ULTRA-TRAIL AUSTRALIA HISTORY: FROM THE NORTH FACE 100 TO A UTMB MAJOR

Ultra-Trail Australia started on a Saturday in May 2008 with 157 runners on the start line outside Katoomba in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales. Twenty-five State Emergency Service volunteers and a four-person organizing staff supported the event. One hundred and thirty runners finished. Eighteen editions later, the race carries Major status in the UTMB World Series and draws roughly 7,000 athletes across six distances each May.

The North Face 100 Era

The race launched as The North Face 100 in 2008, founded and directed by Tom Landon-Smith and Alina McMaster through their AROC Sport organization. Landon-Smith had built a reputation in adventure racing through the 1990s and early 2000s, and the 100-kilometer ultramarathon format represented his vision for what trail running could become in Australia. The North Face provided title sponsorship for what was then a developing sport in the country.

The original course ran 100 kilometers through the World Heritage-listed Blue Mountains, with start and finish at Scenic World in Katoomba. The route covered cliff-edge ridgelines, descents into the Jamison and Megalong Valleys, and exposed rock formations that have since become trademark features of the race.

The Mid-2010s Growth

The race added the Marathon Pairs format early on, then introduced a 50-kilometer distance in 2013. The shorter distance opened the event to a broader range of athletes and accelerated the field size growth. By the mid-2010s the race had crossed a thousand runners across all distances combined.

Dylan Bowman of the United States won the 2015 men's race in 8:50:13, demonstrating that the course rewarded American runners with mountain pedigree. Dong Li of China won the women's race in 11:05:22. Tim Tollefson of the United States won the 2017 men's race in 8:52:00, the second of three consecutive American men's victories. Lucy Bartholomew of Australia won the 2017 women's title in 10:52:35, marking a generational moment for Australian trail running. Bartholomew, then in her early twenties, would go on to international success across the UTMB and Western States circuits.

Brendan Davies of Australia won the men's race twice (2016 in 9:20:14 and 2018 in 9:18:10), the first multiple Australian men's champion. The mid-decade saw consistent winning times in the 8:50 to 9:30 range for men and 10:30 to 11:30 for women, depending on weather and field depth.

The Rebranding to UTA

The North Face stepped back from title sponsorship in the late 2010s, and the race rebranded as Ultra-Trail Australia (UTA) ahead of the 2018 edition. The new branding aligned the race with the global Ultra-Trail naming convention used by races in the UTMB family of events, foreshadowing the affiliation that would come later. The rebrand also coincided with continued growth, including the introduction of the UTA22 and UTA11 distances.

Marcin Świerc of Poland won the 2019 men's race in 9:31:15, with Amy Lamprecht of Australia winning the women's title in 11:03:28. The 2019 edition drew nearly 7,000 runners across five distances, with full-time staff numbering 40 and a 50/50 gender split across the field, a balance that few mainstream ultras had achieved at the time.

The Pandemic Years

UTA did not run in 2020 or 2021 due to COVID-19 restrictions. The race returned in 2022 on an altered course due to bushfire damage to sections of the original route. Reece Edwards of Australia won the men's race in 8:10:11, an unusually fast time on what was a shortened or rerouted course. Anna McKenna won the women's race in 9:15:23, the time that stands as the women's course record in the official race records.

The altered 2022 course produced times that do not directly compare to standard editions, but the race used the year to demonstrate operational resilience and brought the field back to roughly pre-pandemic numbers.

The IRONMAN and UTMB Era

Landon-Smith and McMaster sold UTA to IRONMAN, the global event production company, in the years leading up to 2019. The acquisition gave the race access to broader distribution and operational infrastructure. In 2022, UTA joined the UTMB World Series, providing runners with a path to qualify for UTMB Mont-Blanc through Australian terrain. The series affiliation drew new international entries and embedded the race in the broader ultra-trail circuit.

George Murray of New Zealand won the 2023 men's race in 9:32:59. Emily Gilmour-Walsh of Australia took the women's title in 11:33:28. Michael Dimuantes of Australia won 2024 in 9:01:24, with Beth McKenzie winning the women's race in 10:41:43. Both 2023 and 2024 returned to standard course distances and produced times within the typical UTA range.

The 2026 edition adds a 161-kilometer (100-mile) UTAMiler distance, the longest race UTA has ever offered. The new ultra-distance and the UTMB World Series Major designation place the race alongside Western States, Mont-Blanc, and a handful of other events at the top of the global trail circuit.

The Course

The UTA100 course covers approximately 101 kilometers with 4,400 meters of cumulative elevation gain. Runners cross open ridgelines, descend the Furber Steps and Giant Stairway, traverse the Federal Pass, and climb sustained sections through Wentworth Falls and Kedumba Valley. The Tarros Ladders descent and the climb back to Scenic World near the finish remain the most-discussed features of the course.

The Blue Mountains terrain combines exposed sandstone cliffs, eucalypt forest, and steep valley descents. Weather can shift dramatically across the course's lower and higher sections, with valleys often warmer and clifftop sections subject to wind. Average winning times of around 9 hours for men and 10:30 for women reflect the difficulty of moving fast across that terrain.

Place in the Sport

Ultra-Trail Australia occupies a unique position in the global ultra calendar. It is the largest ultra-trail event in the southern hemisphere by participation, and one of the few major events on the southern hemisphere autumn schedule. Its location in a UNESCO World Heritage site, combined with proximity to Sydney for international travelers, has made it a destination race for runners looking for an Australian leg of their season.

The race has also produced winners and finishers who shaped the sport. Lucy Bartholomew's 2017 win launched her career. Tim Tollefson, Dylan Bowman, and Marcin Świerc all collected UTA wins as part of broader careers across the UTMB and US ultra circuits. The 2026 edition, with the new 100-mile distance and Major status, suggests the next chapter is about positioning UTA among the sport's premier global races.