After a rather hectic (real work) week last week, its back to normal service this week. Apologies for any lack of previews for the above races last week, time simply did not permit me to even sneeze, let alone write much. However, I hope it provide you all with some valuable updates on the above races.
We’ll begin over in Western Australia with the Delirious WEST 200 miler, which bills itself as Australia first point to point 200 miler. Coupled with Nerang and also plans for the BVRT 200 miler to happen later this year too, it’s great to see this form of racing creeping into our calendar. This follows much success over in the US, driven in the main by the lovely Candice Burt. And it was great to see Candice visit our fare island for this one too and take out the ladies race with the win.
- Candice Burt 72:55
- Melissa Robertson 76:39
- Amelia Griffiths 79:32
In the men’s race, Dion Leonard reigned supreme with a superb finish in just over 61 hours to win and secure the fastest time of the race too.
- Dion Leonard 61:24
- Kay Bretz 68:52
- Nick o’Neill 73:02
Big hand to Shaun and the team over in WA. From all the reports I hear, these guys do a fantastic job to contribute hugely to the trail running scene over in the West.
Old Ghost Ultra – 85kms
Skipping over the Tasman to New Zealand, it was the turn of the Old Ghost Ultra 85kms. Again reports over the book of faces suggest this is an absolute belter of a run and one to place on the bucket list. In the end, Vajin Armstrong took out the win for the men, while Mel Atkin comfortably won the ladies.
Men’s Old Ghost Ultra podium
- Vajin Armstrong – 7hrs 7mins
- Chris Dunell – 7hrs 10mins
- Kunaal Rajpal – 7hrs 12mins
Women’s Old Ghost Ultra podium
- Mel Aitken – 8hrs 31mins
- Klaartje Schie – 8hrs 50mins
- Helene Barron – 8hrs 53mins
Rollercoaster – 43kms
And finally, we visit Victoria where the Rollercoaster Run took place featuring a multitude of race lengths. Word on the street is that entries were up by over 400 people this year, making it one of the most popular races in Victoria alongside the other classic, Two Bays. Great to see the numbers continuing to climb. For the purposes of our review today we’ll post the 43km race results. Ash Bennett took out the men’s win with the fastest time of the day, while Tegan Geall won the ladies in a fairly tight run contest across the podium.
Women’s Rollercoaster 43km podium
- Tegan Geall – 5hrs 20mins
- Beck Hefferon – 5hrs 26mins
- Shona Drake – 5hrs 33mins
Men’s Rollercoaster 43km podium
- Ashley Bennett – 3hrs 56mins
- Paul Todd – 4hrs 19mins
- Zackary Beasley – 4hrs 20mins
Feature Image: Delirious W.E.S.T. starters
