April 30, 2018
Queensland’s Naturally Refreshing Sunshine Coast came alive as the elite of Australia’s Off Road Racing fraternity descended on the spectacular hinterland terrain to tackle a weekend of action packed off road events including Cross Triathlon, Trail Running and Mountain Biking.
The newly branded Sunshine Coast MultiSport Festival has combined some of the very best off road events in Australia into one action packed weekend which this year included TreX, Australia’s home grown national cross triathlon series which offered a standard distance, sprint, junior, teaser and dirt kids events; the newly launched Sunshine Coast Trail Run Festival which in 2018 included an all new Half Marathon, 11k and 5k events; and the re-invigoration of the Sunshine Coast XC MTB Festival offering 50k, 25k and 8k courses.
The festival has been brought to the Sunshine Coast with the support of Tourism Events Queensland and the Sunshine Coast Regional Council by event managers In2Adventure, who in 2016 hosted the ITU World Championships in Australia. Event Director, Robyn Lazenby, told us
“We were so excited to relaunch the Sunshine Coast event with so many new additions, and a sell out on both days demonstrated what a love there is for MultiSport in Australia which just continues to grow. The Sunshine Coast is one of those very rare places that can offer everything our athletes look for in one exciting destination. From the spectacular backdrop of the Sunshine Coast Hinterland to the expansive swim in beautiful Ewen Maddock Dam, to the custom built MTB trails which twist and turn amongst picturesque fern filled rain forests to the running trails with the most amazing vistas at every turn. Landsborough and the Sunshine Coast has got the lot!”
TreX Sunshine Coast | CHAMPIONS Ben Allen & Penny Slater
TreX Sunshine Coast was the finale of a seven race national series and it was reigning Australian Champion Ben Allen (B&J Racing) 2:09:50 who won a hard fought battle in the elite men’s race with Brodie Gardner (Intune Sports) 2:11:56 in 2nd and Dean Cane 2:13:20 in 3rd, racing elite/open for the first time after ten years of racing in the TreX Series, starting as a Junior.
In the women it was current U23 world champion Penny Slater (B&J Racing) 2:30:09 who put in a memorable performance to take the win for the elite women with Cass Percival (Harvey Bay Tri Club) 2:41:36 in 2nd.
2017/18 TreX National Series Champions | ELITE CHAMPIONS Jacob Storey & Penny Slater
A huge congratulations goes out to athletes racing the national TreX Series who were awarded 2018 Series Championship Titles on the weekend.
| STANDARD | SPRINT | JUNIOR | |
| Jacob Storey | Rory Nicol | Joey Milgate | |
| Penny Slater | Callum Kingston | ||
| Josh Campton | Amy Mitchell | ||
| Simon Nendick | Joel Hillier | ||
| Cathy Milgate | Shaye Giess | ||
| Amanda Richards | |||
| Annakatherin Franzman
Stephen Duffield |
The newly launched Sunshine Coast Trail Run Festival included a Half Marathon, 11k & 5k and it was Chris White from Tolga in North Qld 1:35:53 taking line honours in the half marathon for the men and Penny Slater after winning the elite womens race in the cross triathlon in the morning backing up in the afternoon and taking line honours for the women in a time of 1:54:48.
Sunshine Coast Trail Run Festival | CHAMPIONS Chris White & Penny Slater
Sunshine Coast XC MTB Festival | CHAMPIONS Brodie Gardner & Sarah White
The revamped Sunshine Coast XC MTB Festival included 50k, 25k & 8k courses and it was Brodie Gardner (Intune Sports) 2:30:45 claiming first place in the Elite Male category with Darren Rolfe 2:30:54 in second and Clinton Hayward (TMBC) 2:32:37 in third.
In the female elite race it was Sarah White 2:46:43 in first, Penny Slater (B&J Racing) 2:48:10 in second and Rebecca Stone 2:59:19 in third.
Qld Dirt Master Championship | DIRT MASTER CHAMPION Brodie Gardner | DIRT MISTRESS CHAMPION Penny Slater
Across the weekend there were a few… call them mad… call them crazy.. call them insane.. we just call them BLOODY AWESOME, Dirt Master and Dirt Mistress contenders who took on three long course events across the weekend with the aim to complete all three and claim the title of Dirt Master or Dirt Mistress 2018.
These amazing guys and girls took on the challenge of the TreX Standard Distance Triathlon (1500|25|10.5), 21.5k Half Marathon Trail Run and 50k XC MTB totalling over 108 extreme kilometres across two days. At the end of this there are only 13 elite few who can claim the title of Dirt Master and Dirt Mistress and add their names to the Dirt Master Hall of Fame:
- Brodie Gardner | 6:23:22 | Intune Sport 2018 QLD DIRT MASTER CHAMPION
- Penny Slater | 7:13:09 | B&J Racing 2018 QLD DIRT MISTRESS CHAMPION
- Simon Nendick | 7:20:39 | Team Infinit
- Connie Silvestri | 7:53:10 | QORTS
- John Bourne | 8:14:49
- Sean Lever | 8:24:21 | Caloundra Tri Club
- Amie Munson | 8:37:07 | Harvey Bay Tri Club
- Lawrence Clark | 9:08:14 | Caloundra Tri Club
- Paul Foster | 9:08:48 | Caloundra Tri Club
- Paul Gleeson | 9:16:01 | Caloundra Tri Club
- Andrew ‘Hubcap’ Handyside | 9:16:33 | Infinit MTB Team
- Jamie Hagan | 9:43:11 | Caloundra Tri Club
- Adam Daniec | 10:03:17 | Caloundra Tri Club
All in all it was a tremendous weekend of off road racing for all comers from the littlest Mud Rats and Dirt Kids, to Australia’s world class best and now it’s time to look forward to the 2018/19 season where In2Adventure have some very special surprises in store. To stay up to date and find out more go to www.in2adventure.com.au and stay tuned to enews and social media for some very special announcements coming very soon.
2018|19 Event Dates (more coming soon)
| DATE | EVENT | LOCATION | |
| 22 Sept 2018 | TreX Port Stephens | Port Stephens, NSW | |
| 23 Sept 2018 | Tomaree Trail Run Festival | Port Stephens, NSW | |
| 24 Nov 2018 | TreX Goldfields | Bendigo, VIC | |
| 25 Nov 2018 | Bendigo Trail Run Festival | Bendigo, VIC | |
| 23 Feb 2018 | TreX Snowy Mountains | Snowy Mountains, NSW | |
| 24 Feb 2018 | Snowies Ultra Trail Run Festival | Snowy Mountains, NSW | |
| 8-10 Feb 2018 | Snowies MTB Festival | Snowy Mountains, NSW |
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About TreX
For twelve years TreX has positioned itself as the pinnacle of the cross – or off-road – triathlon racing series in Asia-Pacific inclusing the hosting of the ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships in 2016. Presented by the premier outdoor adventure event specialists In2Adventure, TreX consists of a swim, mountain bike and trail run as well as teams, duathlon and aquabike formats. While each TreX event features an Elite/Open category the TreX Cross Triathlon national series invites participation from all ages and skill levels. For more information visit TreX here
About In2Adventure
In2Adventure are Asia-Pacific’s premier adventure event specialists, and the proud host of the 2016 ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships. With a full calendar of national events scheduled throughout Australia, including adventure races, cross triathlon, XC Mountain Bike, trail runs and corporate events, In2Adventure fully embraces all things ‘off road’ and ‘off the beaten track’ and offers a unique, individual experience for all ages and skill levels. For more information visit In2Adventure here
