Great Ocean Road Running Festival, Vic
Ultra-Trail Australia, NSW
Two major races took place over the weekend, and we couldn’t be more proud of all our AURA members who participated in either one.
The Great Ocean Road Running Festival was held on Sunday, May 20 with the event’s 60kms ultra marathon start line from Lorne, Vic.
In a massive effort, and with a time of 4:18:50, AURA member Natasha Fraser from Ballarat, Vic was the overall winner, sweeping in and claiming the title of first place in a field of 84 runners. She truly showed what ultra running is about, all while making it seem so effortless as she crossed the line an entire 11 minutes ahead of the second place getter from Malaysia.
Congratulations also goes to Gregory Farrell (5:17:44) and Mike Pickavance (6:21:22) who completed the distance in great times!
Ultra-Trail Australia was another big event race held, in the glorious Blue Mountains. About 965 runners took to the 100kms event, and our AURA members did so well it’s hard to know where to begin!
Forty-one year old AURA member Brendan Davies from Woodford, NSW took home the title, claiming his second UTA 100kms with a time of 9:18:10 – crossing the finish line proudly with an Australian flag.
First female through the chute was Kellie Emmerson from Kilsyth in Vic, where she claimed victory in the 100kms with a time of 11:05:48. The 32-year-old led for the majority of the race, battling it out with runner Jessica Carroll throughout the distance, but came out on top with a nine minute difference.
A whopping congratulations to everyone who ran at UTA this year in the 100kms, including Ewan Horsburg (11:03:11), Gary Mullins (11:35:20), Howard Norton (11:50:43), Katherine McMillan (12:17:09), Malcolm Gamble (12:31:07), Simon Neale (12:55:48), Todd Paul (13:07:43), Sarah Ludowici (13:28:04), Ben Hirst (13:41:00), Ben Jozefiak (13:44:33), Mak Sawa (13:49:59), Chris Lewinski (13:53:22), Stuart Hughes (14:00:34), Joe Lewis (14:23:16), Ash Daniels (14:33:16), Wayne McMurtrie (14:55:00), David Campbell (15:20:27), Brad Malone (15:38:42), Piera Kohout (15:51:33), Alan Wheat (16:17:14), Roylene Stanley (16:50:54), Lauren Shay (17:35:17), Andrew Speakman (17:37:07), Darryl McKenzie (18:43:07), Stephen Wright (19:24:44), Mark Barger (20:02:04), Martin Thomas (20:56:38), Justin Parise (21:53:59), Eloise Simons (22:33:50) and Samantha Post (27:20:15).
About 1822 runners participated in the 50kms event, and if you’re an AURA member who participated, we’d love to hear from you! Send through a race report or story about your experience on the course to ultramag@aura.asn.au
Pictured: Natasha Fraser winning the Great Ocean Road Running Festival’s 60kms Ultra Marathon event. Photograph – Supplied.
Pictured Above: Brendan Davies at the finish line of UTA this weekend. Photograph – Supplied/Facebook.
