Race Director Report: Transcend Ultra
TRANSCENd ultra
22 june, 2024
walyunga national park, wa
shane johnstone, race director
Transcend took place on Saturday, 22 June, starting at Walyunga National Park, 45 minutes from Perth City in Whadjuk Country. The Transcend experience can be closely followed from afar like no other event in Australia, there is a live broadcast of the event on YouTube, with commentary from elite athletes Nathan Doig and Jess Jason. Every runner / hiker has a GPS tracker that can be followed via the Track Me Live maps. The 65km ultra runners start at 6:30am under the flickers of light from the illuminating Transcend race gantry. It is here where they are welcomed to country by Daniel Garlett, with a spirit cleansing smoking ceremony, didgeridoo and clap stick performance, the runners were handed clap sticks and welcome to join in with the ritual. As the race start time neared the rain increased to a torrential downpour which was fitting as they listened to Warriors by Leagues of Legends telling them ‘Here we are, don’t turn away now’.
The runners set off along the Avon River trail at an ambitious pace, especially in the challenging conditions. The pace proved to be too hot for some, opting for an early finish but others seemed to power through the trails, mud and all just having a blast as if they were back in their childhood exploring bushland. The early rain had brought the raging Avon River (gogulgar) and adjoining creeks to life, running through Bells Rapids and Bells Falls were special highlights leading into aid station 1 at Avon Ridge.
Leg 2 featured some epic single track and the notorious mud slide, where staying upright becomes the priority focus, fortunately the creek crossing just after was a prime place to wash the clay off the trail shoes, before ascending to Scenic Lookout around the giant John Forrest Cairn that is over a survey marker from the 1800’s. By this stage the 40km hikers had set off from aid station 2 adding to the atmosphere along the course.
Leg 3 is within Paruna Wildlife Sanctuary which always catches people off guard with its steps carved into the steep hill climbs and descents. The epic views over the Avon Valley take the edge off the discomfort and lure you to the Nissen Hut at aid station 3. At each aid station the runners and hikers are welcomed by a grazing table experience of home-made slices and nostalgic lollies that they will recall from their cherished childhoods, which fuels the fire to get them back on course hunting that finish line.
Leg 4 has the least amount of elevation however still features some surprises to keep the runners and hikers on their toes. The goat track 1km from aid station 4 is the highlight taking them through some eery bushland to put them back into full trail mode before the final stretch. The last support line at aid station 4 – Valley Campground within the Avon Valley National Park, Ballardong Country is often where many take the time to have a cup of warm soup and fresh bread to recharge the legs for the King / Queen of the Mountain climb up to the highest point of the course above the Boral Quarry. At this point the runners and hikers cross ladders into private farms before they reach the final 5km of the course which features some of the best single trail on the course.
The live entertainment from Sunchuks calls out to the participants to keep on following the trail markers and when it gets dark they see the search lights in the sky giving them a goal to keep chipping towards. The finish village features at the top of the final climb allowing the spectators to cheer them up those last final painful meters of vertical gain whilst having a Slum Dog Brewing Co or ROAM Distillery beverage along with a dirty burger and chips sitting around the fire pit. When the sun goes down the onsie costumes and chainsaws came out to welcome the final finishers in Party Hour 7:30 - 8:30pm up the neon light tunnel and under the luminated Transcend finish gantry. Wow, what an experience it was!
Transcend was very inclusive being open to hikers and trail runners. It has distances for all fitness levels and all age groups and if the distances were too far for someone to complete solo there were team options:
- Kids Dash
- 6km Hike / 6km Run
- 40km Hike / 40km Hike Team Relay
- 65km Ultra / 65km Team Relay
The 2025 edition will be on a new date, Saturday, 16 August and will additionally feature:
- 40km Run
- 25km Hike or Run
One of the most special parts of Transcend is that all finishers are given the opportunity to plant a tree, giving back to the land and for future finishers who will eventually be welcomed to a Transcend Forrest. Some of the Transcendents opted for a glamping experience overnight, others enjoyed a beverage or three before catching a bus back to town, and some went on to stay at the historic Toodyay town. The region is well known to history, culture, food, wine and hot air ballooning over everlasting canola and wildflower fields.
This year’s champions were:
65km Ultra
Female
1 Erika Lori AUS 6:46:53 (Female Course Record & 2,000 AUD prize)
2 Claire O’Brien-Smith AUS 7:37:27 (1,000 AUD prize)
3 Arian Huston 8:15:00 AUS (500 AUD prize)
Male
1 Piotr Babis 6:19:59 POL (2,000 AUD prize)
2 Dale Zabiela 6:28:29 AUS (1,000 AUD prize)
3 Nicholas Bamford GBR (500 AUD prize)
65km Teams
Male
1 Bunch of Old C’s 7:01:23
2 Western Nomads 7:08:38
3 East Hilly’s 8:15:22
Female
1 Kate Bush’s #1 Hit Single 8:16:51
2 CC’s 8:42:21
3 Para Deleite 9:13:13
Mixed
1 TBC 7:30:00
2 Perpetual Peaks 7:34:29
3 Team White 7:59:19
6km Run
Female
1 Christine Lison 36:41 (Female Course Record)
2 Katie Sharples 38:55
3 Harper Shadbolt 41:10
Male
1 Christopher Sharples 32:58 (Male Course Record)
2 Reece Major 33:27
3 Raymond Walter 33:29
Please note the 40km hike and kids dash are non-competitive, however the 40km run in 2025 will be.
Further results can be found here: 2024 Results | Transcend Trails
Relive the 2024 event via video:
- Event video by Noeko https://youtu.be/3EM53yGZlGs
- Live Broadcast by Alive & Streaming Transcend 65K Ultra 2024 | LIVE! (youtube.com)
Checkout the event website www.transcendtrails.com
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