Winter might be winding down, but the trail calendar certainly isn’t. Some serious heavy hitters are still to come before August is done. Run Larapinta has four days of bucket-list running through the Red Centre, Ultra Series is unleashing its brand-new Barodorf, and Wonderland returns to the technical terrain of Gariwerd. Throw in 100km around Port Lincoln’s coastline and a stack of smaller events around the country, and there’s plenty of racing left in winter yet.
There are also dogs hitting the trails in NSW, a 64km point-to-point mission through Far North Queensland and plenty happening across the ditch. Here’s what’s coming up.
Australia
Run Larapinta Stage Race
Date: 14–17 August 2026
Location: Alice Springs, Northern Territory
Distances: Four stages, with Malbunka (long course) and Namatjira (short course) options
Website: runlarapinta.rapidascent.com.au
There are trail races, and then there are the bucket list trail races. Run Larapinta belongs in the latter camp. The four-day stage race takes runners through the heart of the Red Centre, with the Malbunka long course tackling stages of 19.5km, 41km, 33km and 34km. The shorter Namatjira course follows its own four-stage program.
It starts with an evening run from the Old Telegraph Station in Alice Springs before heading deeper into Larapinta country, with later stages linking places including Simpsons Gap, Standley Chasm, Birthday Waterhole, the Ochre Pits and Ellery Creek Waterhole. The full 2026 event has reached capacity, although single-stage entries have been available.
The Barodorf
Date: 15 August 2026
Location: Barossa Valley to Hahndorf, South Australia
Distances: 16km, 37km, 55km, 50 Mile and 120km
Website: barodorf.com.au
Ultra Series has come up with a very South Australian way to build an ultra: start in one famous wine region and finish in a historic German village.
The Barodorf is a point-to-point journey linking the Barossa Valley with Hahndorf, crossing vineyards, rolling hills, native forest and heritage trails along the way. Better still, the course changes direction each year. In even-numbered years—including 2026—runners go Wine to Stein, heading south from the Barossa towards Hahndorf. Odd years reverse the journey and become Stein to Wine.
With five distances topping out at 120km, this isn’t simply a wine-country fun run with a cute name. It’s a proper Ultra Series trail event built around a route few races get to touch.
Run Your Outback Trail Festival
Date: 21–23 August 2026
Location: Robin Falls, Northern Territory
Distances: 1km kids, 7km night, 7km day, 18km, 28km and 56km
Website: runyouroutback.com
Run Your Outback is a full weekend built around running, camping and spending time on Kungarakan and Warai country at Robin Falls.
Things kick off on Friday night with a 7km nocturnal run before Saturday brings a daytime 7km, 18km and kids’ race. Sunday is for the bigger distances, with 28km and 56km courses heading out over fire-break dirt roads and rocky, hilly singletrack.
And if one race isn’t enough, there’s another way to play it. KANGA entrants take on the Friday night 7km, Saturday 7km and Sunday 28km, while the DINGO combines the night race, Saturday’s 18km and Sunday’s 56km. Fastest across all three becomes KANGA Champ or Top DINGO.
Run, walk or—as the organisers put it—”Cliffy Shuffle” your way through it, then camp under the stars and get up to do it all again the next morning. This feels less like turning up for a race and more like disappearing into the NT for a weekend with a bunch of other people who think three days of trail running sounds like a perfectly reasonable idea.
Transcend
Date: 22 August 2026
Location: Avon Valley, Western Australia
Distances: 6km, 12km, 28km, 40km and 65km Ultra, (65km & 40km team relay too)
Website: transcendtrails.com
Transcend doesn’t mess around with its headline event. The 65km ultra traverses the Avon Valley and packs approximately 2743m of elevation into the journey, taking runners through the sort of rugged country where maintaining momentum becomes half the battle.
There are shorter options too, but don’t assume that means smoothed over paths. Even the 6km course, run on private property opposite Cobbler Pool at Morangup, serves up around 230m of climbing along with uneven ground, open paddocks and large boulders to rock-hop across—and even takes runners through an alpaca farm before joining the final kilometres of the longer races. It’s a nice introduction to what Transcend is all about: proper terrain, plenty of climbing and an Avon Valley finish line waiting at the other end.
Granite Grit Trail Challenge
Date: 22 – 23 August 2026
Location: Ballandean, Queensland
Format: Last One Standing
Website: https://www.granitegrit.com/
Granite Grit takes a simple idea and makes it progressively less pleasant: keep returning to a short, rugged trail loop and see how long you can hang on.
