Dear Diary, this year I had a miserable run at Ultra-Trail Australia. Some days you have a great race, some days you don’t. 2017’s UTA was a poor one. I guess it happens? So what went wrong and what can I learn from it? Endurance sports are, at least at the amateur level, perhaps the most incredibly arbitrary of all sports. Dictionary.com defines arbitrary as “subject to individual will or judgment without restriction; contingent solely upon one’s discretion.” I can…
It was a birthday celebration to remember not only for the Ultra Trail Australia event enjoying its tenth outing, but also for the women’s winner, Lucy Bartholomew, who took out the women’s title on her 21st birthday. It was a satisfying victory for Lucy, who began her trail running career at the tender age of 16 running the Surf Coast Century amid a swirl of age/ultra participation debate and was often banned by some event organisers from competing in ultras…
“I had no idea what I was in for – the flowing single track of the night run; then the vast expanses of flat terrain that we traversed before reaching rugged ranges over which we clambered under a searing sun; then the depths of gorges so vast that they humbled my weary body.” For Hanny Allston, elite ultra trail runner, the landscapes of Larapinta were unlike anything back home in Tasmania. She had pushed her body across the Larapinta Trail…
TRM’s Associate Editor, Tegyn Angel casts his eye to the bloom of multi day trail running events that spring up in exotic locations, with only a thin veneer of ‘competition’ but a thick layering of adventure. IMAGES: courtesy of events When my teenage self learned that people paid, and were paid, to go on guided hikes into incredible places like Everest Basecamp and Macchu Picchu, I couldn’t believe my ears. What a rort! How do I find some silly bugger…
Majell Backhausen previews an event that promises to change the lives of not just westerners who take up the seven-day challenge, but also the lives of a few Nepali locals… It’s already April. The year is passing by quicker than it did last year and funnily enough, quicker than the year before that, too. There has already been a few “where does the time go, how will I get through another week at this pace?” fretful moments. If the sentiment…
The Ledlenser Trails In Motion Film Festival (TIMFF) has announced an official 11-stop tour of Australia. The full tour roster has been released along with news that the TIMFF has partnered with Ultra Trail Australia event organisers, AROC Sport. As such the TIMFF will premiere at Ultra-Trail Australia in Katoomba New South Wales on the 18th of May, before hitting the road from the 27th of June through to the 17th of August – screening at a mix of independent cinemas and plush…
Come April 2017, endurance ultra running and adventure enthusiasts will be introduced to one of the greatest physical and mental challenges ever held on Australian soil. Nicknamed ‘The Monster’ by its creators, the Down Under 135 (DU135) requires athletes to cover 135 miles (217km) on trails stretching through Victoria’s spectacular Lerderderg and Wombat State Forests in what will be Australia’s longest single stage trail race held over 48 hours. The out-and-back course begins at Bacchus Marsh, located only 40km west…
A new charity trail running and trekking challenge has been launched that promises runners and trekkers an adventure like no other, covering a 100km course that loops off Mount Buller Resort and into Victoria’s rugged High Country. Taking place on 17-19 February 2017, Oscars100 Hut2Hut will see teams of two choosing to trek or run 100kms along mostly single track, including spectacular sections of the Australian Alpine Walking Track (AAWT). Organisers have also put the call out for experienced ultra and/or…
It has been announced that entries for Australia’s biggest trail running festival, Ultra-Trail Australia 2017, will begin to open at 10am on Wednesday October 12th. Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Ultra-Trail Australia will be a four-day trail running festival of unprecedented scope; it’s the UTA 10th birthday party! From May 18 – May 21, 2017, Katoomba, NSW, will play host to over 12,000 athletes, spectators and support crew, converging for a four-day trail running extravaganza. Underpinned by the flagship UTA100 and…
Over two thousand runners are making the journey to Anglesea on the Great Ocean Road this weekend (3-4 September) for a true trail running festival weekend. The Surf Coast Century is one of Australia’s iconic ultra marathons featuring 100km solo, 50km solo and 100km relay team events, as well as incorporating the Australian 100km Trail Running Championships. The action begins on Friday night with the fun 2km Kids Run, continues with the Surf Coast Century on Saturday, starting and finishing…
