WRITTEN BY: KATE DZIENIS IMAGE: ASTRID VOLZKE HOW DOES PHIL GORE DO IT? WINNING ALMOST EVERY BACKYARD ULTRA IN AUSTRALIA AND SETTING RECORDS? He went from 5km a day to smashing yard records in Australian backyard ultras, and now he’s known as the Backyard King. Since his first 12km race in 2014, West Australian Phil Gore has gone from humble beginnings to having his presence known when walking up to the start…
WORDS: LONNEKE KEFALAS IMAGES: MATT HULL PHOTOGRAPHY, LONNEKE KEFALAS Run Larapinta: Malbunka long course, 21-24 April 2021 Run Larapinta! It was a long time in the making and it went by too fast! We registered in November 2019 for the August 2020 event, which, due to COVID-19, had to be postponed to April 2021. It was well worth the wait! What an amazing four days of running in beautiful scenery on rugged terrain (brutal at times), with a group of…
Ultramarathon runner Damian Hall has set a new record time for the 185-mile Wainwright’s Coast to Coast route. Running west to east, from St Bees on the Irish Sea coastline to Robin Hood’s Bay on the shores of the North Sea, the inov-8 athlete completed the iconic cross-England challenge in an incredible time of 39 hours and 18 minutes. Damian beat Mike Hartley’s previous record, which had stood for 30 years, by 18 minutes. Established by legendary guidebook author Alfred…
WORDS AND IMAGES: SARAH FOSTER Ultra runner Sarah Foster likes piña coladas. Fortunately, she also doesn’t mind getting caught in the rain! In 2020, she took a break from the cattle station she co-manages in outback Queensland to run and fast pack the rugged Thorsborne Trail on Hinchinbrook Island. Here, she shares her story for Trail Run Mag. I grew up on the coast north of Townsville, Queensland, in a little Italian town called Ingham (and no, it is not…
Photos: Majell Backhausen Trail runner and ultra athlete Majell Backhausen explains why takayna Ultra, in north-west Tasmania, is full of heart, connection, and like no other event he has experienced in the world of trail running. I’d like to acknowledge and pay my respects to the traditional owners of the lands which this event is held, the people of takayna. And pay my respects to their Elders past, present and emerging. As I scan the space in Marrawah Hall, it’s…
In 2019, New Zealander ROGER LESLIE completed the formidable yet breathtaking Swiss Canyon Trail ultramarathon. He gives Trail Run Mag a recap of his remarkable adventure – packed with everything from mind-bogglingly steep ascents and descents, to stunning scenery, to helping an injured runner, to ice-cream! The 5am blast of an alp-horn released the pent-up energy of 500 runners into the brisk pre-dawn of the Val de Travers in Canton Neuchãtel, Western Switzerland. The front runners disappeared in a swirl…
Images: Mat Vaughan This year, Australian trail runner Lucy Clark, 34, turned heads when she recorded the fastest-known time on the Te Araroa, a 3,000km trail that snakes the entire length of New Zealand from Cape Reinga, the northernmost tip, all the way down to Bluff in the South Island. NICKI LETTS joined Lucy for part of her astounding feat. A few weeks after finishing her record-breaking run of the Te Araroa (TA) in January, Lucy Clark could barely run…
What do you do when all your events are cancelled? Make up your own! GARY BOYCE gives us a race recap of his Twisted D.E.E.R. 50km Ultra. With event after event either being postponed or cancelled, I thought why am I training? I get up, go for a run, come home and repeat. Running was losing its purpose and I was losing my love for the trails. I had read and talked to other runners and the same vibe was…
Damian battling wild weather at Tan Hill Inn – highest pub in England.INOV-8.COM / DAVE MACFARLANE Top ultramarathon runner Damian Hall has set a new record time for the 268-mile Pennine Way – while cleaning the trail of litter at the same time. The 44-year-old inov-8 ambassador completed the iconic route from Kirk Yetholm in the Scottish Borders to Edale, Derbyshire, which includes a section along Hadrian’s Wall, in an incredible time of 61 hours 34 minutes, beating the previous record…
Written by Annabelle Latz. Photos by Xavier Briel. Nothing could prepare me for it, and nothing will ever compare to it. Running on a white vastness, a cloud-whispered light-blue sky above, amongst an absence of landmarks and an abundance of flat land… Welcome to the Salt Pans Ultra Trail Marathon, Botswana’s inaugural ultramarathon stage race. For 100km, over three days, 25 of us ran across a section of the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans. Located in Northern Botswana, this vast expanse of…
