Who doesn’t loves a new race especially when its a virtual challenge that also aims to protect wild places? With over 5 million hectares of land devastated in Australia by bushfires (so far) this summer it’s even more important now to protect our remaining forests and wild places. This led to the launch of the ‘Run for Wild Places’ challenge. It’s a new challenge event for runners created by one of the guys who created the Takayna Ultra (that takes place…
An international field of runners took part in Thailand’s “Ultra Trail Challenge” on the weekend, The North Face 100® Thailand 2020, which was held in Nakhon Ratchasima province. Competing across four distances – 15km, 25km, 50km and 100km – a record 4,200 runners from more than 20 countries enjoyed the hills, stunning views and tough trails in the surrounds of Khao Yai. Now in its nine edition, The North Face 100® Thailand is a qualifying event for the Ultra-Trail du…
Both the men’s 100-Miler and 102km races will be stacked with elite international athletes sprinkled with local stars hoping to mix it with the best in the world at this weekend’s Tarawera Ultra Marathon event in Rotorua. Race Director Tim Day says the increasing depth in fields for both the men’s 102km and 100-Miler is a sign of the growing maturity of the race and its international reputation. “We have had so many rock-stars in the world of trail running…
Strava announced the launch of its relief run to raise money across the world for the Australian bushfire disaster. In light of devastating fires in Australia, Australian runners have teamed up to create a virtual half marathon and 5K through a Strava Challenge to raise money for relief efforts. The aim is to spread the word within Strava’s global community and use the power of footsteps to support those in need. Anyone who is keen to participate and contribute to the cause, can join…
It is difficult to argue that there is a more important muscle group in running than the calves, triceps surae, or as I prefer to call them, calvies (a muscle group by any other name….). Let’s get some context around just how important this incredible muscle group is. Comprised of the gastrocnemius (the bulk of the upper calf), the soleus – the powerhouse of the calvies complex, lying deep to the gastrocs and lower down, and the Achilles tendon, the…
The results of a study have been released today, exploring the trends in ultra running over the last 23 years. RunRepeat has analyzed 5,010,730 results from 15,451 ultra running events… Key results ● Female ultra runners are faster than male ultra runners at distances over 195 miles. The average female pace is 17:19 min/mile, which is 0.6% faster than the average male pace of 17:25 min/mile. ● Participation has increased by 1676% in the last 23 years from 34,401 to…
Ready for your next fix of dirty reading/ Check out the latest edition of Australasia’s fave mag chock full of grit, and grime and single track sauciness! You can purchase a subscription HERE. Or buy a single edition print of PDF download HERE. In this edition: FEATURES Finding Your Feet:Hanny Allston Western Front:The Battle for Takayna Last Woman Standing:Katie Wright Mad Mission:Man Alone Through a Volcanic Heartland White Out:Yukon Ultra Trail Muse:The Unholy Trinity Editors’ Columns : Chris Ord & Vickie Woolley…
7000 trail runners and their supporters descended on Katoomba’s Scenic World and the surrounding World Heritage listed Blue Mountains National Park this weekend for the 12thedition of what is now the third largest trail running festival in the world, Ultra-Trail Australia. Conditions were perfect, with 50km and 100km runners treated to stunning blue skies and sunshine for the entire day, making it one of the best race days the event has seen in years. Polish runner Marcin Swierc claimed victory in…
Special trail envoy, Roger Hanney, takes a look back at how Ultra Trail Australia came to be the biggest trail running outing in the Southern Hemisphere and the second biggest on the planet. IMAGES: Kamil Sustiak Most sane people would run a mile at the thought of racing 100 kilometres on foot. But that distance is the main event at a multiday trail running festival in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, across the third weekend of May. Ultra-Trail Australia began in 2008…
Perth’s Justin Scarvaci bolted onto the home straight to win the Margaret River Ultra Marathon on Saturday, recording a new course record time of 7:46.26 despite howling winds and whipping sand. “It was a hard course, really brutal. There were strong headwinds. The sand section was horrible but I got through it OK. I just tried to stay focused on making ground on some of the relay runners. I was running in their footsteps in the sand and trying to…
