President's Report: April 2024

Howdy runners!

I hope you have all had a great April and enjoyed the Easter break and Anzac Day long weekend. If you live on the eastern seaboard you will have experienced some magnificent weather like us here in Sydney, perfect running weather!

We are still riding the high after the 24 Hour Asia Oceania Championships where unfortunately the weather gods weren’t as kind that weekend, but the rain didn’t dampen the spirits of all the amazing athletes that took to the AIS track in Canberra. Our Australian representatives did us proud again, with the Women’s team nailing the Gold with 3 podium finishes. The Men’s team nabbed Silver with a 2^nd place on the podium. Competing teams were from India, New Zealand, Chinese Taipei and South Korea and all put on a great display of sportsmanship and toughness as they braved the weather and the competition for 24 hours. I believe that we put on one of the best championship events that I have seen and we are very proud of our athletes, the race organisation from Matthew Eckford and his team, the volunteers that came to help and the supporters that cheered the runners. It was truly a world class event.

To make the event even more exciting, alongside the Asia Oceania race was also the 24 Hour Australian Championships. This as we know resulted in some amazing totals being produced and I think a spot on the next 24 Hour team at the World Championships in Albi, France in 2025 will be hotly contested as we have so much depth at the moment – I’m glad I’m not a selector! As you are probably aware there was an issue with the timing (for this race only), as when the clocks changed over at 3am for daylight savings there was an unprecedented glitch in the timing system. Of course we understand that this is very frustrating for all involved, especially the athletes, but can I urge you to consider that this is technology we are dealing with and not everything always goes to plan. Regardless of all pre-emptive procedures that were put in place the unfortunate happened. I know this caused the timing company many hours of work and distress, but in the end humans can only deal with what computers spit out to some extent. Luckily, as always, there were redundancy measures in place and all of the correct data was still there and it was resolved in a timely manner.

All in all it was a hugely successful weekend and something that we can be very proud of.

Coming up in May on the AURA calendar we have Dead Cow Gully LOS, Organ Pipes Classic, Irrational South, Ultra Trail Australia and No Time to Die Ultra.

It’s also Mother’s Day in a couple weeks so I wish all of our mums who run (and those who don’t but still support the runners!) a very happy Mother’s Day – kids, don’t forget Mum loves new running shoes! Our mums are strong and capable of so much – you only have to look at the 40 year old humble mum of two, Jasmin Paris, who was the only female to ever complete the Barkley Marathons earlier this month. This amazing feat inspired women worldwide, but right here in Australia we have many mums that also inspire us on a daily basis, just by getting up early to train, by standing at start lines, and by doing something they may not have thought possible – until they tried it. They are showing their children that you can get out of your comfort zone and do amazing things just by giving it a go. Women of all levels from the back of the pack to our elite are all out there loving our sport in whatever shape or form ultra and trail running comes in for them! Here’s to all the mums out there!

Next month is the AURA Annual General Meeting on 28 May. We invite all of our members to attend and vote on the committee positions, and will send the links and agenda closer to the 28 May date. Please come along and have your say in the future of AURA. We have a few updates to the constitution to put forward so if you have an interest in how your association is planning to move into the future then please show your interest by attending and voting, either by proxy or in person.

At the AGM there will be two new committee positions to be filled. A Governance Officer and a Director of Events position. If you are interested in nominating for either position please contact me at president@aura.asn.au for more information prior to 13 May.

In the coming months we will have the State Reps applications, applications to host the 2025 National Championships and more, so keep your eye out these posts if you would like to be more involved in the sport.

That’s it for April, we hope you have some exciting things planned on your calendar for May!

Happy running!

Simone Hayes - President