WILSON HAS DONE IT AGAIN

Kate Dzienis • July 19, 2023

Contributed by Greg Wilson, AURA member (Kyneton, Vic)

AUSTRALIAN 24 HOUR TRACK INVITATIONAL (OPEN), AIS BRUCE (ACT), 1-2 July 2023

Only three weeks since a flat out 6hr at Southern Sydney and not at all sure my body has recovered from my exertions there. Still it is my final ultra marathon for the year, so I must turn up and at least have a go. A lot of good memories from last year, as it was my first event since turning 70 and resulted in a bunch of Australian Age Group records.

A brisk Canberra morning but much improved on last year, when rain bucketed down pre-race and then a strong wind blew in from the snowfields. An hour before the 0800 start I caught up with Justin Hiatt, who had kindly agreed to crew for me again, after being integral to a successful Sri Chinmoy 48 Hour a few months ago.

I showed him a very optimistic schedule I had created to set me on the path to an M70 World Best Performance for 12 hours. It required me to average 9.5kms per hour for 12 hours and then I could stop, or plug on at a slow pace for the next 12 hours. Below it I added a few goals which were more realistic and ended up being close to the mark.

The scheduled pace was fine through the marathon distance, as I felt relaxed and strong, but shortly after I was working hard to maintain it and knew a record 12 Hour was not possible. Justin has an impeccable record as crew for outstanding performances and I had to find a way to keep that intact, instead of wasting his valuable time.

After hour five I settled into doing what I knew worked from last year, which was walking the straights and running the bends. What I didn’t know, but was about to discover, was whether I could maintain it for another 19 hours. As race director Matt Eckford had said then, “If you want to break records…walking will not achieve it.”

I had gone through 6 hours about 9km behind my pace at Campbelltown three weeks earlier and my 12 hours (97.1km) was more than 10kms behind what I had set off aiming for. I then took a 15 minute break to hopefully prevent the 15 hour ‘collapse’ of last year.

We did the maths and I set off to attempt a better second half than last year. Simple really, all I had to do was continue my routine for another 12 hours and I would be in record territory in the final stages. Easily said, but it did entail hardly ever stopping and forcing my protesting legs into a run each time I came to a track bend. How long could I sustain it, before settling into long periods of walking and resulting failure.

The hard part was from 12 to 20 hours, as there was nothing to look forward to except many hours of cold, dark drudgery. If I got through that, I could then envisage attaining a new 100 mile record and then the race finish just two hours later.

If you don’t keep putting fuel in you grind to a halt. Common sense really and I tried to oblige whenever Justin offered me something. However my brain and body were telling me I was going to throw up if I had anything more. It was correct and now there was a problem, as there is no point eating if it is not staying down there to be digested.

In the last 6 hours I cautiously resumed eating and drinking and just hoped it would stay down. I had been banking an extra kilometre and when assured that I could have a walk and still attain the goals I did so with much relief. Always niggling though was “Don’t get to comfortable doing this, or it has all been for nothing.” With my eyes on the 100 mile record, I was soon upping the pace again to ensure it was as decent as I could make it. How did I spend those final laps leading up to a new Australian M70 Age Group record for 100 Miles? Three laps of walking nibbling at a delicious Hash Brown I had been offered and then stopped, throwing it all up again. What a waste!

Back to it! Stuff the food and just run some laps to get to 100 miles. I was pleased to improve my M70 Age Group Record by 44 mins 18 secs, by covering the distance in 21 hours 47 minutes 42 seconds. It was only a day after the event I realised that I had surpassed the long standing Australian M65 record held by Cliff Young. Unfortunately I didn’t manage that over a year ago when in the appropriate age group!

That’s better, as a goal has been achieved and in an hour the sun will be up for the last stages. Just keep doing more of the same and it’s just possible to attain 175km. All the same, it was now a very unusual experience to spend hours running on what was almost a skating rink. The track had become moist with dew and had now frozen solid.

Wearing multiple layers it was a constant challenge to stay warm enough, whilst not sweating too much. Head coverings tended to become too warm and yet my ears had to be covered as they were freezing. My thick mittens had become moist with sweat and were now freezing up. ‘Super domestique’ Justin found a heater and returned them dry and warm.

I continued with as much running as I could manage in the final hour, as the champions down in lane one were all inspiring with solid finishes. Out in lane six the early leader Ayden Boxsell had been 10kms in front of me at halfway. He had never run further than a marathon and now had a PB for 100km and 100 Miles. Even though injured in the second half, he stayed out there at a walk and completed a courageous first 24 Hour. Susan Marshall our sole female was flying through the final stages, as she also attained the magical miler mark.

In my briefing notes to Justin I noted some final remarks, which stated that my schedule was ‘Pie in the Sky’ and may only be attained if everything goes perfectly. I noted that otherwise, I would be elated to go sub 22 hours for 100 Miles and get to 175km for 24 hours.

I pushed the last few laps as much as I could, whilst having no idea of my real distance, as it was very approximately 4-5kms below Garmin display. The gun sounds the finish of 24 long hours and we rug up on chairs while distances are measured. Then it is off to the gazebo and lie down and keep warm until presentation.

Some extraordinary performances in the Invitational field. The depth was just what you would hope for, in this type of elite event. For me the superb running by Michael Hooker to attain 260.401km and a PB for Allicia Heron of 225.428km including multiple W35 Age Group Records, were the highlight.

In the open event there was proof that the second half is as important as the first. As I remained uninjured and doggedly stayed the course, I won my first event against all ages this millennium. The distance achieved was 175.034km. With a sensible Plan and an invaluable crew in Justin Hiatt, I had improved my Australian M70 Age Group Record by over 4km. It was pleasing to also get past one of Cliffy’s non-record achievements after narrowly missing it the previous year.

How long my comeback will endure I do not know but it is nice to be out there doing it.

Featured Image: Greg Wilson post-race at the 2023 Australian 24 Hour Track Invitational. Photograph – Unknown/Supplied FB.

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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.