WEEKLY NEWS REPORT 12-04-2021

Canberra Times Marathon Festival
The CBR50 on Sunday (April 11) doubled up this year as AURA’s 2021 50km Australian Road Championships. Thousands took to the roads around Canberra’s iconic sites as part of the event, but did so in freezing temperatures and strong winds.

About 8000 people lined up at the start line across all events, which included a 5.4km, 10km, half marathon, marathon and ultra marathon.

136 runners lined up for the ultra.

In the men’s ultra, AURA’s very own Matthew Whitaker from Richmond, Vic claimed the top spot when he crossed the finish line in a sub-3 hour time of 2:56:00 flat. Wayne Spies took 2nd Male with 3:02:52 whilst AURA’s Shaun Creighton from Campbell, ACT held on for 3rd Male in a time of 3:12:04.

In addition to such great results from everyone participating, Creighton managed to chase down an Age Group Record (M50) which he broke – the previous record for M50 50km was 3:15:33. Congratulations!

AURA member Dan Wright from Belmont, Vic took out 4th Male in the event with a time of 3:30:41.

Because the CBR50 also played out as the 2021 AURA 50km Australian Road Championships, all three podium finishers received the 1st Male, 2nd Male and 3rd Male awards, respectively, in the Championships.

For the women’s event, Megan Hasick took the top placing with 4:01:46. AURA’s Larissa Tichon, who has plenty of experience on AURA’s World Championship team having run for the green and gold in Croatia in 2018 for the 100km, took 2nd Female after crossing the finish line in 4:06:33. Sarah Haynes took 3rd Female with 4:17:40.

AURA’s Gretchen Smith from Barton, ACT took out 4th Female with a time of 4:36:17 and AURA member Allicia Heron from Theodore, ACT held on for 7th Female with 4:50:24.

Congratulations to Hasick, Tichon, and Smith who take 1st Female, 2nd Female and 3rd Female respectively for the 2021 AURA 50km Australian Road Championships.

Congratulations to all our AURA members who raced in the CBR50 including Scott Buchanan (4:07:58), Paul Mahoney (4:45:38), Peter Clarke (4:54:28) and Pam Muston (4:57:35).

Upcoming Events
Excitement is mounting with this weekend’s Coburg 24hr in Coburg North, Vic which incidentally is doubling up as the 2021 AURA 100km Australian Track Championships! Starting on 17 April (Saturday) and finishing on Sunday, the event has been held at the Harold Stevens Athletic Track since 1988 and the 2021 edition will feature a 24hr, 12hr, 100km, 6hr and marathon distance options.

Run Larapinta is coming up 23-26 April. It’s a 4-day 4-stage trail running race along the iconic Larapinta Trail in the country’s Northern Territory. Day 1 = 11km/20km; Day 2 = 22km/41km; Day 3 = 22km/31km; Day 4 = 30km/45km.

The Gumby is new to the AURA calendar, with its inaugural event held this year on 24 April in the Coree District, ACT. A last one standing race in the Brindabella Ranges to the west of Canberra, this format of racing keeps everyone on their toes and is growing with popularity.

The Belair Marathon will also be finding its inaugural feet this year, and will held on 26 April in Belair, SA. Raced in one of the country’s oldest national parks (established in 1891, in fact), racers will enjoy the trail marathon, half marathon, 10km or 5km thanks to their stunning environment. 

Pictured: Runners at the Canberra Times Marathon. Photograph – Facebook/Supplied.