Sydney to Melbourne Ultramarathon

Last updated

The Westfield Sydney to Melbourne Ultramarathon was an annual ultramarathon foot race held between 1983 and 1991. It was sponsored by the Westfield Group, with the start being at Westfield Parramatta shopping centre and the finish at Westfield Doncaster shopping centre (formerly known as "Doncaster Shoppingtown").The event was the brainchild of Martin "Alby" Noonan, a keen and talented distance runner who at the time was the Marketing and Promotions Manager for the Westfield Doncaster shopping centre.

Contents

The five-day event, which ranged in distance from 864 kilometres (537 miles) to 1,060 kilometres (660 miles), was regarded as one of the toughest in the world. It was particularly notable for having been won in 1983 by Cliff Young, an almost unknown 61-year-old potato farmer from Beech Forest, Victoria.

Yiannis Kouros won the men's race five times. In 1988, the race organiser challenged him to start 12 hours behind the rest of the field. [1] Kouros overtook his competitors and won the race with a one-hour lead over New Zealander Dick Tout. [2]

The first woman to compete was Australian Caroline Vaughan who ran in 1984. [3] Vaughan did not finish the race. In 1985, three women competed and finished: British ultramarathon runner Eleanor Robinson (then Eleanor Adams), Donna Hudson of the US and Australian Margaret Smith. Robinson won the women's race three times.

The final running of the event included prize money ($60,000 for first place), a handicapping system and a change to the course. It ceased being held when the Westfield Group withdrew its support.

Results

1983

  1. Cliff Young: 5d 15h 04m
  2. George Perdon: 6d 01h 00m
  3. Siggy Bauer: 6d 05h 00m

6 finishers

1984

  1. Geoff Molloy: 6d 04h 02m
  2. John Hughes: 6d 06h 00m
  3. Wal McCrorie: 6d 16h 21m

9 finishers

1985

Men's race

  1. Yiannis Kouros: 5d 05h 07m [4]
  2. Siggy Bauer: 6d 05h 46m
  3. Brian Bloomer: 6d 17h 20m

Women's race

  1. Eleanor Robinson: 8d 00h 30m
  2. Donna Hudson: 8d 11h 57m
  3. Margaret Smith: 8d 16h 28m

11 finishers

1986

Men's race

  1. Dušan Mravlje  [ sl ]: 6d 12h 38m
  2. Brian Bloomer: 7d 04h 53m
  3. Patrick Macke: 7d 13h 02m

Women's race

  1. Eleanor Robinson: 7d 17h 58m
  2. Donna Hudson: 8d 06h 15m
  3. Christine Barrett: 8d 22h 30m

9 finishers

1987

Men's race

  1. Yiannis Kouros: 5d 14h 47m
  2. Patrick Macke: 6d 17h 21m
  3. Dick Tout: 6d 22h 19m

Women's race

  1. Cynthia Cameron: 8d 10h 55m
  2. Mary Hanudel: 8d 12h 44m

16 finishers

1988

Men's race

  1. Yiannis Kouros: 5d 19h 14m
  2. Dick Tout: 6d 11h 18m
  3. Dusan Mravlje: 6d 14h 10m

Women's race

  1. Eleanor Robinson: 7d 10h 5m
  2. Sandra Barwick: 8d 04h 10m

23 finishers

1989

  1. Yiannis Kouros: 5d 02h 27m
  2. David Standeven: 5d 13h 55m
  3. Kevin Mansell: 5d 22h 59m

19 finishers

1990

Men's race

  1. Yiannis Kouros: 5d 23h 55m
  2. Bryan Smith: 6d 09h 45m
  3. Peter Quirk: 6d 11h 40m

Women's race

  1. Sandra Barwick: 7d 04h 46m

20 finishers

1991

  1. Bryan Smith: 6d 12h 50m (24h handicap)
  2. Tony Collins: 7d 04h 17m (12h handicap)
  3. Andrew Law: 7d 09h 32m (12h handicap)
  4. Maurice Taylor: 6d 23h 22m (24h handicap)
  5. Kevin Mansell: 7d 02h 26m (24h handicap)

11 finishers

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earl Shilton</span> Town in Leicestershire, England

Earl Shilton is a market town in Leicestershire, England, about 5 miles (8 km) from Hinckley and about 10 mi (16 km) from Leicester. The 2011 Census recorded its population as 10,047.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ultramarathon</span> Footrace longer than the marathon

