Ultra-Trail Australia Set to Launch!
It’s not just the name that’s changed when it comes to one of Australia’s greatest sporting events. What was the North Face 100 is now Ultra-Trail Australia, and the feast of associated trail running events in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales is bigger than ever.
Additions to the five-day festival include the Pace UTA22, a 21.6km race across the Jamison Valley from Queen Victoria Hospital at Wentworth Falls to Scenic World at Katoomba, and the leg-burning Scenic World UTA951 time trial up the fabled Furber Steps at Katoomba. There will also be an expanded UTA Expo celebrating the world of ultra-trail running and adventure plus an exclusive post-race Finisher’s Lounge at Scenic World for runners and their families, complete with bean bags.
Other things haven’t changed. This is still the biggest trail running event in the Southern Hemisphere. Between May 11 and 15, the Blue Mountains will host thousands of visiting competitors, support crew and spectators.
“It will be the biggest trail running party Australia has ever seen,” says Ultra-Trail Australia race director Tom Landon-Smith.
The powerful attraction is running through some of the most spectacular landscapes the World Heritage Blue Mountains have to offer – Narrow Neck, the Megalong Valley, Six Foot Track, Kedumba Pass, Furber Steps, Kings Tableland, Golden Stairs, Tarros Ladder, clifftop tracks, Federal Pass and the Jamison Valley. The 100km event has about 4300m of total climbs and descents.
UTA is now so popular that the main feature, the 100km race, is already sold out, as is the 50km race, with about 1500 runners in each. Runners are coming from more than 20 nations. Some of them will be the elite of the world’s trail running fraternity, attracted because the event is also part of the prestigious Ultra-Trail World Tour.
The new Pace UTA22 already has hundreds of runners signed up as well. Top Blue Mountains runner Brendan Davies, a previous winner of the 100km classic, has chosen to run the 22km event this year and is a favourite to take out the race.
“Since the inaugural 2008 edition, Ultra-Trail Australia has experienced meteoric growth in participation numbers,” Mr Landon-Smith says. “Its status as Australia’s premier trail ultra-marathon was confirmed in 2014 with an invitation to join Ultra-Trail World Tour as part of a prestigious group of iconic international events. The recent rebranding builds on this distinction. The 2016 event will feature a start list abounding with international trail running professionals, all vying for valuable world tour points. The course itself was selected after a rigourous and exhaustive survey of the entire nation. It showcases the lush rainforests, ethereal waterfalls, vast tablelands, stunning rock formations and breathe-taking views of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area. It is truly beautiful.”
The UTA Expo on the Thursday and Friday will feature 40 stands of product exhibitors, gear demonstrations, food stalls, coffee stands, film screenings, nutrition workshops, kids’ activities, athlete forums and keynote presentations. As well as stallholders representing the adventure and trail running communities, there will be stallholders from the Blue Mountains community showcasing local arts and produce. The Expo is designed to not only entertain the visitors but “also engage the local Blue Mountains community and celebrate the unique and diverse qualities of the area”, Mr Landon-Smith said.
Trails in Motion is an international film tour of the finest trail running films and will screen at UTA on the night of Thursday, May 12.
Katoomba’s Scenic World will again host the start and finish line of the UTA festival. In a first for Scenic World, it will join with UTA to sponsor the new UTA951 Furber Steps time trial as part of the 2016 festival. “With unique transportation to the start of the timed stair trial – participants will travel from Scenic World down into the valley on the Scenic Railway – the UTA951 is named for the number of stairs runners will climb over the one kilometre course length, while gaining about 220m in elevation,” Mr Landon-Smith says. “The Scenic World UTA951 stair race will be a leg-burning, heart-pumping time trial. With starts held over a one-hour period on Thursday afternoon, Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, the Scenic World UTA951 will have a running leader board that will see people heading back to the stairs for multiple cracks at this lung-busting climb.”
Mr Landon-Smith says the Pace UTA22 is “a great introduction to UTA and trail running. It is a challenging course that takes in the beauty of the Blue Mountains but is still achievable for novice trail runners.” The course has about 1200m of total climbs and descents.
The 2015 UTA 100km race boasted a feel-good start and a ferocious finish. Nepal’s Purna Tamang bravely ran at the front of the race in its early stages, just weeks after his country was devastated and his own home destroyed by an earthquake. The crowd roared when he came home in 20th place.
Midway through the race, as the men climbed out of the Megalong Valley, it was Katoomba-based New Zealander Scott Hawker in the lead. In the end, American Dylan Bowman prevailed in a record time of just under nine hours, followed by Hawker.
China’s Dong Li was the first woman home in just over 11 hours, followed by Amy Sproston of the US.
In the 50km race, the men’s winner was Andrius Ramonas of Lithuania while Australia’s Emma Rilen was the first woman home.
The 50km race also featured 21-year-old American Bobby O’Donnell, who was looking to find peace again by running in the Blue Mountains bush after the trauma of experiencing the Boston Marathon bombing of 2013. He finished in just over seven hours and described the race as “a beautiful experience”.
The UTA festival is also a major employer of the expert Blue Mountains outdoor adventure guiding community, who help man the check points and provide vital first aid assistance to runners. Many others volunteer their help to the festival.
Mr Landon-Smith says: “Harnessing massive community support and countless volunteers, Ultra-Trail Australia epitomises the self-giving spirit of Australia and its people. The event is renowned for unfailing camaraderie amongst athletes and helpers alike. In striving for an all-inclusive approach, a generous 27-hour cut-off in the 100km event caters to the full spectrum of athletic capability, whilst children too have the opportunity to participate in the free Injinji 1km-4-Kids race held at the culmination of the festival.
“Attracting record numbers of athletes and helpers over distances previously considered to be far beyond the reach of most, Ultra-Trail Australia stands as a celebration of our pristine wilderness and the unlimited potential of the human spirit.”
Go to www.ultratrailaustralia.com.au for more details about the festival and to get on the waiting list in case others drop out of the 50km and 100km races.
By Dan Lewis