Coastal Ascent rises up on Central Coast
Newcastle shone in the morning sun for the inaugural Coastal Ascent trail run on Sunday 28 April 2019. More than 800 runners took on either 25km or 11km of bushland, sand, single track and stairs enjoying spectacular views of Newcastle.
Luke Babic (North Lambton) 1:47:13 and Ingrid Cleland (Charlestown) 2:07:28 won the 25km event.
Sean Kelleher (Mayfield) 50:25 and Geordie Boyn (Cooks Hill) 1:04:44 took out the 11km event.
“The scenery was stunning – coming down onto Dudley Beach, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else today. The most fun part of the course was the downhills, especially downhill from Banksia Road – that was sweet,” said The Coastal Ascent Women’s 25km winner, Ingrid Cleland.
The course provided a challenge for all runners starting on Merewether Beach with a stretch of 400 meters of sand before heading over the headland to another stretch of sand. Runners then followed the coastline – weaving in and out of the bushland enjoying some single track running and some hill climbs and descents.
Runners flew down Bathers Way to the finish line where they were greeted with DJ tunes pumping, medals, merchandise and a great atmosphere to celebrate Newcastle’s newest event.
Kids were included with more than 45 kids took part in the Beach Bolt Mile.
Vlad Shatrov, Newcastle local and Ultra Trail Running legend, Event Director and director of Runlab the Official Event Training Partner said he is thrilled with the response to the first ever Coastal Ascent.
“It’s fantastic to see the running community come out in force for the first Coastal Ascent in Newcastle,” said Vlad.
“Trail running will always push you out of your comfort zone and it was fantastic to see so many people take on the challenge and enjoy the course.
“We’ve planned to bring an event like this to Newcastle for a while and it’s great it’s been such a huge success. We look forward to bringing more events to Newcastle in the future,” said Vlad.
The event organisers for the Blackmores Sydney Running Festival, Pont3/Motiv Australia, have partnered with Runlab’s director, Vlad Shatrov to launch the Coastal Ascent.
42% of entrants were from the Hunter region, 20% from the Central Coast. The rest came from a variety of regions including Adelaide and Brisbane.
25km Place getters
Men | Women | ||||||
1 | 1:47:13 | Luke Babic | North Lambton | 1 | 2:07:28 | Ingrid Cleland | Charlestown |
2 | 1:48:23 | Nathan Willson | Sydney | 2 | 2:15:34 | Emma Just | North Narrabeen |
3 | 1:51:43 | Robert Bennett | Newcastle West | 3 | 2:17:43 | Suzanne Kelly | Sydney |
11km Place getters
Men | Women | ||||||
1 | 50:25 | Sean Kelleher | Mayfield | 1 | 1:04:44 | Geordie Boyn | Cooks Hill |
2 | 52:13 | Christopher Wallace | Manly | 2 | 1:05:50 | Gabrielle Wehr | St Lucia |
3 | 52:24 | Marty Henry | Redhead | 3 | 1:07:54 | Francine Turner | Shortland |
Kids Beach Bolt Mile
Boys | Girls | ||||||
1 | 4:29 | Harry Boyn | Cools Hill | 1 | 4:52 | Zahli Smith | n/a |
2 | 4:53 | Henry Bancroft | Mereweather | 2 | 4:59 | Lucinda Paff | New Lambton |
3 | 5:00 | Angus Prudie | Maitland | 3 | 5:00 | Rosie Boyn | Cooks Hill |