WEEKLY NEWS REPORT 21-10-2020

Margaret River Ultra Marathon, WA
Conditions were great at the weekend’s Margaret River Ultra Marathon in WA, where runners, both solo and in teams, were given an 80km distance to conquer. With cool temperatures at the start, it did get warm in the middle of the day due to no cloud cover and quite a bit of the course being fairly exposed.

In the 80km solo women’s event, Claire O’Brien-Smith took 1st in a time of 9:14:38, leading the race from start to finish. AURA’s very own Meghann Coffey from Paddington, Qld held on for 2nd Female just 7 minutes behind in 9:21:32, whilst Jessica Smith took 3rd (10:21:49).

In the men’s race, Justin Scarvaci took home 1st in 7:16:55, Joshua Chugg 2nd (7:32:03) and Michael Dimuantes 3rd (7:36:15).

Congratulations to all our AURA members who raced and finished in the Margaret River Ultra Marathon including Tim Bond (10:22:06 and 1st in the Masters 60+ Male age category), Sergio Gustinetti (11:01:17), Kate Ashfaq (13:40:19) and Louise Wallace (15:54:57).

Ashfaq said the course ranged from scenic and stunning to technical and challenging.

“The first leg was beautiful with great views from the top of the dunes and by the time you get to the third leg, it starts okay with some rock hopping and amazing views but then the soft sand hits – it’s so gruelling with sand in legs three and four,” she recapped.

“The most painful bit for me was the changed ending because there’s a long unpaved road along private properties before you get into the winery grounds and it’s all uphill; I was worried about not making it in time for the wine glass, so I ran up it all the way.

“I love how varied the terrain is; there’s not much elevation but the sand and rocky bits you can’t make up for that – if you’re fast and good on sand, you could really race it!”

Big Dog’s Backyard International
With everyone watching live streams from AAA Racing’s hosting of Big Dog’s Backyard International, Oxley Creek was likely to be the most popular location in Australia for ultra running support and watching over the weekend. Australia’s team of ultra runners continued for hours on end from 10pm EST on Saturday night as they ran laps every hour, on the hour, with 14 other teams across the globe. Temperatures during the day reached a balmy 32 degrees and laps were being pulled at an average of about 45:30:00 per lap.

Race director Alun Davies provided the results: 

“Chris Murphy won and came 17th overall in the World Championships with 46 laps (308.50km) in a running time of 34:42:30,” he said. 

“Barry Loveday provided the assist and came 19th overall in the World Championships with 45 laps (301.80km) in a running time of 34:12:27. Both Chris and Barry set a new Australian record for the last one standing format when they hit 42 hours, surpassing Kevin Muller’s record which was set at The Clint Eastwood event in 2018.

“Chris now obviously holds the record with 46 hours in total while Barry’s 45 hours is the second best recorded in Australia.” 

Congratulations to all the Aussies who raced at the event! Tremendous efforts by all. 

Ryan Crawford (30 laps)
John Pearson from Coolum Beach, Qld (26 laps)
Neil MacNeil (25 laps)
Noelis Rheault from Carindale, Qld (25 laps)
Cam Munro (24 laps)
Greg Ponych from Wishart, Qld (24 laps)
Guy Schweitzer (24 laps)
Mark Taylor (24 laps)
Mick Thwaites from Banyo, Qld (22 laps)
Jodie Oborne from Balmoral, Qld (21 laps)
Suzanne Chatterton (18 laps)
Kerrie Bremner from Nicholls, ACT (17 laps)
Lisa Spink from Maroochydore, Qld (17 laps)
Susannah Harvey-Jamieson from Bowen Hills, Qld (15 laps)
Kris Ryan from Pacific Pines, Qld (14 laps)

Coming Up
Both the UTA and Ned Kelly Chase have been cancelled for this weekend (24-25 October) however the first events on the November calendar include the Feral Pig Ultra from 7-8 November in Mundaring, WA and the Maritime Run on 14 November at Aldinga Beach, SA.

Pictured: The Australian team with 2 minutes to the start of Big Dog’s Backyard International at Oxley Creek. Photograph – AAA Racing/Facebook.