AURA 2021 AGM

Kate Dzienis • June 30, 2021

We held AURA’s AGM remotely on Monday 31st May 2021. The President, Vice President, and Treasurer were re-elected while our Secretary was newly elected.

I am happy to announce the following committee positions have been elected:

President: Ewan Horsburgh
Vice President: Matthew Eckford,
Secretary: Stephen Redfern
Treasurer: Simone Hayes

The following members have stepped up for roles as state reps.

QLD: Dan Symonds, John Pearson
SA: Chris Glacken, Beck Butler
ACT: Allicia Heron, Martin Fryer, Matt Griggs
NSW: Jane Trumper, Ben Berriman, Kevin Heaton
VIC: Donna Urquhart, John Yoon, Nikki Wynd, Isobel Ross, George Mihalakellis
WA: Julia Mackay
TAS: Amy Lamprecht

We had a good turnout of members live on the call and enough proxies to form a quorum. The committee gave an update on all the challenges and successes of the year. Following elections, the floor was open for a discussion with the attending members.

Being a full new committee last year meant we spent the season getting to understand the core of AURA, the processes around running the association and implementing our ideas and initiates. We are looking forward to the second year together to build on last years foundation.

A thank you to Julia who was a big help to the committee, working as Secretary and has now moved to the WA state rep role.

Special mention needs to go to 3 volunteers who have put a lot into AURA over the years. As Australian reps, committee members and also in specialised roles.

A big thanks to Jodie Oborne who finished up as records and ranking officer last year. Jodie has been in the role for 6 years and worked hard on setting a high standard for our national and age-group records. Her meticulous process and documentation has helped with the handover to Tia Jones and keeping the records high quality.

Kerrie Bremner has been a huge help looking after the IAU Event Compliance which allows records to be ratified. She has spent the last 7 years working with race directors, the committee and the IAU to make sure races are certified. This covers course measurement, following of criteria, the paperwork and working closely with the records officer to verify the record applications. We appreciate Kerrie staying on last year to help the new committee learn more about the role, its intricacies and support Mathew Eckford in taking it over.

A massive thank you to Susannah Harvey-Jamieson who has been a QLD state rep for the last 10 years! Apart from racing for Australia at the World Championships Susannah has represented AURA at numerous races, Australian championships and sadly 3 funerals (Proudly on behalf of AURA). A highlight for her was being on ABC radio with Keith Sullivan and Ben Duffus talking about all things ultra running.

Here’s to a great 2021.

Cheers
Ewan Horsburgh
AURA President

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AUTRA Race Report 23-3-2026

By Kate Dzienis • March 23, 2026

Herdy's Frontyard Ultra, WA Gold Coast Backyard Ultra, Qld I'm Still Standing Sydney, NSW Trail Run Australia - Tathra, NSW Sri Chinmoy 48hr Track Ultra (Australian 48hr Track Championships, ACT Washpool World Heritage Trails, NSW Tamworth Trailblazer, NSW Upcoming Events WEEKLY NEWS REPORT FOR 23-3-2026 As always, we're continuously on the hunt for your stories and reports, so get those race reports and photographs in to ultramag@autra.asn.au with the following information: Word document, single spaced Include the name of the event, the date and the location anywhere in the report (just a bullet point at the top is great) Please attach photographs to the email – do not put images in the body of your Word doc. You’ll just get me emailing you back asking for the photos sent in the correct way! As many photos as possible. With our new website, it’s now easier than ever to include a nice gallery in each race report No PDFs please And remember, it doesn’t have to be about an AUTRA-listed event specifically! You just have to be an AUTRA member for the 2026 year. Also too, if you’ve run in a non-AUTRA listed event anywhere on home soil or internationally, we’d love to include your race results and experience in our Member Updates, so please do reach out to us via email to kate.dzienis@autra.asn.au If any corrections need to be made in any of the results listed below, please alert me via email.

2026 AGM Notice (15 April 2026)

By Dave Martin • March 14, 2026

AUTRA’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on Wednesday 15 April 2026

AUTRA statement regarding Snowies Trail Run Festival

March 12, 2026

AUTRA has been in direct contact with the organisers of the Snowies Trail Run Festival, In2Adventure, regarding a recent situation involving an athlete and the event’s in‑person safety briefing requirements. In2Adventure has confirmed that the situation was discussed directly with the athlete at the time. From In2Adventure’s account, and for the purpose of clarifying the public record, AUTRA notes the following points: At no stage was the athlete prevented from breastfeeding at the event. The organiser states that the following options were offered to enable the athlete to participate while still meeting safety requirements: a quiet and private space where she could breastfeed while still being present at the briefing; the option to receive the required briefing at the 30 km start line after the start; and the option to change her registration to the 21 km event, where the briefing is conducted on the start line. At no stage prior to event registration on Saturday night did the athlete contact the organiser to advise of her situation or request alternative arrangements, which limited what could be put in place at the time. Face‑to‑face safety briefings have always been a requirement for In2Adventure events due to the remote and higher‑risk nature of the trails. AUTRA was aware that in‑person briefings were used and had not raised concerns about that general approach. The organiser has indicated that this requirement is driven by safety, duty‑of‑care and insurance obligations, and follows previous experience where remote or online briefings resulted in athletes starting events without critical safety information. The organiser maintains that the event was not conducted in a manner that was intended to be non‑inclusive, inflexible or discriminatory, and that decisions made on the day were based solely on safety requirements that apply equally to all participants. AUTRA’s aim in issuing this statement is solely to clarify the context and ensure that the public record reflects the information provided to us by the organiser.