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…
In 2007, famed ultramarathoner, Dean Karnazes, hit Australian shores to complete yet another massive run – The North Face Summit to Sydney, a 560km brute of a run. It was a feat that introduced Australia runners to The North Face not as a climbing brand, or general adventure brand (of course, it was already both in spades), but as an adventure running brand. We take a look back at how The North Face took to the trail… Time-travel back to 1966, and a…
Victorian adventure athlete and dedicated vegan, Jan Saunders, was looking to become the first Australian to run 866km through the French Pyrenees in an inaugural endurance event, the TransPyrenea challenge which began on 19th July. She’s still out there, competing but facing tougher conditions than imagined, she is now in the La Pastoral edition, an abridged section of the full course, that is still brutal at 450km+ This is an interview with Jan before she headed out, as seen in the latest edition of Trail Run Mag downloaded…
While plenty of attention is garnered by the front runners, we reckon the more moving and inspirational tales of ultra running are found further back in the pack, as with the likes of Brett Sammut whose story from 2015 ran in Edition #17 of Trail Run Mag. With Ultra Trail Australia happening this weekend, we thought it worth a look back at Brett’s experience in the Blue Mountains. WORDS: Chris Ord When life becomes too much, some run away to oblivion. Others, like Brett Sammut, reach…
Would you allow your 12-year-old daughter have a go at running 75 of the hardest trail kilometres in New Zealand? That was the quandary for trail event organiser, photographer and Hillary Trail legend, Shaun Collins and his wife Madeleine, faced when their daughter Zara decided whatever Dad can do, she should be able to. Just before the 2016 Hillary event kicks off, Trail Run Mag caught up to get an insight from both Shaun and Zara. [This article appears in the…
Skyrunning has firmly embedded itself into the Australian and New Zealand trail scene via events such as the Hillary and Mt Difficulty in New Zealand and Buller, Buffalo and the new Vertical K happening next weekend in Australia. While these races do an admirable job emulating their bigger-mountain cousins in the northern hemisphere, the epitome – not to mention the origins – of Skyrunning is found in Italy and within the hearts and minds of founders, Lauri van Houten and Marino Giacometti….
How to turn your entire family into trail runners? Take them to the Cook Islands…and take your time. WORDS: & IMAGES: Chris Ord I’ve never DNFed in my life. Without any pride and with much prejudice, I can now say that I’ve joined the quitters’ club. There are no upsides to quitting. You feel a fool. You hate your body for letting you down. You feel depressed. Maudlin. Morose. Dejected. Guilty. Ashamed. More pointedly, pissed off. With all that negativity…
Already one of Australia’s foremost adventurers and remote area outdoor event safety experts, Lucas Trihey is now staging the first National Trail Running Conference in May in the Blue Mountains. Trail Run Mag quizzed him about his latest big adventure. Interview: Dan Lewis. SO TELL US, WHO IS LUCAS TRIHEY? I’ve spent 30 years working in adventure. I’ve worked as a climbing and expedition guide and spent six years editing and publishing outdoor and adventure magazines. I’ve climbed new routes on cliffs…
Kiwi running legend, Mal Law, is about to undertake the most audacious feat of his life… the High Five-0 Challenge: fifty marathons, fifty mountains, fifty days. Before that it was the 7-in-7 and the Coastal Path Challenges with a bunch of other cause-related runs packed in between. On the eve of his biggest challenge to date – and biggest fundraising effort with almost $300K raised for Mental Health Foundation of NZ (MHF) – we thought we’d re-run a very personal piece he wrote for the…
For more than 14 years, running was an addictive curse feeding a sickness that clouded Lauren Starr’s world. TRM Editor, Chris Ord, goes for a run with an inspiring young woman who has battled Anorexia Nervosa and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I am an insensitive idiot. For most of her life, Lauren Starr has suffered from anorexia nervosa. An eating disorder. So where do I arrange to meet for the first time? “Let’s meet at The Pantry, it’s a great little…
