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New Venue: Unfortunately due to being double-booked by the city council we have had to change venues. The Championships will now be held at Yeronga Park - School Road, Yeronga - UBD Map 179 P13 - Saturday 30th May 2009

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The Queensland Mountain Running Champs will be held for the second yeBellbird Grove (The Gap/Mt Nebo)

Course: Bellbird Grove - Camp Mountain – Bellbird Grove.

Distances: Senior men and women and junior men: approx 7km - elevation and descent of 300m. Junior women: approx 3.5km - elevation and descent 120m

Entry/Registration: On the day, at Bellbird Grove on the day between 2pm and 2:45pm

Fees: Juniors under 20: QA member $6.00 Non QA member $10.00, Seniors 20 and older: QA member $10.00 Non QA member $15.00

Getting There: Waterworks Rd (The Gap) – Mt Nebo Rd – turn right into Bellbird Grove (sign on Mt Nebo Rd). 10min drive from The Gap

Championship medals: Individuals and club teams finishing in places 1, 2 or 3 for categories: Junior men and Junior women, Senior men and Senior Women.

We had a spectacularly good day, ideal for cool off swims in the Woodford pool after. Congratulations to Deb Nicholl who took out the overall win in the 80km! Her winning strategy was to take a proper two-week taper beforehand (”I was jumping out of my skin the day before”). Provisional results are now up on the Glasshouse website. There were some problems with printing the first version, so they are also available here. Plus race reports below…

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Anyone who’s walked or run the clifftop trails of the Royal National Park south of Sydney will know this is the sort of event Australia should be famous for - it is classic Australian terrain. The story I’ve been told is that it was one of a number of fairly informal runs Billie’s Bushies used to organise. They came under pressure from the parks service for the number and success of their smaller runs, and in 1999 decided it was too difficult to continue organising this as a formal trail event.

So today one of the best courses Australia could offer is now run occasionally as an informal and unsupported run, though it can still attract around 100 participants without event support. Depending on who you talk to this is A. a great success B. a great waste or C. a pragmatic response to the difficulty of getting runs approved.

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This new event, on island’s offshore from NZ’s largest city, shows what can be done:
- offers courses for both runners and mountain bikers
- gained access to areas normally closed to events and bikes
- on outstandingly beautiful islands
- a combination of conservation and private lands
- fundraising for conservation work
- national TV and newspaper coverage to promote active outdoor recreation

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