President's Report: February 2025

Hello Runners!

February has been a has been jammed packed with some great events, lots of productive meetings, the announcement of our AUTRA Annual Awards, the 100km National Championships and more. As usual there is always a lot going on here in this space.

We were proud and excited to announce the winners who were selected by both member vote and the Committee, for the 2024 Performance of the Year and Runner of the Year awards.

I wish to offer a huge congratulations to all of the very deserving recipients. Our sport is large; it’s diverse across many disciplines of running, different distances and terrains. We are a national association, and we have so many runners to select from that it is always a really hard task. Thank you to all of the members who took the time to vote and assist in these awards, and in doing so we can celebrate these athletes’ achievements. If you missed it, the winners can be viewed here.

Over the weekend the Australian 100km Road Championships were held in Canberra and hosted by the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Club who put on another fabulous event. Congratulations to the Male and Female 100km Champions for 2024, Chris Hatherly (male) and AUTRA Member Lindsay Hamilton (female).

Coming up in March is the Australian 24 Hour Championships being held, again, in Canberra by Sri Chinmoy on 21 March. It’s also hosting a 48 Hour event over the same weekend. We thank the Sri Chinmoy team for their ongoing support of AUTRA and for hosting these championships.

Also on the events calendar for March is the Belair Marathon, The Running Works Lark Hill Party Ultra, the Backyard Ultra Trial Series, Coombabah Trail Run, I’m Still Standing (LOS) Sydney, Noosa Ultra Trail, Herdy’s Frontyard Ultra, Washpool Heritage Trails, Buffalo Stampede Festival, and the kunyani Mountain Run. Check out all the event details here.

Shortly our 2026 calendar will also be released so that you can all get planning for your upcoming races with plenty of notice! So, get amongst it!

Don’t forget that our merch store is FULL of new gear and we can’t wait to see you all out on the trails wearing it! Get your hands on our new Fractel hats – they look awesome! As do the new shirts and singlets, and the hoodies are going to come in handy as we head into Autumn! Check out the store and purchase here.  Make sure you send us in a photo if you have been out wearing it! Kate, our marketing gal loves all pics! Kate.dzienis@autra.asn.au

The nominations for selection for the 2025 World Mountain Trail Running Championships team are open until the 31st March so please make sure you get your forms in if you are considering applying.

Just another reminder that the 2025 Annual General Meeting is approaching and a tentative date has been set for 28  May 2025. As mentioned last month there are a few committee positions up for nomination and we urge anyone who has a passion for the sport to consider putting their hands up to volunteer. The results of our survey are being collated and a report prepared to inform our strategic planning committee. Many of you took the time to provide a lot of feedback, so I know there are people out there who care! But giving advice or having an opinion doesn’t get the job done – only action does. We need people to step up and dedicate some spare time. All questions can be directed to president@autra.asn.au

That’s all for this month, keep at it and run happy!

Simone Hayes

AUTRA President