Brisbane Track Ultra Race Director’s Report

By Susannah Harvey-Jamieson

It’s been five years since Brisbane held a 24-hour track event – five years too long. River City Runners (RCR) appointed Jodie Oborne and I as race directors for the inaugural Brisbane Track Ultra.

The Queensland State Athletics Centre in Nathan was the chosen location, a world-class facility with its surface relaid just two months prior to our event. This made it an ideal track to run on.

BTU attracted attention from athletes across Australia and we were graced by some big names in the 24-hour field.

With a 10am start on Saturday, September 23, the 24-hour event and marathoners got underway.

As the kilometres began to stack up, so too did the temperature. Heat was a major concern, but fortunately there was access to a hose –a welcome relief for all athletes. The high settled around 32 degrees, and it made for challenging conditions, but it didn’t seem to unmotivate any of the competitors.

Adding to the motivation was Ben Dennien, who provided us with pumping music for all the times that council regulations allowed. In addition, Ben ran in the 12-hour event, starting at 12pm and managing to clock more than 104kms. Meanwhile, Barry Loveday wowed us with his simply incredible walk/run strategy which collated in 123.206kms.

From early on, it was obvious that Isobel Ross was keen to make an ambitious debut to the track. With Nikki Wynd helping her (and running in the 6-hour) we knew we were up for an impressive performance. Anabel Hepworth, Sabina Hamaty and Hayley Farry (another first-timer) ensured that the ladies field was a competitive one. In the men’s, some very familiar names were also included with veteran Tony Wilms really pushing himself at every stage. Chris Knowles, Carl Schodde (debut at 24-hour) and Matt Fitzgerald had to work hard to counter the heat.

Just on nightfall, the 6-hour teams and individuals took to the ground, providing the 12 and 24-hour runners with increased pace and some welcome chatter. RCR put in a team, Jodie managed to wrangle her son’s school to put together another team (79.887kms) and Amanda (club president), Jodie and I decided that we really should participate in the fun as well. Kevin Muller put in an impressive 70.26kms run to win the 6-hour individual. By midnight, the music was off, the lights dimmed and the 24-hour runners were on their own.

At 8am sharp Sunday, Ben cranked up the sounds and got the runners back into form. The heat started to make itself known too, but with an impromptu cheer squad and the hose back on, the kilometres were continuing to rise. Watching Isobel being so consistent and tenacious in her running strategy was captivating. Was she going to be able to make 200kms? When the hooter went at 10am, it was so close, and not to be. Her final tally was 198.740kms, which given the conditions was amazing. This earned her a spot as first woman and first overall. In fact, the women were first, second and third, only showing that experience does really account for a lot in track ultras.

Our congratulations go out to all participants. It was by no means an easy day and we appreciated all those who competed, as well as their crew members and to those to just came down to have a look. The River City Runners were impeccable in their volunteering, nothing was left to chance. BTU was blessed with a multitude of sponsors who provided some great prizes and race packs including Salming, Rebel Sports, Gus and Discounts, Scody, Revvies, Hammer, Peak, Chia, and Steigen.

We have booked QSAC for next year – will you be there?

Pictured: Men’s podium Matt Fitzgerald (169.435), Carl Schodde (145.49), and Chris Knowles (124.916) with Amanda Neil (L) and Jodie Oborne (R). Image - Supplied. 

Susannah Harvey-Jamieson is a race director for the 2017 Brisbane Track Ultra.