WEEKLY NEWS – 14/05/2018

Kate Dzienis • May 14, 2018

Australian Team Trails, Spain
EMU 6 Day Race, Hungary
Guinness World Record Set, Qld

If you’ve been keeping up with all the news around, you’ll know it’s been a busy yet exciting weekend of ultra running for our AURA members!

AURA’s Australian Trails Team crossed the finish line with smiles on their faces at the 2018 Penyagolosa Trails in Spain over the weekend. Less than 30 minutes separated the team members, and they did a phenomenal job representing Australia.

Lou Clifton came storming through in the last 10kms of the race, finishing in 12:09:23.
She was followed very closely by Robyn Bruins (12:09:39), Gill Fowler (12:13:49), David Turnbull (12:25:13) and Jessica Schluter (12:36:08).

Reports indicated a fast first half, and then plenty of inclines.

What a spectacular effort by the entire team at what is a tough course, congratulations to everyone!

Abroad again, but this time in Hungary, AURA’s own Mick Thwaites scored himself an amazing 837.605kms after completing 903 laps in the EMU 6 Day Race. It was a whopping 35.486kms lead over France’s Didier Sessegolo who claimed second, and an even bigger difference of 50.861kms over USA’s Ivo Majetic.

Seems the Aussies were full of smiles at the weekend, as no one could wipe the grin off Thwaites’ face either.

Over in Brisbane, Qld Matthew Eckford attempted to break the Guinness World Record for greatest distance run (male) on a treadmill in 12 hours – and he broke it (yet to be ratified).

He successfully ran 147kms in the allocated time, beating the previous record of 143kms set by American Ronnie Delzer back in August, 2016.

It certainly was a weekend worthy of celebrating Australian success in the ultra running community on a global scale.

Pictured: Mick Thwaites wins the EMU 6 Day Race in Hungary. Photograph – Szilvia Oszi.

Pictured Above Right: The AURA Australian Trails Team in Spain. Photograph – Supplied/Facebook.

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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.