GET TO KNOW AURA’S NEW PRESIDENT EWAN HORSBURGH

Kate Dzienis • May 28, 2020

Ewan Horsburgh, NSW President

Photo By: John Doe

You may certainly recognise the name of our new committee president; someone who has been active in the ultra running community for quite some time.

Ewan Horsburgh has been preparing for the role for quite a few months in the hopes of being elected in by members, which he was successfully voted in at the last AGM on April 28 (2020), and said his main inspiration was an urge to give back to the ultra running community.

“I’ve been an AURA member and part of the Australian 24-hour team for quite a few years, and felt like I wanted to give something back; something back to AURA because the organisation provides an incredible amount of support,” he said.

“I’ve really been on the receiving end of the Australian team and international races, so I thought to myself that I’d like to help.”

Ewan has represented Australia countless times in long distance events across the globe and has led the Aussies as their Team Captain in the 2019 24-hour World Championships in Albi, France.

He has been a part of the Australian World Championships teams in 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2017 as well as captaining the Aussie team at the 2018 Asian/Oceania 24-hour Championships in Taiwan.

He is still very much an active runner, still running 100 mile events and the like, and said he was very much looking forward to promoting AURA and the sport of ultra running.

“One of the best things about ultra running is the older you get, the better you get, and the sport is just a brilliant activity to get involved in; it’s what I love about it,” he said.

“The four of us on the new committee (Matthew Eckford, Julia Mackay-Koelen and Simone Hayes) we all communicate extremely well, and we have so much enthusiasm; this is going to work out great, it really is.

“Everyone on the committee has got ideas about what we want to do, but we definitely want to share all the stories we possibly can to promote the members and events as much as possible.”

“There is definitely a goal of increasing the membership base, especially with ultra running booming, so that will be one of the goals to be taken into consideration over the next few months.”

To reach out to Ewan you can email him at president@aura.asn.au

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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.