TRAIL RUNNING
Trail-running is a modern incarnation of the 19th century “Go-As-You-Please” running craze; however tobacco tins left at the peaks and newspaper reports of PBs attest to a likely history of trail running feats on all the climbs and high points in the Wellington Range that probably predates the Go-As-You-Please.
The first—and tragic—of the Go-As-You-Please races on the mountain (in 1903) drew a field of 35 competitors who started in Macquarie Street on a course for the Pinnacle and back. The winner was G. Cockshutt in a time of 2 hr 44 min 51 sec. Read more. He won a double barrelled breach loading shotgun in a leather case. The tragedy was that two men lost their lives in the freezing conditions. A tragedy that for one participant was partially caused by the race sponsor, Watson’s Whisky, which had its product at the top and on every rest station.
The all-road Point to Pinnacle half marathon race has run for twenty years. A full marathon up and back from Wrest Point was the finishing feature of the Three Peaks Race during the 2000s.
In 2022 and 2023 the kunanyi Mountain Run held trail-running races over several courses: a 27k half marathon, a 68k ultra marathon (for teams and soloists), a ‘VK’ (a 1 vertical kilometre) uphill sprint, a foothills race and a kids event.
The international criteria for a VK are such that the only major centre in Australia that qualifies (i.e has a mountain in its backyard) is Hobart.