FOURTH TIME BACK AT THE KURANDA TO PORT DOUGLAS 60KM

Contributed by Stuart Corbett, AURA member

Kuranda to Port Douglas (K2PD) 60km, 3 October 2021, Kuranda/Port Douglas Qld

My first trail ultra in 2014, at the age of 61, was the 64km Kuranda to Port Douglas (K2PD) which is an A to B run from Kuranda in far north Queensland to Port Douglas over Black Mountain Road and through the Mowbray National Park and Bump Track. The course is set over a combination of dirt road, single track, hilly but not too technical, road and beach. The total ascent is somewhere around 1080 metres.

This year was my 4th time back and although the course was 4km shorter due to the closing of one section, I was a little older so was still well tested.

The race is run by Dynamic Running in Cairns and the welcoming environment is part of the reason I keep coming back. My wife Sandi has volunteered each time I have run, and this time I would see her at the 27km and again at the 45km checkpoints.

The race has entries for solo and relay team runners which is quite nice as, with manned checkpoints well-spaced at 27, 45 and 56kms, you actually get to see people (team supporters waiting for their runners at various locations along the trail).

During previous races in this area there have been reports of encounters with snakes and cassowaries, however I saw neither on my run. Probably because all the traffic was ahead of me clearing the path.

My previous best time for the event was 8hrs 58mins so a lot of the runners would have been finished, showered and on their second or third beer by the time I finished. I did however have a good run. I am prone to cramping quite badly from about 35km during ultras but was pleasantly surprised to have no cramping issues until about 52km and descending down the Bump Track which is around 15-20% grade. I put the improvement down to Tailwind which I have been using for the last 3 years.

From the bottom of the Bump Track, there is a longish haul into Craiglea, and then a 4km run along 4 Mile Beach to finish. I was pretty happy to have finished in 8hrs 15min in 24th place and somehow managed to have 62.46km on my Suunto for a 60km run. Maybe it was because I was a little wobbly along the beach.

I highly recommend this as an achievable ultra for most people with reasonable fitness and training. Dynamic Running do offer training support for those in the Cairns region. I will be back next year in August 2022, to make it number 5 before running the CPTU120 in September.