Sponsored Athletes

It's a pleasure to help support our sponsored athletes dreams and running aspirations by providing them with the best products possible. When looking for athletes to align with our brand, we are seeking out people who are eco-conscious and think about their footprint on this planet, along with being top runners. Below are some of the most talented runners Australia have to offer, and most importantly they share the Tarkine values. If you'd like to be considered to join Tarkine Elite, please email ross@tarkine.com with a short bio. We're looking forward to hearing from you. 

JOSHUA CHUGG

Joshua is a former professional cyclist who rode the Jayco Sun Herald Tour in 2009 alongside Ritchie Porte and Sir Bradley Wiggins. Since turning to ultras in 2016 he has only had one defeat at the 2020 Margaret River Ultra where he finished 2nd. Josh then shattered the course record in 2022. Two other impressive performances stand out. One, his win at the Kep Ultra over 76K. 5 weeks later he demolished a quality field at @transcendtrails by more than half an hour running 5:55 for 60K with over 2000m elevation. Look out for a big future on the trails for this talented athlete.

SHANE JOHNSTONE

Shane stands as one of Australia's most distinguished and revered ultra-endurance athletes. With an illustrious career that includes competing in the prestigious Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB), he has not only pushed the boundaries of human endurance but also etched his name into the annals of Australian ultrarunning history through the establishment of numerous national ultra-distance records. In addition to his athletic prowess, Shane is the visionary co-creator of the Transcend Trails race, a testament to his dedication to advancing the sport of trail running.

His expertise, however, extends far beyond the realm of athleticism. As an accomplished Exercise Physiologist, Shane holds a Master’s degree in Occupational Rehabilitation and Workplace Injury Management, complementing his foundational academic background with a Bachelor of Science in Sport Science.

PHIL GORE

Phil holds the insane Australia record for Birdy’s Backyard 2021 of 51 hours (342.21 km). Phil is an absolute legend in the ultra running world of backyard and front yard ultras. Along with Josh, Phil is a truly world class endurance athlete. Look out for Phil's attempt to set a new 24hour Australian track record later this year.

ERCHANA MURRAY-BARTLETT

Erchana Murray-Bartlett is an elite marathon runner, who narrowly missed out on the Tokyo Olympic Games. She then turned her focus towards running across Australia to raise money for the Wildnerness Society, to put the spotlight on Australia’s extinction crisis

Tarkine supported Erchana along her jounry.  She ran a marathon every day, all the way from the tip of mainland Australia (Cape York) to the toe (Melbourne) to spread a very important message – Extinction is a CHOICE. That’s right, 155 consecutive marathons to be the voice for our native animals. And she did the entire run wearing Tarkine Goshawk running shoes. 

Erchana raised over $132,000. You can read more about this amazing person HERE

EMMA PHILLIPE

Emma is a former Australian representative pole vaulter and has now turned her attention to the 800m. She is consistently ranked in the top-10 in Australia.

MATT GORE

Matt is one of the most promising young ultra trail runners in Australia currently. Matt started off the year by winning the takaya Trail race and has gone from strength to strength. During 2022 he ran 655km across the Australian Alps Walking Track to raise awareness and funds for the takayna rainforest in Tasmania. Matt is also the current U25 12h Australian record holder.

BEN CHAMBERLIN

Ben is multiple time WA middle distance champion and an extremely talented athlete. Ben's 10,000m pb is 29:13.07 and he can run a half marathon in well under 65 minutes. The guy is fast!

FRASER DARCY

Fraser is a constant fixture on the podium at just about any ultra race he enters. Fraser was recently crowned Australian Mountain Running Champion. Whatch out for him to take some big wins at home and abdroad in the future.

Andrew ‘Googz’ Thorpe.

Gunnai gunditjmara man, heroic runner and mental health advocate, graduate of the fantastic Indigenous Marathon Project. In 2020, he re-discovered a love for running. He enjoyed it so much that he ran 255km in October in support of The Black Dog Institute’s One Foot Forward campaign.  Googzy is really someone we can look up to - honest, humble, vulnerable and hard working and it's an honor to have him on team Tarkine.

Brian Lyons

Brian is Tasmanian born and bred runner and only lives 90 minutes away from takayna ( Tarkine ) He is 2 x State Marathon champion and won the 2022 Bruny Island Ultra Marathon ( 64km ) He has run under 15 minutes for 5km, under 69 minutes for a half marathon and broken 2hrs and 30 minutes on numerous occasions for the marathon. When he is not running, he owns and operates 4 fun runs in the North West Of Tasmania, these are the Bluff 2 Boat Ramp, The Great Train Race, Light Night Glow Run and Run Christmas. His biggest achievement is being able to coach over 70 runners and be lucky enough to call it his job.