Held at Ballandean in Queensland’s Granite Belt, the Last One Standing format turns repetition into the challenge, with steep climbing, technical descending and accumulated elevation doing their work as the laps mount up. Speed isn’t really the point here. Staying in the game is. Although, in saying that there’s a $1000 prize up for grabs, so maybe giving it a red hot go isn’t such a bad idea.
K2PD Solo and Relay Trail Race
Date: 23 August 2026
Location: Kuranda to Port Douglas, Queensland
Distance: 64km solo or relay
Website: Dynamic Running – K2PD
K2PD is exactly what its name suggests: Kuranda to Port Douglas, on foot.
The 64km point-to-point trail race starts on Black Mountain Road near the Kennedy Highway and sends runners north towards Port Douglas. You can take on the full distance solo or split the 64km between a relay team of two to four runners, making this one of the more unusual team options on the winter trail calendar.
It’s a distinctly Far North Queensland proposition: a long journey rather than laps around an event village, with support crews, transport logistics and 64km of trail between where you start and where you eventually get to stop.
Trails & Tails Coopernook
Date: 23 August 2026
Location: Coopernook State Forest, NSW
Distances: 4km, 7km, 14km and 21.1km
Website: trailsandtails.com.au
Finally, an event for the trail runner whose dog is sick of being left at home.
Trails & Tails is built around the idea that runners can hit the trails solo or with their dog, with four distances from 4km through to a half marathon. The Coopernook event is based around the Forest Headquarters in Coopernook State Forest, between Taree and Kew, and the setting is relaxed enough that caravans and campervans are welcome at the unpowered campground.
Come for the trail running; stay because your four-legged training partner has apparently decided you’re both racing now.
Great White Ultra
Date: 29 August 2026
Location: Port Lincoln, South Australia
Distances: 5km, 22km, 60km and 100km
Website: https://greatwhiteultra.weebly.com/
If your mental picture of a 100km ultra involves endless climbing, Great White Ultra offers something quite different. Its 100km course manages just 1050m of vertical while delivering what organisers rather wonderfully describe as a ridiculous amount of beach running.
The point-to-point course starts inside Lincoln National Park and works its way back towards Port Lincoln through the Investigator and Parnkalla trail networks, passing Stamford Hill, Donington Lighthouse, MacLaren Point, Taylors Landing, Sleaford Beach and Sleaford Mere along the way. Runners are bussed to their respective start points, then it’s one direction: back to Port Lincoln. There’s also a four-person team option for the 100km if the full journey sounds like a little too much seaside fun for one person.
Wonderland Run
Date: 29–30 August 2026
Location: Halls Gap, Victoria
Distances: 2km Kids, 6km, 11km, 20km, 30km and 50km
Website: SingleTrack Events – Wonderland Run
Wonderland doesn’t need much introduction to Victorian trail runners. Based in Halls Gap, the weekend heads straight into the rocky ridgelines, sandstone country and technical trails of Gariwerd/Grampians National Park.
Saturday belongs to the shorter races, including the 11km Pinnacle course with around 606m of climbing. Sunday turns things up considerably. The headline 50km takes runners over Mount Rosea, packs approximately 2200m of elevation gain into the course and now doubles as a qualifier for the GPT100 Miler in November. The 30km isn’t exactly a soft option either, serving up around 1361m of climbing.
This is proper technical mountain running, and the mandatory gear requirements are there for good reason.
New Zealand
Forest Run Fest
Date: 23 August 2026
Location: Bottle Lake Forest, Christchurch
Distances: 2km Kids, 5.5km, 10km and Half Marathon
Website: forestrunfest.co.nz
Christchurch’s Forest Run Fest returns to Bottle Lake Forest, around 10km north-east of the city centre and right alongside the coast.
The format is deliberately accessible, with a half marathon at the top end plus 10km, 5.5km and a 2km kids race, and both runners and walkers welcome. Bottle Lake’s extensive plantation-forest trail network gives the event a very different feel from the big mountain races elsewhere on this list: less about hauling yourself over a summit and more about getting out among the trees and putting together a good morning on the trails. All competitors receive a finisher’s medal.
Wrap up
Late winter is doing a pretty convincing impression of peak trail-running season. More importantly, this fortnight shows just how broad the sport has become: big established races sitting alongside grassroots events, team formats, dog-friendly running and courses that range from genuinely accessible to properly formidable.
Whatever distance is on the bib, the common denominator is still pretty simple—good trails, good people and a reason to get outside.
Stay tuned for more What’s On events soon. If you have an event you’d like to be included in upcoming editions, reach out to margot@trailrunmag.com.
