Returning to the Freycinet Trail Run: Older, Wiser and Faster

At nearly 61, David French returned to tackle the 29km Freycinet Trail Run after a grueling debut in 2023. With lessons learned, better gear, and a smarter strategy, he turned a daunting challenge into a cold, hailing camaraderie-filled adventure – finishing faster than the year before and smiling at the end.

It’s 20 June 2025 in Freycinet Peninsula, Tasmania and I’m here for the 2024 Freycinet Trail Run, a 29km event organised by Tasmanian-based Endorfun that’s held annually in late June.

It’s my second time round. I’m approaching 61, and a relative newcomer to serious trails.

My earlier attempt at the 2023 Freycinet run was more than a challenge. Downright exhausted at the end, I’d spent the first hour watching the pack disappear into the distance. 

But here I was, June of 2024, in the carpark for the event’s Wineglass Bay Walk. I was one of the oldest starters, but I didn’t feel nervous like last year, because I had a plan. 

It’s cold so I put on the recommended, but not compulsory, thermal polyester top and wondered if I’d be too hot. Being from Rockhampton, I’m not used to running in the cold. Soon the 80 or so starters head to the start-line.

At 8am, we were off on the 3km to Wineglass Bay. The track was good and the 180m elevation was just enough to wake up the quads. Near the back, I didn’t want to hold serious runners up, and I was last onto the beach, but not off it at the other end. I felt good.

I was introduced to Naak’s Ultra Energy Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash Puree at UMTB Kosci 27 in December the year before. Some may liken it to baby food, but it isn’t sickly like many gels, and the energy benefits seem to last much longer for me – 40 minutes or more. Off the beach, there were 600m of elevation over the next 5km. I needed all the energy I could muster and down a Naak, as well as a SIS gel. My theory – gel works fast; the Naak lasts.

Steep scrabbly granite was a feature of the next trail section, and I could only run in a few places. I could see a younger woman ahead of me; I could barely stop in the first 3km of the climb.

The bay looked really nice from up this location, and there was a little waterfall I remembered from last time I did the race. I also came across the ledge where last year I took a wrong turn and got lost.

Breaking out onto an elevated plain, this time it wasn’t waterlogged, and I could even see where to put my feet. 

Marked only by rocky cairns and small yellow arrows generally pinned to rocks on the ground, the trail soon became hard to follow. The organisers provided a geolocated topographic map using the Avenza app, and I was just about to consult it when a voice said ‘here’s an arrow’. It was a strategically placed tail walker, and he remembered me from last year. 

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I let some faster runners pass me, and buoyed by company, I soon had a stumble. Thankfully it was nothing more than a reminder to be vigilant. 

Soon I was at the top of Mt Graham. It was hailing, with daggers of frozen rain assailing my face and the wind almost blowing me off my feet. I’d already enlisted the help of my Montaigne jacket, which I wouldn’t have had except for Kosci, and I already learned a lesson there. 

I was 20 minutes ahead of last years’ time and with friendly company, this time Freycinet was an adventure rather than a chore.

I started the descent. I marvelled that I was barely sore at all, and enjoyed leapfrogging my younger companions. The track featured more wide and smooth sections at this point, and a number of extended downhill runs. 

I reached the northern corner of Cooks Beach, and it was another 4kms to Hazards Beach, with this part of the trail comprising well-defined tracks through undulating landscape. I think the distance between me and the rest of the pack had increased by now, but I wasn’t overly concerned.

At last I broke out onto Hazards Beach, and I had just over an hour to complete the last 8km. The tide was high-ish and although the sand was quite firm, it was covered in lashings of thick, brown kelp so it was difficult to maintain pace, taking far too long to do 2.5km.

Where the trail leaves the beach, this was the third time I’d been at that particular spot. The second was last year, but the first time was back in 1999 when my wife was carrying our first child. Unusually, she had morning sickness then, and in the Wineglass Bay carpark insisted I do the 11km Hazards Loop, while she had a quiet morning. 

Without distraction and mesmerised by the scenery, I spent the next 25 years wanting to relive the experience, but it was a different thing having already completed 24kms of the 29km run! 

Up off Hazards Beach, the track became undulating and uneven, but the trail turns inland from the coast, and widens so you can really leg it if you have the energy. 

The main trail to the carpark was in sight. Ten minutes to go, but it’s really three or four if you are running. I barged past an increasing number of seemingly disorientated tourists, and was elated to have made it home.

My run took 5 hours 40 minutes. But I learned a lot and I think I have framed what suits me as trail runner – 15km to 20km, paths where I am not afraid of falling, and camaraderie. I would like to thank Endorfun for putting on such a great challenge and for putting up with me not finishing in time – twice. 

Quick facts about Freycinet Trail Run:

Event: Freycinet Trail Run

Location: Freycinet Peninsula, Tasmania

Distances: 11km, 29km

Date: 21 June 2026

Info: endorfun.com.au

This article appeared in Edition 56 of Trail Run Magazine 2025, available here.