The coming week is about to serve up a buffet of choice for trail runners looking for something a bit different. There’s backyard ultras, mountain and coastal races and a chance to run across the Simpson Desert. So if you’re wanting some inspiration for future adventures—to cheer your friends along, or maybe you’re up for racing in one of these events—here’s what’s happening across Australia and New Zealand.
Australia
Dead Cow Gully Backyard Ultra
Date: 30 May 2026
Location: Nanango, Queensland
Distances: Backyard Ultra format (6.7 km hourly loop)
Website: deadcowgully.com.au
If the recent attention around Phil Gore’s backyard ultra exploits has got you thinking about the format, you have to check out Dead Cow Gully. It’s held in regional Queensland on a full blown cattle property, where runners often have to dodge a cow or two. Like all backyard ultras, it has a simple yet brutal logic: complete a 6.7km loop every hour until only one runner remains. Even though backyard ultras continue to grow in popularity across Australia and New Zealand, Dead Cow Gully remains one of the benchmark events on the calendar. And the good news is, it’s on this weekend.
Simpson Desert Ultra
Date: 5–7 June 2026
Location: Birdsville, Queensland
Distances: 25km, 50km, 75km, 100km, 160km
Website: simpsondesertultra.com
Most ultras promise a challenge. The Simpson Desert Ultra delivers that plus a little extra: sand dunes, horizons for days, remote Aussie landscapes and one of the most unique running environments in the country. It all happens west of Birdsville (yes, that Birdsville!) in the heart of the Australian outback. The course combines soft sand, gibber plains and a whole lot of logistical demands that come with racing in one of Australia’s most remote regions. It’s as much an adventure as it is a race.
Coffs Backyard Ultra
Date: 6 June 2026
Location: Coffs Harbour, New South Wales
Distances: Backyard Ultra format (6.7 km hourly loop)
Website: coffstrailrunners.com
Backyard ultras continue to have their moment, and Coffs Backyard Ultra arrives at an interesting time for the format. With world records being challenged overseas and Australian runners remaining at the forefront of the discipline, interest in backyard racing has never been higher. Hosted by the Coffs Trail Runners community, the event strips running back to its simplest equation: one loop, every hour, for as long as you can keep going.
Serra Terror
Date: 6–7 June 2026
Location: Grampians (Gariwerd), Victoria
Distances: Teams cover between 12km and 35km per day, depending on the course
Website: serraterror.com
No need to be scared off by the name. Because you don’t tackle the Serra Terror on your own. It’s a two-day team challenge in the rugged terrain of the Grampians (Gariwerd) happening this year over the King’s Birthday long weekend. You round up a team of three to eight runners and navigate a course that’s usually a mix of singletrack, four-wheel-drive tracks, steep climbs and the occasional crazy scramble with some spectacular scenery thrown in to ease the pain of suffering. Nothing scary to see here.
Enter as an Endurance Team and complete the entire course together as a team, or a Relay Team, where runners and hikers swap in and out at designated checkpoints. So think teamwork, problem-solving and shared suffering. That’s the Serra Terror experience.
Cape2Cape Ultra Marathon
Date: 6–7 June 2026
Location: Augusta to Yallingup, Western Australia
Distances: 100 Mile, 50 Mile
Website: cape2capeultra.com.au
This is one of Australia’s newest ultras that also ticks the box of being one of the most spectacular. Cape2Cape takes runners along the iconic Cape to Cape Track through some of Western Australia’s most photogenic trails. The 100 Miler will start at Augusta Marina, head West to Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse, before joining the Cape2Cape track and then head North to Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse and back to the finish line at Yallingup. The 50 Miler (Half Cape) starts at Riflebutts Reserve in Prevelly and finishes in Yallingup. Expect big scenery and a serious challenge.
Registrations are open until Sunday 31 May 2026 at midnight.
New Zealand
Kings Backyard Ultra
Date: 30 May 2026
Location: Northland, New Zealand
Distances: Backyard Ultra format (6.7 km hourly loop)
Website: hisandhersevents.co.nz
On paper, Kings Backyard Ultra sounds pretty friendly. A mix of paddocks, farm tracks, singletrack and country roads. Around 75 metres of climbing per lap. Nice views over the Northland countryside. Nothing to worry about.
Then you remember you’ll be seeing it again in an hour. And again after that…
Like all good backyard ultras, the challenge isn’t the course itself so much as what happens when the laps start stacking up. For first-timers, it’s a welcoming introduction to the format. For experienced backyarders, it’s another chance to see just how long “one more lap” can last.
Whether you’re chasing vert in the Grampians, tackling endless backyard loops, crossing the Simpson Desert or following the coast from Augusta to Eagle Bay, the next fortnight offers plenty of reasons to pin on a bib and hit the trails.
If you’re a trail runner and you love to read all things dirt related, subscribe to Trail Run Magazine so you get your trail stories, gear and shoe reviews, great advise and community delivered straight to you (4 issues per 12 months). Plus right now you get an amazing free gift.
