It was very tender for the rest of the run so decided to only run short section of the flats and hike the climbs. The run was held in perfect sunny and mild conditions and followed mostly fire trails and unfortunately i tweaked my left calf on the first major descent when i lost footing underneath me. Mystic Hill is situated and overlooks the beautiful town of Bright. The 4 peaks alpine climb event takes place over the Melbourne Cup long weekend, with a different peak to ascend/ descend each day with official distances ranging from 10km-15km each day.Īs informed in the lead up the Mystic Hill course was changed due logging of the local forest which almost double the original course elevation for the day. In the lead up to the event there was many reports about changed race courses due to logging and snow in the Vic Alps which unfortunately this was the case, but safety is of the highest priority. Read all about the 4 Peaks Challenge here.As regular visitor to the Victorian Alps each year, I had heard about the 4 peaks trail running event andhad been planning to do it for many years especially knowing it is an iconic with a great community feel trail running and hiking event in Australia, starting in 1979. Everyone survived the weather extremes however, and all runners and walkers returned safely from each peak.Īll in all, a great event, a great learning experience, and time well spent (pun intended) in some of the most beautiful scenery in Australia.įull results for each race and the General Classification results can be found here. The race timer’s personal comfort was another issue entirely, as founder Murray is notoriously unhappy in cold weather, except when complimented for his choice in fur hats. It was the first time we have worked in sub-zero temperatures, and we’re happy to report all worked just fine. There were even a couple of lightning storms thrown in for good measure. In fact, the weather varied from warm and sunny on Day 1, to cool and cloudy on Day 2, to alpine snow and ice and sleet on the last 2 days. There are also different start lines for each event, and Mystic is the only race where the runners finish where they started.Īdded together, the elevation of all the races is 6420 metres – an astonishing amount, and when you consider the difficulty of some of the running tracks, combined with the notoriously changeable alpine weather, you start to get an idea of the challenge confronting the participants. Jeremy Graham, owner of 4 Peaks Racing, has produced over 500 events in the Valley since 2003. The mountain tops of Mystic, Mt Feathertop, Mt Hotham, and Mt Buffalo all feature in the race, and each has its own quirks, difficulties, and charms. The town of Bright is surrounded by the main peaks which give the race its name, and is itself an adventure sports hub, hosting 6 other events on the same weekend, with a full calendar to come. But still the event – run over the Melbourne Cup holiday period – retains that community feel and friendliness that has been its appeal for so many years. Judging from the quality of this year’s field, it is not far away from that goal already. Thus it is that the event is in a state of flux, and moving towards being a world-class mountain running event, attracting the best alpine runners from locally and overseas. The event itself has been around since 1977, run as a community event until 2015, when it was taken over by the good folk at Mountain Sports, who straightaway started to add safety and compliance features that the previous owners could not afford or manage. Results for everyone who did all four days are combined into a General Classification, or sum of all four times. Bright Alpine Climb – 4 Peaks is the most unusual event Tempus has timed so far, in that it combines four of the toughest mountain running events in Alpine Victoria into 4 straight days of running, or hiking if you’re an alpine walker.
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