42km Trail marathon

Heading out from the front gates of Mount Avoca Winery, the opening kilometres are flat and fast (or as relaxed as you like) as you warm up through the vines of Blue Pyrenees Estate before reaching the foothills of the Pyrenees Range. Your first challenge arrives at around the 9km mark with the climb to Governors Lookout.

Now, you may have met The Guv with something left in the tank, but it’s the Guv’s Mistress that really puts the screws on. Steep and hard as nails, this climb bites for around 1km before easing into a more manageable gradient, eventually cresting onto Dead Wood Ridge. Appropriately named, trust us.

The next 10km of ridge running delivers spectacular views across both the eastern and western sides of the Pyrenees Range, with glimpses of both Mount Avoca Winery and Blue Pyrenees Estate below. The route blends jeep track, flowing singletrack and sections of fire road, providing a great opportunity to settle into a rhythm before reaching the renowned Pyrenees Endurance Trail at Camerons Track Campground.

Known for its rugged terrain and forest-filtered views, the Endurance Trail serves up a series of rolling undulations over the next 11km. It’s a section that rewards patience and persistence before the course finally tips downward for a thrilling descent from Mount Avoca to Waterfalls Campground, dropping more than 345 vertical metres in quick succession.

From there, you’ll have a chance to shake out the legs as the course skirts Sugarloaf Reservoir before joining the final stretch of Mount Avoca Winery singletrack, specially built for this event.

A few kilometres from the finish, you can choose to stop at the famous Tasty Trail Aid Station. Yep, that’s exactly what it sounds like. A sip of local wine and a mouthful of soft, salty cheese to fuel the final descent and floaty run through the vines.

Waiting at the finish is your finisher’s “medal” in the form of a specially engraved wine glass, with the cellar door bar ready to fill it with a complimentary beverage of your choice.

But really, how could it not be a Shiraz?