An ultramarathon, also called ultra distance or ultra running, is a footrace longer than the traditional marathon length of 42.195 kilometres. Various distances, surfaces, and formats are raced competitively, from the shortest common ultramarathon of 31 miles (50 km) and up to 3100 miles. World Championships are held by the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU) for 50 km, 100 km, 24 hours, and ultra trail running. The Global Organization of Multi-Day Ultramarathoners (GOMU) holds World Championships for 48 hours and 6 days. World Records are ratified and recognized by World Athletics, the IAU, and by GOMU.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlotte Motor Speedway</span> Motorsport track in the United States

Charlotte Motor Speedway is a 1.500-mile (2.414 km) quad-oval intermediate speedway in Concord, North Carolina. It has hosted various major races since its inaugural season of racing in 1960, including NASCAR, IndyCar, and IMSA SportsCar Championship races. The track is currently owned by Speedway Motorsports, LLC (SMI), with Greg Walter serving as the track's general manager. Charlotte Motor Speedway is served by U.S. Route 29.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spartathlon</span> Ultramarathon race from Athens to Sparti in Greece

Spartathlon is a 246-kilometre (153 mi) ultramarathon race held annually in Greece since 1983, between Athens and Sparti, the modern town on the site of ancient Sparta. The Spartathlon is based on the run of Pheidippides, who ran from Athens to Sparta before the Battle of Marathon in a day and a half to seek aid against the Persians. Five Royal Air Force officers attempted the course in 1982 and the competition was started the next year.

Multiday races are ultramarathon running events which are typically either segmented into daily events of a specified distance or time, or staged so that runners can run as far as they want, at their own discretion, over a set course or over a set number of days. Multiday races can range from continuous 48-hour track events to staged transcontinental treks.

The Cliff Young Australian 6 Day Race was an ultramarathon race that takes place in Colac, Victoria. One of a small handful of Six Day races around the world, the Cliff Young has had many fine performances culminating in November 2005 with Yiannis Kouros, arguably the best multiday runner in the world, setting a new world 6 Day record. It started in 1983 and was renamed in 2004 after Cliff Young, a Colac farmer and winner of the inaugural Sydney to Melbourne Westfield's Ultramarathon in May 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian cricket team in England in 1902</span> International cricket tour

The Australian cricket team toured England during the 1902 English cricket season. The five-Test series between the two countries has been fondly remembered; in 1967 the cricket writer A. A. Thomson described the series as "a rubber more exciting than any in history except the Australia v West Indies series in 1960–61". Australia had won the previous three Test rubbers between the two countries, and now won their fourth successive series, by two matches to one with two draws. In the process they "beat the records of all their predecessors in the country" by losing only two of 39 matches during the tour, their defeats being against England in the Fifth Test and in the first of their two fixtures against Yorkshire. The remaining 37 matches gave 23 wins for Australia and 14 draws.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Israel Folau</span> Australian multi-code footballer

Israel ‘Isileli Folau is a professional dual-code rugby player who plays as a fullback for Japan Rugby League One club Urayasu D-Rocks. Born in Australia, he represents Tonga at international level after qualifying on ancestry grounds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transat Québec–Saint-Malo</span>

The Transat Québec–Saint-Malo is a sailing transoceanic race taking place every four years, from Quebec City, Canada, to Saint-Malo, France. The first edition, in 1984, was organized to celebrate the 450th anniversary of Jacques Cartier's voyage from Saint-Malo to Quebec. The race is opened to crewed monohulls and multihulls of 40, 50 and 60 feet.

Eleanor Robinson is a British former ultramarathon runner and two-time winner of the IAU 100km World Championships. She was the first woman to run over 150 miles in a 24-hour endurance race. She was the winner of the first Badwater Ultramarathon in 1987. She was twice bronze medallist at the IAU 100 km European Championships.

The following lists events that happened during 2018 in Australia.

References

  1. ↑ Evans, Louise (15 March 1988). "Kouros agrees to give field 12-hour start". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  2. ↑ Pitt, Helen (24 March 1988). "Kouros comes home in a whisper". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  3. ↑ "Molloy leads as Cliff begins to crack". The Age. 30 April 1984. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  4. ↑ Potter, David (18 Apr 1985) Melbourne's Greeks welcome their Marathon man; The Sydney Morning Herald
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.