As an addition to my previous article on low and no cost runs in South Australia, I thought I’d do a few reviews of these runs for you. This one’s of the The Great Kanku-Breakaways Marathon which also includes a 2.4km kid’s fun run, 5km, 10km, 21.1km half marathon and full 42.2km marathon distance, plus bike ride options for most of those distances.

 

Location

Coober Pedy, the Opal Capital of the World, is about 850kms north of Adelaide – which makes it a very long day’s drive if you bash it out in one hit. (If that sounds like too far to drive for a run, make sure you check out my notes at the end of this article.) In 2018 there was a significant course change from previous years and the race now starts and finishes at the main lookout at The Kanku-Breakaways Conservation Park which is about a 32km drive out of town. (In previous years it has started in the park, and finished in the town of Coober Pedy. It’s worth checking to see what the route will be in 2019 – race day has been announced as June 1!)

 

Race choices

The race has a free 2.4km kid’s race, 5km & 10km run/ride/walk ($20 earlybird, $25 regular entry) and 21km and 42km run/ride/walk ($40 earlybird and $50 regular entry.) Pretty sure you can also register on the day. I ran the 42km so my review is for that course which was two ‘laps’ of the 21km out and back course.

 

Elevation

This is definitely not a flat course, but other than the first bit down from the lookout, then back up again on your way back, most of the ups and downs are pretty modest and gradual. You’d have to say the ‘out’ section is definitely downhill, making the way back uphill. I personally ran all of the first 30kms, but the last 10kms home walked anything resembling a bump. There were a lot of bumps. The last km up to the finish line is tough.

 

The surface

I’m not sure whether you’d describe this as a road or trail race? Technically it’s road, on a road that’s wide enough to take two-way traffic, but it’s all unsealed. (The road is completely closed to traffic for the event.) I ran it in road shoes because it’s all pretty well graded. You just have to watch where you step at times because some of it is a bit rocky, and a few sections were a little sandy. 2018 race day was dry, not sure how the road would fare after a big rain – could be a little sloppy in places.

 

 

Support

Support is excellent. Thanks to the out and back course, there was a support station every 2.5kms. Water, sport drink (regular and sugar free), lollies, and without fail, the loveliest volunteers ever. If, like me, you’re happy to stop and say hi, you’ll have no worries what so ever. If you’re wanting to race past and just grab a drink as you go, it can be a bit hit and miss as the volunteers tended to pour on demand as you arrived. Sometimes there were filled cups ready to go, sometimes not. For me, no issues. If you’re trying to qualify for the Olympics, you might lose 15 or 20 seconds on the way through.

 

Start/Finish line

Starts and finishes in the same place – the lookout. No parking in the immediate vicinity. You need to park a little way down the hill – maybe only 500m. Not a big deal when you arrive – seems a lot further when you’ve been running for a few hours. Plenty of porta loos on site. In 2018 there was a bit of a ‘food tent city’ there for all sorts of snacks afterwards… sausage sizzle, drinks, even scones.

 

Notes

In 2018 they moved the start time for the rides and runs to 10am/10:30am which was tough going. The forecast was only for 20c (probbaly cold for people who live in Coober Pedy where Summer temps average 35c/36c and regularly nudge the mid 40s), but running distance in that weather through the middle of the day got tough. Wear sunscreen and a hat, and drink plenty. (Hopefully they will start the longer distances earlier next year.)

When I picked my low cost events for this year, while I didn’t have firm criteria in mind, one of the things I took into consideration was the size of the field and how that affected the experience of the race. It has to be said, the marathon only had five entrants, and only three turned up on the day, which puts it in a weird category – the New York Marathon it ain’t! As you can see by the stats below, not a whole lot more did the other distances either. And usually I’d say this takes away from the atmosphere, but for some reason, it sort of suits the remote location and I absolutely loved it. But you’ll need to be prepared to run most, if not all of it, solo – other than passing a few people going the other way at various times. (This is one of those times an out and back course comes in really handy so you at least see other runners every now and then!)

 

2018 Bling/Prices/Entrants

42km ($50 entry/$40 earlybird): 3 finishers

21km ($50 entry/$40 earlybird): ride 6/run 7/walk 9 finishers

10km ($25 entry/$20 earlybird): ride 1/run 6/walk 8 finishers

5km ($25 entry/$20 earlybird): ride 9/run 2/walk 8 finishers

2.4km (free): 23 finishers

Cotton long sleeve top. (Lovely gesture, but probably not one you’re ever likely to wear so don’t get too excited.) Not sure about medals…. I think no. I got one, but I’m not sure if it was a general finisher’s medal or because I came 2nd male. Which also happened to be last male! Disappointingly, you don’t get to keep your race number as they re-use them which is a shame.

 

My verdict

While it’s a long way to go for a race, I’d definitely consider doing this one again, and I’d highly recommend turning it into a 4 or even 5 day trip. A day up, a day back, and a couple of days up there. On the way up, I’d stop at the Arid Lands Botanic Gardens just outside of Port Augusta for lunch and a quandong smoothie, and stretch your legs with views of the Flinders across Spencer’s Gulf at the Red Cliff Lookout. On the way back, take a short detour off the main highway to see the outdoor ‘missile park’ with a great display of rockets from its hey day as US rocket base back in the 50s/60s.

And there’s no shortage of things to do in and around Coober Pedy itself. For the record, I arrived Friday afternoon and visited the Kanku-Breakaways for sunset that day, then waited for the stars to come up – Stunning. On Saturday I ran then took it easy when I got back to town. One word of warning – if you want a recovery pizza from JD’s like I did, make sure you get in early with your order, can be a wait of up to an hour. If you have any energy left, you might also go the drive in on Saturday Night – a quintessential Aussie experience. On the Sunday I took a quick look at the ‘golf course’ then went on to Crocodile Harry’s ‘Underground Nest’ before heading back to town via Tom’s Working Opal Mine – not the sort of thing I’d usually do but thought it was pretty coo – and made it back in time for feeding time at the kangaroo orphanage. I then somewhat stupidly, decided to do The Painted Desert (usually a leisurely full day trip) and because I didn’t leave til after lunch, wasn’t back til way after dark – much better to go early and take your time without having to drive at night which can be tricky with animals on the roads. On the Monday I did my Wrights Air joy flight over the Painted Hills and Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre with water flooding into it, and honestly wish I’d had at least one more day to see a few more things in Coober Pedy before I left. But there’s always next time.

(I’ll write more about my full road trip in a separate blog soon.)

 

GPS

My Strava GPS data is here. (Just ignore the last 8 or so kms… 😉 )

 

Gallery (A few more pics from the day available on Facebook here.)

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