Elite adaptive athlete Natasha Price and her coach Adam Shepherd made history over the weekend as the first ever adaptive athletes to complete a trail event, smashing the Noosa Ultra-Trail.
One of the premier events on the Australian running calendar, it’s now the largest trail run event in Queensland in only its second year, with 1500 runners taking part.
The event offers runners a choice of six distances, including the Forest 15km, Cross Country 25km, Pomona Sundowner 30km, Out’N’Back 50km, Hinterland Traverse 80km, and the ultimate challenge – the Ultra-Trail 100km, which was taken out by Andrew Dey, finishing in just 9:23:45.
Last year’s female 100km winner Roxanne Shahtahmasebi, who spends her days as a doctor and a mother of two, took out back to back wins in the 100km Ultra-Trail, finishing in 11:45:56.
Noelis Rheault, who finished in second place at 10:53:16, said, “It was great to be able to finish stronger than I was during much of the race and finish in second place behind Andrew Dey, who put on a masterclass of how to run in such suffocating heat.”
Shaun Pettit took out the top spot in the Hinterland Traverse 80km at 8:07:09, while Carol Robertson was the first female across the line in third place at 8:44:51.
Event director Nick Stewart said it was a tough day for runners but the atmosphere in the race precinct was full of energy as family and friends cheered loved ones home.
“We had some fantastic stories of personal achievement, with many runners stepping up to conquer a longer distance, participating in their first ultra event or running for special personal reasons,” Nick said.
“Female runners dominated in the Forest 15km, with female runners back first overall.”
Local yogi and lifestyle ambassador Kat Harding took family and friends through a gentle yoga class at the race precinct in the morning, while the Noosa Hinterland Brewing Co were a big hit with the bar stationed right along the finish line chute, making for the perfect viewing location.
“A koala was located in the race precinct as a fantastic photo opportunity, shedding light on our commitment to environmental sustainability through our Noosa Ultra-Trail Sustainability Strategy, which includes encouraging runners to be environmentally conscious and make sustainable choices,” Nick said.
“We’d like to pass on a sincere and heartfelt thank you to the amazing volunteers, the spectators and of course the incredible runners.”
For all results visit results.onetime.sport/activities/event/
