WEEKLY NEWS REPORT – 23/10/2019

Kate Dzienis • October 23, 2019

Butter24, Qld
Blackall 100 & 50, Qld
GOW100s, Vic

There were some truly amazing performances at the weekend amongst AURA members and the ultra running community as a whole, and first we’ll go back to late September for the Sunshine Coast BUTTER24 which was held on 28 September in Brisbane, Qld with 6hr, 12hr and 24hr options.

BUTTER24

Participants ran loops of the University of Sunshine Coast track facility known for its ‘sandwich system’ which offers cushioning and rebound, a favourable condition for endurance events.

In the 24hr event, AURA’s Kathryn Austin from Springfield Lakes, Qld took home 1st Female after completing 163.798km. In 2nd place was Lisa O’Brien with 153.167km whilst 3rd was Amanda Pavey with 118.473kms.

For the men’s event in the 24hr, Dean Ivy took 1st Male after completing 185.312km, whilst 2nd went to AURA member Greg Ponych from Wishart, Qld who finished his day with 181.713km. Third was taken by another AURA member, Fergus Edwards from Launceston, Tas who completed 164.010km.

Congratulations to AURA members Kerrie Williamson (106.400km) and Kevin McCann (64.400km) who finished their 24hr events with great distances.

On to the 12hr event, podium finishes for the women went to Nicole Jukes (102.032km), Suzanne Wilson (72.653km) and Alexiallfc [sic] Broome (20.400km) whilst for the men it was Ben Dennien (109.542km), Trevor Lampard (104.860km) and Matt Fitzgerald (104.698km).

Well done to AURA member Andrew Kruck from Brisbane, Qld who completed the 12hr with 102.540km.

In the 6hr event, AURA’s Kerrie Bremner from Nicholls, ACT who took home top spot with 1st Female after completing a total of 60.199km. Second spot went to Cheryl McLean (42.493km).

For the men, podium finishes went to Robert Trims (76.604km), David Scroope (72.287km) and Josh Dinale (65.717km) respectively.

Blackall 100 & 50

The highly anticipated Blackall 100 & 50 trail event took place on Saturday (October 19) along the Sunshine Coast Hinterland Great Walk’s Blackall Range. Considered a large scale event, the Blackall offers a personal challenge with spectacular scenery and brilliant support.

On the morning, 199 participants stood at the start line for the 100km event with 173 successfully completing the distance.

For the women’s top spots, AURA’s very own Jessica Schluter from Keperra, Qld smashed the event and took control of the 1st Female position with a finish time of 11:38:37. She was a decent 20 minutes ahead of 2nd Female winner Alana Vought (11:59:00) whilst 3rd Female went to Chrissy Redwod (12:25:27).

For the men, Ryan Crawford took 1st Male and cemented a new course record with 9:53:53 (previous record was held by last year’s male winner Yun Phua in 9:57:21). Second Male went to New Zealander Steve Pemberton who finished in 10:20:40 whilst 3rd Male was held by Darryl Hill (11:00:25).

Congratulations to all our AURA members who took on the Blackall 100 including Shona Stephenson (13:02:44), Andrew Speakman (14:55:04), Jason Parsons (15:45:37), Cora Lau (15:46:42), Gregory Brown (17:29:21), Alena Scurrah and David Von Senden.

In the 50km, about 420 runners gathered their gear for the trails while about 413 successfully completed the course.

Podium standings in the men went to Josh Corcoran (4:32:37), Luke Garrett (4:38:38) and Oskar Booth (4:52:25). In the women spots went to Cecilia Mattas (4:59:59), Emma Burgess (5:30:19) and Mindy Durdin (5:40:26).

Congratulations to AURA members who raced in the 50km including Nicole Kruse (8:06:41), Lynn Mazza (9:30:25) and Benjamin Duffus.

GOW100s

The GOW100s event on Saturday (October 19) was held on the west coast of Vic through the Otway Ranges, along beaches, through rainforest and across rocky headlands, however the weather leading up to the event came into question if the race would go ahead.

It was decided on Thursday (October 17) that due to potential 6-metre swells and near gale force winds, the course would be modified for the safety of runners and volunteers.

The course was changed with a start in Apollo Bay at the anchor and then running to Aire River for a turnaround, with the remainder of the course heading for a finish at Marengo Caravan Park. With the modification, it means the distance was changed to 80km, the equivalent of a 50 miler.

The news didn’t stop 89 racers from participating though (81 finishing) and the event kicked off.

For the men, Tony Lopez took 1st Male with 8:05:12 whilst AURA member Damian Smith from Nowra, NSW claimed 2nd Male, finishing in a time of 8:08:49. Dan Beard completed the race in 8:39:41.

In the women’s race 1st Female went to Jo Nevin (8:16:07), 2nd went to Kerryn McTaggart (9:40:53) and 3rd went to Martine Nield (9:53:59).

Congratulations to all our AURA members who braved the weather including Adam Waites (9:59:50), Joseph Lewis(9:59:53), Tim Kacprzak (10:08:06), Nicole Vaughan (10:30:31), Niall Roche (10:34:27), Tony O’Connell (11:42:40), Mark Falls (12:46:46), Bill Bardsley (12:52:06), Oliver Mestdagh (14:10:10), Rob Sutton (14:19:30) and Jody Daff.

International news

With the infamous Big Dog’s Backyard Ultra held over the weekend in the US (Bell Buckle, Tennessee) it was hard to not keep an eye on social media posts as AURA’s David Giles held on strong against a highly competitive field of 72 runners.

Giles, from Willetton in WA, completed a total of 116.66km and finished 28th according to official results.

Last one standing was American Maggie Guterl from Colorado who totalled 250km.

Coming up

This weekend is another couple days of stellar events including the Heysen 105 in Newland Hill, SA on Saturday; the IAU 24hr World Championships in Albi, France on Saturday; the Ned Kelly Chase 50km and 100km in Wangaratta, Vic which also doubles as the National 100km Championships; and the Mico RunningWorks Ultra 50km at The Spectacles in WA.

Reports

If you are an AURA member and would like to contribute to the next edition of Ultramag which is due out very soon, email your race report along with high resolution images attached to the body of the email to ultramag@aura.asn.au

Pictured: Jessica Schluter ringing the bell at the end of her Blackall 100. Photograph – Blackall 100/Facebook

< Older Post

Newer Post >

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.