Victoria’s Surf Coast hosts Australian 100 kilometre Trail Running Championships

This year’s Australian 100 kilometre Trail Running Championships are being contested on Victoria’s Surf Coast (today) Saturday 19th September, starting and finishing at Anglesea in the popular Great Ocean Road region.

After just three years, the Surf Coast Century has become a mainstay on the ultra marathon circuit, building a reputation as one of Australia's must-do trail running events.

The event is also boosting local tourism with approximately 20% off this year’s 800 competitors coming from interstate or overseas.

The 100 kilometre course can be completed by individual runners or relay teams (of up to four competitors),

The winner of the Surf Coast Century 100 kilometre solo event will automatically be crowned the Australian 100 kilometre Trail Running Champion, providing extra incentive to interstate competitors.

The event also offers a 50 kilometre solo option that makes the step into ultra-distance races a bit easier for those not quite ready to tackle the full 100 kilometre.

The Surf Coast Century course provides plenty of variety to keep runners excited, access for spectators and support crews, a few challenging hills and a few rewards. It’s an ideal introduction to ultra trail running.

The course is a figure 8 with Anglesea being the start, half way point, finish and the event hub. The race starts as the sun comes up on Anglesea main beach and the course features renowned surf beaches, clifftop trails, sweeping single track, lighthouses, waterfalls, scenic lookouts, remote wilderness and almost everything in between.

The 100km course is basically split into four different legs, the end of each leg being a checkpoint where teams may interchange to another member, receive support from support crews and race officials and tick off another milestone of this challenging event. Each leg is also quite different from the others, with its own range of landscapes and terrain through which the course passes – retaining interest for individuals and providing team runners the chance to choose a leg that suits them.

Salomon Leg 1, 0 to 21 kilometres
Leg 1 of the Surf Coast Century starts on the beach at sunrise and takes runners on a beautiful 21 kilometre journey from Anglesea to Torquay. Highlights along the way include the towering Anglesea cliffs, rock hopping at Red Rocks, Point Addis Beach, the famed Bells Beach and plenty of rock pools. It's almost flat from start to finish. 

Active Fee Leg 2, 21 to 49 kilometres
Leg 2 basically follows the Surf Coast Walk and other coastal walking tracks and trails along the clifftop from Torquay back to Anglesea. Runners will enjoy some magnificent views before hitting the single track wonderland of Eumeralla at the 33 kilometre point, and then will ultimately descend back to the beach to finish in Anglesea.

Hammer Nutrition Leg 3, 49 to 77 kilometres
Leg 3 is the hilliest leg of the race and the crux of the course, feature some more remote sections of coastal bushland and a mixture of single, 2WD and 4WD tracks. There are several significant climbs but runners will be rewarded with what is arguably the best trail running loop in the Otways – a flowing single track that climbs gradually up the valley past Currawong Falls to a trig point on the ridge at the 67 kilometre on Love’s Track, and descending down into Ironbark Gorge on the other side. This section finishes at the Moggs Creek picnic area. 

AY UP Lighting Systems Leg 4, 77 to 100 kilometres
The final leg provides more single track through tall timber forest to emerge at the best lookout on the coast (in the Event Manager’s opinion anyway) on Ocean Views Ridge above Moggs Creek at the 79 kilometre point. Heading towards home, runners will pass the majestic Aireys Inlet Lighthouse, run along Urquhart Beach and re-join the Surf Coast Walk before the final descent onto the Anglesea Main Beach and into the finish line at Anglesea Riverside Park. 

For more information on the Surf Coast Century 2015 go to www.SurfCoastCentury.com.au

Image courtesy of Rapid Ascent. 

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