WEEKLY NEWS REPORT – 13/11/2019

Feral Pig Ultra, WA
National Events

Feral Pig Ultra, WA

WA was hit with severe heat conditions on Saturday, and although it was a tough call to make, Feral Pig Ultra race director Shaun Kaeslar cancelled Saturday races which included the 100mi, 100km, 50mi and 50km.

The 50km was the only distance to be rescheduled to the Sunday, and participants who were unable to make the changes were deferred to next year’s race. 

Kicking off at 6am along the Bibbulmun Track throughout the Darling Ranges, AURA’s Shane Johnstone secured a new course record by a whopping 45 minutes as he crossed the finish line to take 1st Male with a time of 4:36:20.

Second for the men was Yerdos Baimbetov who flew in from Kazakhstan and finished in 5:15:37, also beating a previous course record.

Third Male went to Chris Wright with 5:17:36 and again, another runner to beat the previous course record.

For the women, Sharene Blake took 1st with 6:07:53, Seranica Williamson took 2nd with 6:25:15 and AURA member Sarah Niven claimed 3rd Female after crossing the finish line in 6:40:12.

AURA is waiting for official results to come through and for a list of AURA members who attended. Known AURA members who raced in the 50km included Alexis Oosterhoff, Emma Luscombe, Paul Hopwood, Richard Avery, Chris Lark, Darlene Dale, Georgia Snowball and Mark Caldwell (sweep) however we will include a full report of names and times once official results are released. 

National Events

A number of other ultra events were held across the country (non-AURA listed) however we are aware of AURA members racing those events and they should be congratulated on their efforts.

The Upstream Challenge was held on November 9 in Melbourne Vic and featured a 50km road race. About 153 entrants participated in this event; congratulations to AURA member Bill Bardsley who came in 5th Male with a time of 4:46:24.

Run Albany ‘Mutton to Middleton’ 46km was also held on November 9 in Elleker, WA with 30 runners participating. AURA’s very own Matt Maguire held on to claim 3rd Male after crossing the finish in 4:47:45. Congratulations also to Doug Bartlett (5:25:15) and Tim Bond (6:13:49).

In the Marysville 50km Ultramarathon in Marysville, Vic on November 10 well done goes to Katherine MacMillan who claimed 3rd Female with a time of 5:32:34. Congratulations also to Justin Scholz (5:14:41), Nicholas Egan (5:35:15) and George Alexandropoulos (7:51:21).

Elsewhere the Hilloween at The Jerry Springer 12h Hill Climb event held by AAA Racing in Qld was cancelled as a result of park closures due to severe fire risks. Another tough call by the race director, but a safe one.

Coming Up

Coming up on the AURA calendar we’ve got the IAU 100km Asia & Oceania Championships on Saturday, November 23 in Aqaba, Jordan and the Bruny Island Ultra 64km on Saturday, November 30 in Bruny Island, Tasmania.

Note to AURA members

We will be featuring an end-of-year bumper edition of Ultramag that will cover November and as much of December as possible. We are keen to hear your stories, and all contributions get a bonus point towards the points competition. Send your race reports to ultramag@aura.asn.au but we are also looking for out-of-the-box stories – so if you, or you know a fellow AURA member, who has a unique story or experience to share, email kate.dzienis@aura.asn.au to be featured.

Pictured: Feral Pig Ultra 50km male podium finishers. Photograph – Supplied/Facebook.