Helen Stanger

When 1986 produced Australia’s first female 200km performance over 24 hours [Cynthia Herbert], no one would have envisaged that the emergence of a talent who would toy with such a distance would be just a few short years away.  The arrival of Helen Stanger produced a whole new standard of Australian female ultrarunning.

Born in 1950, The resident of the Sydney suburb of Loftus spent her pre running years raising two children and renovating a house, a period of her life that saw the nick name of “Six Bricks” bestowed upon her.  Carrying six bricks at a time was an obvious sign of her level of toughness, an asset that would carry her to ultra glory in years to come.

Completing a 1986 10km fun run in her first race barely scratched the surface of what was to come.  Joining the well known “Billy’s Bushies” running club was the precedent to a first up 3:45 marathon. In 1988 the unassuming Helen arrived at the start of the Sydney – Wollongong 50 miler having convinced her running mates that she was there for one of the relay legs.  The fact was that she intended to run the entire course solo, which she did in 7:43 to win the women’s section. 

The Helen Stanger juggernaut had begun.Helen’s first 24 hour event in 1989 produced a total of 186km, an effort that put her into the Sutherland Hospital on a drip.  Showing her courage, February 1990 saw her first [of what was to be many] 200km performance at Sydney’s Hensley Field when she clocked up 200.8km achieving a qualifier for the Westfield Sydney to Melbourne race.   Later the same year at the old Campbelltown Six Day Race, Helen debuted at the distance with a creditable 691.58km then followed up soon after with another 24 hour event clocking up 188km.

Bill Hick had this to say about Helen’s maiden Six Day Race:

“I remember Helen's six day race vividly. She ran well for the first couple of days until she developed painful blisters which severely limited her ability to run. I spent 24 hours with her over the third/fourth days. During the night she made me inject Iodine (or Friars Balsam) through the blister and direct onto the raw skin. The screams from our tent had everyone wondering what was going on, but she wouldn't let me stop until I had injected every blister. The looks I received from the other runners and their crews when I stepped out of the tent will stay with me forever. After a few hours rest, she made me do it again before she limped back out onto the track and continued running. She had a ton of guts and determination, the likes of which I have never seen in another human being”.

Early in 1991, Helen lined up in what was to be the last Sydney to Melbourne race.  Ultimately she was the last woman standing, however injuries put paid to her run after 770km.  As her coach Billy Collis said at the time “She’s not a happy chappie”.  This was to be her ultimate disappointment. With the demise of the Westfield run, any chance for atonement was dashed. Helen herself felt more disappointment for her crew and supporters. “They worked so hard to get me there”, she lamented.  “I wanted to finish for them more than myself”.

Following her Sydney to Melbourne let down, Helen decided that she wanted to improve at 24 hours, an event that was to become her specialty and see her move forward in the most emphatic of fashions.

The Adelaide 24 hour in 1991 produced a new Australian record of 207.96km to finish second outright to the legendary late Bryan Smith.  This performance also qualified her for the IAU World 24 Hour Championships in Switzerland, a race in which she clocked up 206km.  It was the Adelaide event in which Helen struck up a long and close friendship with Bryan and Jan Smith.   Helen described Bryan as her running soulmate, sharing the tough times on the track together and helping motivate each other during those gruelling times in the small hours of the night.  At the Swiss 24 Hour, Helen met German runner Horst Hofmeyer and his wife Dore. The friendship remains strong.  In fact, Helen and partner, Bill Hick, will be visiting them later this year.

Early in 1992, Helen represented Australia at New Zealand’s “That Dam Run 100km” finishing in 8:58.   Later in 1992, 196km at Coburg’s 24 hour event was the third and last time Helen failed to reach 200km.  1993 at Wollongong saw a new Australian record of 213.49km. Again, second outright to Bryan Smith.  By this stage, the sight of Helen, coach Billy Collis and a number of other crew members from “Billy’s Bushies” had become a familiar part of the furniture at the ultra venues around Australia.

The gruelling one-off Trans Tasmania International Seven Day Race in 1994 in freezing conditions was another highlight.  Second female behind the great Eleanor Adams was a superb result.

Returning to the Wollongong event in 1995, Helen extended her national mark to 219.78km.  This was also the year she tackled the 48 hour event at Lota, Queensland.  329.256km was a new Australasian record. In September, she knocked out a 9:04 in hot and exposed conditions at a 100km road race in Shepparton [Country Victoria]

When the Coburg events of 1996 and 1997 produced totals of 211km and 206km respectively, Helen lamented that she seemed to be getting slower, however the best was still to come.

The Coburg event of August 1998 was undoubtedly Helen’s single best performance. Running a steady and controlled race under the watchful eye of Billy Collis, she defied stomach problems and continual dry reaching to maintain her pace throughout the night. Despite being unable to keep any food down, she passed runners at a rapid rate and moved into second position outright [behind Yiannis Kouros!!!] as the sun rose. Her final distance of 229.08km was well and truly an Australasian record and a performance that put her amongst the world’s elite. No other Australian woman had ever come close to such a distance and hasn’t since.  Helen was never beaten over 24 hours by another woman, a statistic that gives her a “Herb Elliott” like record.

1999 produced a marathon best of 3:04 on route to a 50km time of 3:46

Coupled with her enormous successes on the track and road, she also showed her class with many other creditable performances at the Six Foot Track, the old Royal National Park 50 milers [later to become 50kms], a one-off Brindabella in 1989 and a couple of the old Shoalhaven 46km “King of the Mountains”

Now retired from ultras, Helen recently knocked out a 98 minute half marathon, proving she is far from over the hill.

Helen is the most unassuming of people and reticent to talk of her exploits [although she does have a teddy bear collection, one for each race!]. I was surprised to discover that she never kept a training diary but 130-160km a week appeared to be a figure that sounded familiar to her.  Rather than remember her performances, Helen’s strongest memories are of the friendships she made during her career and the manner in which runners would help each other.  Comparing pain, blister management and balancing food were just a few of the topics of conversation that she enjoyed mid race.

Helen was playing down her obvious guts and tenacity when she nominated her coach, Billy Collis, as her reason for success.  “He used to use negative motivation but I was a wake up to him and always stayed one step ahead” she laughed……”And I still do”, she added

Helen Stanger wrote a chapter all her own with a string of performances that I believe will remain unsurpassed for a very long time.  She was the ultimate example of what can be achieved with a bucket load of hard work and dedication.   Helen’s awesome collection of National and Australasian records below make a lengthy list indeed and ensures her position in the AURA Hall of Fame.

Track Personal Bests

Compiled by AURA Ultramag Editor Kevin Cassidy from AURA records and from Bill Hick and Billy Collis