WEEKLY NEWS BRIEF – 13/12/18

Kate Dzienis • December 13, 2018

Gold Coast 50k, Qld

The Gold Coast 50k was held on Sunday, December 9 in Queensland, along the beachfront from Kurrawa to Coolangatta, and return and with the 50km there were also options to enter a 30km, 15km and 5km.

Clear Island Waters (Qld) ultra runner Robert Clarke took home First Male with his speedy 3:17:35 cross across the finish line whilst Corrina Black, from Mermaid Beach claimed Third Female in 4:02:11.

Congratulations to AURA members Trevor Warburton (3:46:50), Connie Stevenson (4:17:49), Verity Breen (4:33:43), Meghann Coffey (4:42:31), Greg Ponych (4:48:16), Keith Sullivan (4:48:40), Francesco Mastrangelo (4:52:10), Michael Ford (4:55:45), Kristy Ryan (5:03:32), Richard McCormick (5:04:04), Stephen Wright (5:28:34), Kelvin Marshall (5:35:42), Peter Sinfield (5:58:48), Justin Teague (6:10:11), Geoffrey Last (6:14:33), Tracey Patterson-Kane (6:35:51), and Peter Anderson (6:41:20).

Conditions were favourable on the relatively flat course with tail winds giving runners a bit of an aid on their return from Coolangatta to Broadbeach.

Race director Adam Goodger from Sport 3 said in recent years, the event has grown exponentially.

“As a Gold Coast based company, we have been big fans of the GC50 over the years and purchased the event from GC Ultras in mid-2017,” he said.

“The event that year had grown steadily by about 10% – from 1000 to around 1100, and in 2018 registrations numbers doubled, which has been fantastic to see.

“With over 2000 registered runners, the event as a whole was a sell-out this year with the 50km distance itself increasing by over 50%.

“We had some constraints this year (with the course itself) which meant we had to add a 2km northern loop for all runners prior to embarking on their out and back section. But as a team we are all really proud of how the day rolled out, especially given the significant jump in numbers from previous years.

“The team did an amazing job and we’d like to take the opportunity to thank our awesome groups of volunteers who keep all runners stocked up with aid throughout the course.”

The next AURA listed events are being held this weekend – the AAA Racing Hill Climb Challenge on Saturday, December 15 will be at Wild Horse Mountain, Caboolture, Qld and 6 Inch Trail Marathon on Sunday, December 16 along the Munda Biddi Track in WA.

Pictured: Racers participating in the Gold Coast event at the weekend. Photograph – Supplied.

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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.