Up for a bout of rainforest running? Keen for cool clear creeks, smoothly flowing or challenging single track and social but competitive trail running?  Entries have opened for events in the 2012 Dirty Northern Trail Running Series.

All events are within an hours drive of Cairns and have been selected to showcase some of the most scenic and diverse, as well as the most enjoyable and runnable rainforest trails in the region.

The Dirty 30 and Sweaty 60 Adventure Run in late February (25^th) provides a nice little intro to tropical trail running with a fun and obstacle filled loop course beside Lake Tinaroo. Expect mud. Expect to get wet. Expect a slip and slide. Expect to get dirty, very dirty. Expect obstacles that provoke more laughter and fun than you previously thought possible during 30 dirty or 60 sweaty minutes of tropical running. There’ll be the Hay Bale Hills (but bigger), Mud Wallow Stinger Nets (but with a real sting!) and the sweet flowing Single Track (and now with lakeside views) you loved at the 2011 Smithfield Mud Run Event.  But there’ll also be novel new obstacles (keep an eye on the website), better spectator access, great photo opportunities, a couple of wades (that’s water running – not blokes called Wade, although they’re welcome too), nice steady uphill, rip roaring downhill fun and a very memorable running experience jammed into a 1.5km loop you can tackle as many times as you like in your chosen 30 or 60 minutes.

March’s (18^th) Speewah Legend Footrace is the first race in the actual Dirty Northern Trail Running Series and sends runners out on a scenic 17km loop of heavily shaded rainforest single track. Highlights include stunning panoramic views of the famous Barron Gorge, Trinity Bay and the Cairns region, a couple of speccy crossings of Stony Ck, massive Kauri Pines and following the foot tracks of Traditional Owners the Djabaguy and the pack and dray routes of early European pioneers. Check out some video footage from the course here. The park itself protects 2820ha and nine vegetation communities ranging from lush tropicalrainforest to mountain heath and forms a natural wildlife corridor linking the northern and southern reaches of the wet tropics. Possums, Tree Kangaroos, Flying Foxes, Musky Rat Kangaroos, Cassowarys, Amethystine Pythons, Spotted Tail Quolls and the odd leech are some of many native species resident to the park.

Also in March (24^th), and a brand new event on the Trail Running calendar is the Bustard Express. If you’ve been hanging out for a teams Trail Running event where you run with (well kinda with) your mates rather than against them, or an opportunity to run the brilliant Davies Ck MTB Loop, or the chance to show off your retina burning new headlamp, then here ‘tis. You can look forward to a multi loop, day / night Trail Running experience for 4 hours in the Pony Express (relay) style of racing. There’ll be solo alternatives along with the teams option, some very junior friendly opportunities and all the fun of tropical trail running.

In April (22^nd), the Gold Rush Trail Marathon boasts of being one of the most scenic marathons any adventurer could hope to tackle as it heads off into the heart of Australia’s wettest rainforest and traverses the saddle between Queensland’s two highest peaks. An out and back course over the historic Goldfields Trail, some say crossing the lovely East Mulgrave River without stopping for a dip in one of the North’s best swimming holes is a tremendous challenge in itself. Starting and finishing at the popular Babinda Boulders Swimming Hole it is one of the mosteagerly anticipated events on the endurance calendar.

Or, if up for some ultra ‘action’, the Spiny Cray Ultra is the third and final event in the series (24^th June) and allows runners the opportunity to run through the naturally air conditioned Wet Tropics Highland Rainforest and a patch of cloudforest. The 57km run climbs (and descends) over 1550m through Mt Lewis NP – an area of rainforest described by the Department of Environment and Resource Management as a “a treasure trove of endemic plants and animals”. Wildlife protected by the park includes Golden Bowerbirds, Southern Cassowarys, giant 2m long blue Earthworms, Lemuroid Ringtail Possums, Daintree River Ringtail Possums and the event’s namesake – the Mount Lewis Spiny Cray.

With multiple distances to choose from in each of the Dirty Northern Trail Runs, a course is available for runners of all abilities, experiences and levels of sanity. For all the dirty details check out the Adventure Sport NQ website.

This is my race report, Susan Crowe (Female winner of the Spiny Cray Ultra 2011)

Well, it was another fantastic race in the wilderness of Julatten.  It was great to get there the night before to enjoy the quiet, have a good meal at the local pub and join the birdwatchers staying at the local accommodation – therapy on a new level for me!! Once again, the White boys had everything totally organised from the electronic wrist straps to the home-baked goodies (thanks Kylie) at the 28klm turnaround.

The track has beautiful scenery, is mostly in shade and has plenty of challenging hills to test your hamstrings and everything else attached to them.  Being able to do a run like that with the luxury of drop bags, kilometre markers the whole way and a free beer at the end is amazing and it would be great to see more people take on the challenge – you just don’t know what you are missing out on!

