COMMITTEE

Experienced ultra runner and long standing AURA member Simone Hayes took on the president’s role in 2023. Along with owning a Sydney-based outdoor group personal training business and being a qualified run coach, Simone entered the world of ultras in 2010 when she ran The North Face 100 – she’s been hooked ever since.

Inspired by the increase of women participating in ultra running and how the community as a whole has embraced the sport from beginners to elite, Simone has established a significant running career and left a deep imprint with achievements, including representing AUS in the 24hr World Championships in Albi, France (2019); finishing C2K (2020), completing Western States (2022) and competing TDS UTMB (2023).

Since coming on board as AURA President, Simone says she is privileged to be a part of AURA, which allows her to promote and grow the sport, engage with the community on a higher level, and help plan for the sport’s fast growth and its future.

“I hope to spend my time at AURA ensuring a strong and robust future within the global running arena so that the Australian running scene continues to thrive.”

Queenslander Matthew Eckford has an abundance of experience when it comes to ultra running. Having been an active and long-standing member of AURA for many years, Matthew was elected as the association’s Vice President in April, 2020.

He has represented Australia not just once, but three times at the World Championships – the 2019 IAU 24hr World Championships in Albi, France; the 2017 24hr World Championships in Belfast, Northern Ireland; and the 2015 24hr World Championships in Turin, Italy.

Matthew has also proudly worn the Green and Gold twice at the Asian Championships – the 2018 Asian/Oceania 24hr Championships in Taipei, Taiwan; and the 2016 Asian/Oceania 24hr Championships in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Wanting to play a larger role in the growth and promotion of the sport, Matthew has applied his strategic skills, passion and knowledge in his role as VP, and continues to inspire athletes to be their performance best. .

With a contagiously positive attitude, Matthew inspires athletes to be their performance best.

“I continuously look forward to helping grow the profile of AURA and the sport of ultra running in Australia.”

A dedicated ultra runner known for his passion for long distance, Stephen Redfern is widely respected for his significant contributions to the Australian ultra community. As AURA’s Secretary, Stephen is dedicated to promoting and supporting the sport, and his involvement with AURA includes various administrative and organisational responsibilities related to endurance events across the country – not only does Stephen participate in ultra races himself, he enjoys volunteering his time so others can concentrate on running while he and the AURA Committee advocate for them.

In his spare time, Stephen is the owner/operator of Ultra Running NSW, which plays a key role in organising and promoting ultra events in NSW. He is also the Race Director of the Southern Sydney 24hr & 48hr Ultra, where he plans and executes the event to allow runners to test themselves against the clock and achieve their goals on a high quality sports track.

Stephen believes ultra running helps him to be mentally, spiritually and physically well adjusted. Notably, he’s competed in the Barkley Marathons (TN, USA), run for 52 days at the Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendance 3100mi race (NY, USA), raced at the Hong Kong Four Trails and finished C2K.

Sydneysider Annabel Hepworth is a long-standing member of AURA and a prolific ultra runner.

While working as a senior writer at a national newspaper, she started running ultras in 2011. Her enthusiasm for running in locations ranging from Mongolia to Chile was soon matched by a fascination with fixed-time multi-days.

She has twice won the AURA Ultra Performance of the Year award – for running 742km at the Adelaide 6 Day, the furthest distance in the world by any female for that format in 2018; and for her 10-day performance in Phoenix, AZ in the USA where her 1000km split was a new female Australian record and IAU world age best performance for F45. Inspired by the world-class recent performances of women in their 50s, she now hopes to go further still.

Keen to support the sport’s development, she was elected to the Treasurer’s role for AURA in 2023. She wants to apply her experience as a senior journalist and adviser to help shape the future direction, reputation and sustainability of the sport.

“I want to deliver for members and support the exciting growth in our sport.”