Wow what a year it was at UTA this year. Some outstanding results posted by the team.
To launch things off we had Jordan tackle the UTA22 on Friday. Jordan is new to the trail and ultra-scene and while he is keen to get to the bigger distances, he’s understands the need to be patient. He continues to improve and UTA22 saw him perform beautifully on the big stage. What was really promising was Jordan having a controlled race early and then managing 10th fastest over the long climb back up to Katoomba, save to say this boy has a big future.
Marcus was the first runner home from the team in UTA100. Marcus is a quiet achiever who has shown what dedication and commitment over 4 years can do. He started at UTA in 2018 clocking an opening time of 13h16m he then dropped his time down to a tidy 12h21m the following year. He has now again taken another half an hour off his PB dropping it down to 11h52m and coming in 36 overall. An outstanding race executing well all day.
Isaac tacked UTA100 for the first time and has had a stellar final few months of preparation. He ran a super controlled race from the start and clocked off at 13h22m earning him the coveted silver buckle on his first attempt. To give you an indication of controlled Isaac hit the first aid station in 373 and then worked his way through the field to finish in 130 overall. Awesome.
Robyn just knows how to execute consistent races again and again. She has taken her PB at UTA down from 15h20m to 14h24m and this year was chasing the sub 14h time. She came agonisingly close but missed out by 13 minutes clocking off at 14h13m. Safe to say she gave it everything. While close to the 14h mark she hit a comfortable PB and finished 6th in her category an outstanding result.
Russ came to the Ultra Journey team as he had a past score to settle with UTA, a late DNF previously. Russ has now comfortably got that monkey off his back. Russ’ training is super consistent and he loves following the process and this set him up beautifully. Russ ran strongly all day and moved beautifully through the field. He finished in a fantastic time of 20h37m to claim his buckle. I think I can still see his smile.
Ryley went into UTA self-confessed, ‘undertrained for the event’. While this may have been the case Ryley quite possibly had the most fun of any competitor of the day filming and having a hoot on course. While he started in a conservative manner he decided to pull the pin at the 70k mark having previously finished the course.
Well done to all. I’m still absolutely pumped with how you all went.
Bring on UTA next year!