Thank you from the President

2024-2025 was a great period of change for AURA as we grew and evolved into AUTRA in May 2025. This change brought about the formal inclusion of trail running of all distances, which meant we required a new and modern rebrand that was inclusive of both ultra and trail running of all distances. This change will serve to take AUTRA into the next decade and beyond as our sport grows.

Over the past twelve months we have continued to oversee the installation of a new purpose-built website and membership system, we redesigned and produced a new line of AUTRA merchandise, we increased our Member Benefits Program offering and continue to do so, by collaborating with industry suppliers and allied health providers and more. 

Mid-year we implemented a reduced scale of fees for race directors that list multiple events to assist in their costs and for showing their loyalty. With the introduction of shorter distance trail events on the calendar we now offer a Junior Membership that allows for their participation and access to race discounts and member benefits.

We have continued to foster the Endorsed Coaches program, which aims to help quality accredited Australian coaches promote their businesses, and in turn attract new talent. They have also been a wonderful addition to AUTRA by participating in robust conversations around athlete participation and representation, which helps to educate us all and helps to form pathways for the development of the upcoming strategic plan.

Additionally we have grown the membership on our AUTRA State Facebook pages for better community engagement with our members, more access to our State Reps and more information regarding events in each state. Our newly formed Trail Subcommittee are working hard to ensure we prosper together with ‘ultra and trail as one’ for the future, and have been tasked with working on initiatives such as improving our National Championships, introducing a guideline on safe junior participation in ultra running, especially with the increases in backyard ultras this year. They have also been assisting us in analysing the results from our recent survey which will help to inform the new committee on where the strategic plan needs to head to take AUTRA into the future.

With my passionate and hard-working committee, we achieved unprecedented membership growth whilst managing this change among a few challenging times. We had the unfortunate fallout of a World Athletics and subsequently an IAU change to track certification rules in 2023 which affected many of our events here in Australia, but also worldwide. I have addressed this issue in a separate attachment of this Annual Report.

The sport of ultra and trail running and its community is growing at an unbelievably fast pace worldwide, and we know that AUTRA must grow with it. Not only do we look after the sports history and records, but we must also stay abreast of worldwide changes in the sport and its governance. We must ensure we align ourselves with World Athletics, the IAU and Australian Athletics and that our policies are solid and sound.

We must ensure that we can allow grass roots events to prosper and foster new talent through our junior athletes in a safe and secure environment, and support our elite athletes so they can perform at their best. Events such as the booming backyard ultra format are taking the country and the world by storm, and we need to ensure that these new events are just as safe as the events we have looked after and guided for many years. With the introduction of a new committee role in the form of Director of Events in 2024, we now work more closely with race directors, allowing a better relationship and process to ensure their events run smoothly and are promoted widely through our channels. With trail now officially a part of our landscape, we need to look at sustainability of these trails, make sure events respect the land they run on, and work with the community and stakeholders to make sure that best practices are achieved for the sport to continue to flourish.

During my time as President, I was fortunate to be present as we hosted our first international championship in Australia, the IAU 24 Hour Asian Oceania Championship, that was secured by the Committee under the previous president Ewan Horsburgh, and which the current committee was able to work on and see come to fruition. This was an amazing event to be a part of and will be remembered forever in AUTRA’s history. I was also privileged to manage the 100km Australian Team twice overseas at both Asian and World Championships and have been involved in sending all of our teams to represent internationally each year.

In 2024, our 100km team competed in Bengaluru, India in the Asian Oceania Championships, and again in 2025 in the 100km World Championships. In April 2024 our 24 hour team got to compete in-country in Canberra for our first championship on home soil in the IAU 24 Hour Asian Oceania Championships. In September our trail team competed in Ulju, South Korea at the iTRA Asian Pacific Trail Running Championships. 

This year we will select athletes to represent at the 24 hour World Championships in Albi, France, the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Canfranc, Spain, the 50km World Championships (location TBC) and the 100km Asian Oceania Championships (location TBC). I am extremely excited at the depth we have in our athletes at the moment, especially in our women’s field, and I know that Australia will be a force to be reckoned with on the international stage in years to come. It is so wonderful to see the increase of women participating in ultra and trail running continue to grow, and not only grow – but blow us away with their amazing achievements and results. I can’t begin to explain how exciting this has been to witness during my time here, and I know this is only the beginning. As a coach myself, I see how much this sport has empowered women and given them a sense of accomplishment and new found confidence, no matter where in the results they sit.

I have focused this year on building a strong relationship with Australian Athletics who are integral to AUTRA’s future, and have worked closely with them as we head towards the upcoming World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in September.

I mentioned in my report here last year that it takes an army to keep AUTRA running. That has not changed, in fact it is more important than ever as the sport grows. We expanded the committee at the AGM last year with two new positions and introduced a Trail Sub-Committee, however the workload continues to grow but unfortunately, we still don’t have enough arms and legs to do the work we have wanted to do. We hope that in the future more of our members will put their hands up to assist.

On that note, it is with some regret that I intend to stand down as president this year to refocus on my business and family. I am proud of what we have achieved here in the past five years and I know that the sport will be in good hands to move forward and land where it needs to go in the future. I want to thank the members that voted for me and trusted me in this role. I thank the long list of support volunteers that I have worked with over the past five years, with a special thank you to Alexis Oosterhoff, who was always working with me behind the scenes with huge support as my brains trust and IT guru! I’d also like to thank Kate Dzienis, our marketing coordinator, for everything she does for this association on a weekly basis making sure all of our members are kept up to date with the latest events and results, her newsletters and Ultramag publications, and also her work in preparing our Annual Report each year. It’s been wonderful working with you Kate.

Tia Jones, our Records Officer and Team Selector – we first met in Albi when I was a fresh newbie to track running and since then you have become a trusted friend and I thank you for everything you do for the association, as maintaining the records and AUTRA’s history and integrity is a huge role and responsibility that you take on with such pride.

And last but not least, the amazing committee I have been lucky enough to work alongside in my five years here. You are truly amazing people. We haven’t always had it easy but we have always supported each other and remained steadfast in the belief that each and every decision we made together was made with the best intentions for AUTRA’s future. There is no personal gain in these roles, we do it for the love of the sport and so that the sport can prosper, and I believe that we have worked hard to ensure that it will be handed over to the incoming committee in a good position to thrive. I wish them the best of luck for the coming year and beyond.

Simone Hayes - President
May 2023 - May 2025