Unfortunately, I was a bit of a chatterbox and spent 7 minutes at the 28klm turnaround so missed my record from last year….2 minutes is probably plenty of time but after doing a similar thing at Porcupine Gorge (and narrowly missing the race record there) I may have finally learnt to get on with the task at hand and chat later!!  I guess I will have to test that new theory next year as it is a race that will keep me coming back and hopefully encourage some others to take on those extra kilometres.

Susan Crowe female winner Spiny Cray Ultra 2011

SPINY CRAY – ENTRIES ONLINE ONLY

Trail runners keen to get high (altitudinally) at the 2^nd running of the Spiny Cray have until Friday, 23^rd September (5:00pm) to enter. No entries will be accepted on the day (Sunday, 25^th September) but entering now is cheap, quick and painless – start by clicking here!

Important Participant info will be sent to all registered runners prior to the event i.e. this friday.

PUB SHOUT!

Antony and Rebecca at the Highlander Tavern have welcomed the trail running crowd back and have kindly offered to shout finishers of the Half and Ultra events. Those hardy enough to complete either of the two longer events will be rewarded not just with their own personal sense of satisfaction, but with a pot of beer (or softdrink if preferred or legally restricted) along with two free issues of Runners World (for finishers of all events). Runners World (International running magazine and website) have also offered to support the event and will publish a Spiny Cray article in an upcoming issue. They are also giving away two 5 issue subscriptions as random draws. Throw in a shot at some other groovy random draws, the chance to carve your name on the fancy new perpetual trophy and all the usual fun of a trail run in the tropics, for just $10, its gotta be the best value run around!

THE SPINY CRAY WEEKENDER

Runners in the Ultra and Half events can register (from 5pm) and be briefed (at 5:30pm) on Saturday afternoon (preferred rego and briefing for ultra runners). You may need to organise some accommodation now – Kingfisher Park (40 941263) is a short warm up run from the start line and still has some cabins available with camping also. The Julatten Tableland Caravan Park (40 941145) also has cheap camping still available ($7pp), is 5 minutes down the road and has offered late check out if you need to leave your tent up til after you finish. The Julatten Birdlovers is booked out but some other options are linked to the website.

VOLUNTEERS

If you know anyone keen to be a part of the Spiny Cray but not up for a run, they may very well be able to help us out. We are chasing a couple more lovely volunteers and would love to line up a couple for suitable roles asap. Give Shane a ring on 0438 758 862 or email shane@adventuresportnq.info .

Yes no cups, none, nought, nada, zilch, zero, zip, who would have thought? It makes sense really. Consider this:

The paper cup is made from a composite of materials: kraft bleached paper sprayed with a polyethylene coating, or sometimes even worse – polystyrene. Paper cups are often impregnated with toxic dyes which make them difficult to recycle. The plastic lining in disposable paper cups means they are not recyclable. Biodegradation of a paper cup can take 50 years or more (~500years for a Styrofoam cup!). On average, each disposable cup contains 5% of the raw materials involved in the process of making and delivering it.

Small acts can make a big difference – for better and for worse. The environmental impact of all single use items is phenomenal. Through good design and a little effort we can easily incorporate reuse into our events and daily routine for that matter.

Lost cost events – Metrogaines and Rogaines and the like (Trail Runs have been cup free all year) are all reasonably priced and are well catered for considering the entry fee. Reduction of overheads like single use disposable cups goes a long way to allocating the monies else where – like (every athlete’s friend) food or prizes!!

I cannot think of why anyone who participates in an Adventure Sport NQ event would not have a water bottle of their own either at work or in their car or in the cage of their water bottle holder on the MTB. We all know the importance of adequate hydration.

Recycle – next event when you get to the finish, think first before you go straight to the water or staminade drums. Walk over to the car grab your sports bottle and fill it up instead of using a disposable cup.

Or BYO cups – keep some in your gym or event kit and be prepared before heading to the event. One leading contender in the Dirty Northern Trail running series simply keeps a plastic measuring cup tied in his drawstring and scoops a drink from the nearest appropriate creek!

Rubbish – the most common complaint I hear from organisers is about cleaning up after the event. And the worst offender is . . . you guessed it disposable cups! While our events may not be as bad as the high profile marathon pictured above, The events are all held in beaut parks and reserves in our region and are left disgraceful, littered with paper or plastic cups. The Trail running crew have set the precedent - a competitor was disqualified for littering last year. Its not hard just put the cups in the bin, if there is no bin (or its already overflowing) take yours with you and dispose of it at home, or even better – don’t use em!

