alexis Oosterhoff (6:09:15 off the back of Delirious W.E.S.T’s 100mi two weeks earlier) and Mike Gibbon (6:34:02).

For a full list of results, click here.

LARK HILL DUSK TO DAWN

The annual Lark Hill Dusk to Dawn was held last weekend, 5-6 March, in Port Kennedy, WA and is a 3km loop race held near the Lark Hill Sporting Complex with a combination of compact limestone and 200m of soft sand. The event offers a range of distances, including a 100mi, 100km, 50km and 25km.

In the 100mi there was a total of 3 starters and unfortunately no finishers. Each runner gave it their all though, and we congratulate AURA’s Fee Salmons from Greenfields for her 29 lap total (DNFing at 30 laps).

In the 100km, there were 2 finishers with Cherie Savin finishing the distance in 12:04:00 for 1^st Female, and Michael Coughlan completing it in 12:34:56 for 1^st Male.

In the men’s 50km event, AURA’s Phil Gore from Darling Downs claimed 1^st Male with 3:56:17. He was followed by Brian Madigan for 2^nd Male (4:28:24) and Milan Kucera for 3^rd Male (4:40:50).

In the women’s 50km, Sarah Ludowici took 1^st Female with 4:09:15, Rebecca Getty won 2^nd Female (7:09:13) and AURA’s Pamela Williams from Esperance claimed 3^rd Female when she crossed the finish in 8:05:15.

Well done to AURA member Mark Caldwell, who finished his 50km distance in 8:25:30.

For a full list of results, click here.

STROMLO RUNNING FESTIVAL

The Stromlo Running Festival was held the same weekend of 5-6 March in Canberra, providing runners with a wonderful opportunity to get on the trails with views of Canberra, Black Mountain Tower, the National Arboretum and the Brindabella Ranges. On offer is a 10km, 30km and 50km distance; the event saw 240 people finish the 50km.

Currently all results are provisional until a post race audit is conducted by race organisers.

In the men’s 50km event, a big congrats to AURA’s Mike Carroll from Ainslie who took out 1^st Male with a time of 3:41:38. Second Male was won by Vlad Shatrov (4:01:06) and 3^rd Male went to Joseph Hughes (4:03:19).

In the women’s 50km, Juliette Soule got 1^st Female (4:04:26), Emma Grey 2^nd Female (4:59:37), and 3^rd Female went to Roison Armstong (5:15:46).

Congratulations to all our AURA members who competed and ran in the 50km event, including Elliot Cooper (5:14:10), Nathan Queripel (5:25:20), Lisa Sherman (5:27:34), Shaun Whitehouse (6:39:36), Joe Hujs (6:44:39), Graham Miller (7:00:30), Paul Gay (7:27:38), Joel Anderson (7:32:07) and Lesley Mason (7:55:43).

A full list of results can be found here.

EVENTS COMING UP & WHAT’S HAPPENING

In some exciting news, AURA’s Isobel Ross from Boronia, Vic is currently in the US state of Tennessee racing in the world-widely known Barkley Marathon, all eyes on Twitter account @BarkleyMarathon for current updates.

If you or any AURA member you know is racing in an international event, we need your eyes and ears to alert us so we can spread the message! Email kate.dzienis@aura.asn.au with information.

Coming up in the next few weeks (and as always, keep an eye on your respective races re COVID and weather cancellations, postponements or changes) we have some cracking events lined up on the AURA calendar.

Sadly, the Six Foot Track Marathon (45km) which was scheduled to take place on 12 March has been cancelled. According to their social media feeds, race director Mohanned Alkhub has informed participants the decision was made from direct feedback from two key stakeholders of the race (RFS and Crown Lands) regarding the condition of the track from Coxs River through to the end of Black Range, with an impact on the ability to conduct a safe race for both runners and volunteers. For more information, hit up their Facebook page @sixfoottrackmarathon.

Last one standing event Herdy’s Frontyard Ultra at Herdsman Lake in WA will proceed as scheduled for 18-20 March despite current crowd restrictions applied in the state. Race organisers and directors will be following all guidelines and implementing rules to ensure a COVID safe race for all involved. Last year, social media was at a standstill when AURA members Phil Gore and Kevin Matthews went head-to-head as the last two going at it to be given the title of Last One Standing. Gore secured Australia’s longest standing achievement at the time.

Duncan’s Run in Balook, Vic will be held the same weekend of 19-20 March, however this year will be the last year it will be run. We would absolutely love an AURA member to provide a detailed race report on this event, so please get in touch with kate.dzienis@aura.asn.au to submit your item along with photos to share with our members.

Also coming up is the Sri Chinmoy 48hr Track Festival in Canberra the last weekend of the month, 25-27 March, and it will be doubling up as the 2022 Australian 48hr Championships. The Washpool World Heritage Trails (50km) will also be held the weekend of 27 March in Gibraltar Range, NSW.

ULTRAMAG

We also want your race reports and story ideas for our monthly Ultramag digital magazine. Without your tips and leads, there wouldn’t be an Ultramag, 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! Email kate.dzienis@aura.asn.au or ultramag@aura.asn.au with either your race report or a story lead.

Photograph: Shannon Dale.

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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.