Thursday, August 24, 2023

Issue:

Mackay and Whitsunday Life

Trail Fest To Test The Best

The region’s toughest trail running event saw over 100 participants race across the Conway National Park in a variety of distances last weekend.

Whitsunday Running Club hosted The Whitsunday Trail Fest last Sunday in another successful outing of the club’s largescale race through a Whitsundays’ national park.

The longstanding event has a 17 -year history in the region, originally beginning with a concept by the Mackay Road Runners and eventually becoming the event its known as today with the Ultru 58 kilometre, Honeyeater Challenge, and the more recent Kids Beach run.

For 2022 the race precinct transformed the Airlie Beach foreshore into a running station as competitors kicked into gear as early as 5:30am.

Sixteen children competed in the event’s second ever Trail Fest beach run, while 17 took on the Honey Eater 10.5km. The Trail Fest’s most popular event hosted 56 competitors taking on the 28-kilometre track, and 14 racers smashed out the 58 kilometre trail run to end the weekend’s festivities.

Over the Whitsunday Trail Fest 28-kilometre, local Airlie Beach racer Roland Henderson broke away as the overall winner with a great time of 2:34:07.3.

For the female category, Montana Mcavoy claimed the overall win with a time of 2:37:06.2. An exceptional and honourable mention to competitor Geoff Stanton who ran as the only 60 to 69 competitor, finishing with a time of 4:26:24.3.

Of the 14 racers who dared to crack the 58-kilometre trail run, Dale Cameron was crowned the overall top finisher with a 5:52:16.8, followed closely by Sonja Schonfeldt-Roy – last year’s overall female winner who held onto her top spot with a 6:34:59.0 and the overall second place finish.

Whitsunday Trail Fest racers trekked across the Conway National Park last weekend in the event’s 17th year

Competitors from as young as three and up to 60 took part in the variety of distances in the Trail Fest

The successful outing saw locals and out of state racers smash personal records and claim top prizes

14 racers took on the elite distance of 58-kilometres

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