Ultra168

Ultra168 is a group of Sydney-based ultra marathon runners who share a passion for running on trails, as well as reporting on what’s happening in the world of trail and ultra running.

Our aim is to make this website one of Australia’s best resources for trail and ultra running. Be it advice for running your first ultra marathon, through to insights from some of the World’s leading runners, as well as what training we’re up to each week with our training.

First and foremost, we all enjoy running for what it is. Mates that get together on a Saturday, and who enjoy running through some of the most amazing scenery in Australia. If there’s something you’d like to see featured on this website, drop us a line and we’ll have a chat. If you have a question at all about what we do, we’ve prepared a brief Q&A below that may help, but if not feel free to get in touch with us at ultra168@hotmail.com

Andrew, Dan, Darrel and Marcus

Who is Ultra168?

Ultra168 was set up after Darrel, Andrew and Terry embarked on their first grand adventure to record the fastest time across the entire length of the GNW. They wanted somewhere to record this trip, and Ultra168 was born as a team of mates who simply enjoyed running together. The team has expanded to include Dan and Marcus over the last year, and Terry has now decided to take a break from running to pursue other challenges which we will hear about down the track. Above all we are four mates who enjoy running together.

Why was the Ultra168 website set-up?

Once the first adventure over the GNW was completed, we realised there was an opportunity to talk more about the ultra-running scene in Australia. We felt there was no single resource for runners to read and consult, so Ultra168 the website was born. Our goal is to provide runners of all abilities with information and advice, as well as news and information about ultra-running across the board, from trails to road to mountain running and everything in between! We are primarily Australian and New Zealand focused, but our plan is to cover the international scene more and more in the future through not only races as competitors but as well as crew, pacers and media to report and bring the races live back to Australia. We want Ultra168 to be recognised as one of the world’s leading ultra-running websites and the go-to resource for ultra-athletes.

Why the name Ultra168?

Ultra 168 the name was the brainchild of Darrel. There are 168 hours in a week, and it’s how you make use of those 168 hours. Our philosophy is that there are no excuses when it comes to running, hence there is always time in the week to run, be it at 1am or 1pm. We also believe in balanced lifestyles too, where family and ‘real work’ need to be accounted for. At the end of the day of, it’s only running, but there will always be time to run if you want to.

Are you a news site or a team of runners?

Essentially we are both, but over time we have evolved to become Australia’s number one ultra-running resource. As a news site we aim to bring the latest and most relevant information about ultra-running to the community inAustralia. We also believe in open and honest feedback and would actively encourage our readers to let us know what they think and how we can improve.

Is Ultra168 your full time job?

All members of Ultra168 have jobs outside of Ultra168, and we essentially do this all for the love of it. No-one (or indeed any company) pays us a salary to write and maintain the website and it is all done outside of working hours. We have all invested a large amount of our own personal time into developing the website as we are passionate not only about running, but about growing the sport in Australia and getting Australian runners recognition on the world stage.

Do you intend to make it your full-time job?

For the moment, Ultra168 will continue to be run in conjunction with our ‘real jobs’.

Is Ultra168 a commercially driven business?

Ultra168 is not a revenue-earning website and is not commercially driven. Since our operation began in June 2010, Ultra168 has not received any outside financial assistance for operating the website. Ultra168 is a loss-making venture and all costs associated with the upkeep of the website and any outlays for sponsorship that we undertake (e.g. 6ft Track Beer Bet) are all paid for out of our own back pockets. Each member of Ultra168 has ‘day-jobs’ which we use to fund the website and further its development. If this situation were to ever change, we would make this very clear and transparent to our readers.

Additionally we have no financial or commercial interest in our sponsors businesses either.

You have relationships with some companies, what does that mean and what do they entail?

We only believe in working with companies whose products we believe in. For example, Ultra168 have been using Hammer products for a number of years before we were invited to become part of Team Hammer Nutrition Australia. We have also worked hard to make sure that our readers benefit from our relationships too, and again as part of our relationship with Hammer we offer discounts for our readers that are not open to the general public. We are passionate about bringing what we feel are great products that we use to our readers to help better the sport overall in Australia. However it is our readers who decide if they are good or not, but the feedback we have received to date has been very positive.

Additionally, we feel it is very important to let our readers know that we do not receive any financial assistance from these companies. Ultra168 is not a revenue-earning website and we pride ourselves on remaining as impartial, open, honest and transparent as we possibly can. Indeed, using Hammer as an example, they openly state on their website that they do not pay their athletes to endorse their products, they work with athletes who believe 100% in the quality and benefits of their products.

From time to time we will receive free products from companies, however if we review these products, we will be very open and honest about the fact that we have received them for free. Ultimately, it is up to our readers to decide if they believe in what we are saying.

It is also important to note that we have no commercial interests in the companies we work with.

Do you get gear for free?

As part of our relationships, we do from time to time get sent gear to trial and review. Where possible we will send the gear back, however we will always state on all of our reviews if we receive this gear and whether it was given to us by the companies. Sometimes we cannot send the gear back (due to hygiene reasons e.g. compression shorts reviews). We do not believe in hiding this from our readers as it’s important for them to decide if what we’re saying is believable and honest.

Are you paid to write reviews for the companies you work with?

It is extremely important for us to let people know that we are not paid to write reviews by any company that sends us gear. Even if the item of gear is sent to us, we decide what we do or do not write. The only question we ask ourselves is whether or not we believe that the item is of interest to our readers and will they benefit from it. Getting paid to write a review, be it financially or through free gear goes against all of the rules we set for ourselves around remaining open, honest and impartial. This is why to some extent we work with companies like Hammer as we thoroughly believe in the quality of their products.

More often than not, members of Ultra168 have gone out and bought the gear ourselves so that we can write reviews for our readership.

You’re very Sydney-centric, do you plan to cover more races across Australia?

Although all members of Ultra168 are from Sydney, for 2012 we have set-up an editorial board that has equal representation from male and female ultra-athletes and from a number of Australian States. We realise that we’re four guys from Sydney and that to appeal to our audience even further that we must expand this through female representation and through to different parts of Australia.

Why was the editorial board set-up?

The editorial board was set-up so that we can garner opinion from all corners of Australia and across both female and male opinion too. While we come up with ideas and direction for Ultra168, it is important to test these ideas with some of the most respected athletes in Australia so that we can ensure we’re giving our readers what they want.

Who pays for your website?

The members of Ultra168 pay for all expenses with regards to the website, which includes running costs and any sponsorship opportunities that we decide to get involved with e.g. The 6ft Track Beer Bet. We currently do not make any revenue from the website and all time is invested by us outside of our normal working jobs.

What about the adverts we see on the website?

The adverts that currently run on Ultra168 are something we do not have control over. Our website is run on WordPress.com, which is a free platform. To fund WordPress, adverts appear on the blogs that run on their platform to help pay for the service. Ultra168 does not gain any revenue from these adverts.

Will Ultra168 run adverts in the future?

It’s something that we have considered and are in the process of looking at. However, we are firmly of the belief that if we do run advertising that they are products and services that would benefit our readers. We are not going to simply take cash for anything to appear on our website. It goes against our philosophy.