While 2 billion people watched a commoner become a British Princess on Friday night, Sue Crowe prepared to become the Queen - The Dirty Northern Trail Running Queen. With a dominant win in Monday’s Gold Rush Trail Marathon following on from a win in April’s Speewah Legend Footrace, Sue has run herself into an unbeatable position in the 2011 Trail Running Series. With the best two performances of three (including the Spiny Cray Ultra) counting  towards Series calculations, Sue is guaranteed to be crowned Trail Running Queen at the Spiny Cray Ultra in September.

In the male series however, The Gold Rush Trail Marathon has revealed a number of contenders. Matt Hermann is the current series leader (2nd Speewah Legend, 3rd Gold Rush Marathon) but may need to beat home Mike Le Roux (Gold Rush winner), Dave Wood (Speewah Legend winner), Chris White (Gold Rush 2nd) and Steve Cunningham ( Gold Rush 4th) to retain his grip on the title following the Spiny Cray Ultra.

And with all the recent buzz regarding royalty, it may come as no surprise that the Dirty Northern Trail Running Crew have managed to get hold of a couple of shiny thrones.  These will take pride of place on the deck of the Highlander Tavern following the Spiny Cray Ultra and offer the 2011 King and Queen a chance to rest their royal - and weary legs.

Mike Le Roux and Sue Crowe dominated the respective male and female fields at the 2011 Gold Rush Trail Marathon. LeRoux finished in just 2 hours 57 minutes and 6 seconds - a time many quality runners would be thrilled to record over the marathon distance on a straight, flat and fast bitumen course. Le Roux managed it  on a course with over 800m of vertical ascent and descent, 32 creek crossings, multiple crossings of the East Mulgrave River, extended sections of loose unstable rocks and kilometres of moss covered dirt trail made precariously slippery by a light shower. Fourteen minutes behind Le Roux in second was 2010 winner Chris White (3:11:30) with current Dirty Northern Trail Running Series Leader Matt Hermann finishing in third (3:22:17).

Sue Crowe backed up dominant wins in the 2010 Gold Rush Trail Marathon and April’s Speewah Legend Footrace with another impressive performance (3:27:53) to lead home the women’s field. Behind Sue were visiting runners Kerrie Williamson from Moreton Bay (4:01:05) and Rachel Bretland from Townsville.

Ryan Hoskins (1:30:37) led home Jason Thomson (1:34:40) and John Broughton (1:40:08) in the Men’s Gold Rush 20km event. In the Women’s 20km event Fiona Campbell was the first over the line in 1:38:46 ahead of Margie Shearer (1:50:34) and Stevie Johnstone (1:52:17) while Ollie Hampel and Danielle Bevan took the gold in the 7km event.

East Mulgrave Causeway

Like any good Gold Rush, the feverish migration has begun. Californians, Kiwis and from the deep southern fields of Townsville the diggers are coming. Yes, the Gold Rush 2011 is here.

Competitor list is currently as follows:

ahhhhh!

The Gold Rush Trail Marathon Course and shorter options have been rerouted due to a landslide and the indefinite closure of the southern section of the Goldfield Trail.

All Events will now start and finish at the Goldsborough Valley end of the trail. The exact course details are being discussed with Rangers and will be finalised and published here later this week. This will include Map, Course profile and description. Current details can be found on the Gold Rush Trail Marathon page.

All competitors will receive a complete info letter the Monday leading up to the race (if nominated by then).  Remember no on the day nominations will be accepted due to the remote location and safety reasons.

The Spectacular East Mulgrave River causeway will still be a prominent feature of the course. Yes you will get wet feet. The amended course should mean less ascent, leeches, wait-a-while, time taken, and unfortunately less single track. But participants will still be rewarded with a great location, scenic creek crossings, and crystal clear swimming hole after the run. And of course the chance to score more Dirty Northern Trail Running Series points.

Female 17km placegetters (left to right); winner Sue Crowe, Tara Taylor (2nd) and Julie Lightfoot (3rd).

What a race, with plenty of everything…….mud, gnarly tree roots, awkwardly placed branches, slippery rocks, temperament testing wait-a-while and slimy leeches – all the things we love about trail running!! Best of all there were lots of great people, good organisation, fun and violet crumble at the end!

It was great to run with Dave again for a whole 60 seconds before all I could see was his dust (or mud splatters!) – for someone who has just done a couple of runs with his dog he ran a fantastic race. I was later reminded that his dog is a psycho that can keep up with Dave even on his bike. Most of the time I was running with Matt Hermann so was fortunate enough to see his graceful swan dive into the creek butt first and watch him fly past me on the downhill sections while I hobbled along with my rolled ankles. Craig kept me going hard as I relied on his lack of direction (even worse than mine!) and my uphill running to keep with him.

All in all it was a good challenge that encompassed the true spirit of trail racing. What better thing to do on a Sunday morning?