Iconic Castle Hill Outer Limits Trail Run to return

The Goat Run up the iconic Castle Hill kick starts the Outer Limits Trail Run series this Friday with the region’s elite runners vying for the honours and prize money.

Runners Carmen Ritter and Mitch Nissen, will be vying for line honours and $1600 in prizemoney in The Goat this Friday before tackling the Castle Hill Trail Run on Sunday. Picture: Evan Morgan

The Goat Run up the iconic Castle Hill kick starts the Outer Limits Trail Run series this Friday with the region’s elite runners vying for the honours and prize money.

The intense short ‘sprint’ trail run features an intense running climb starting from Queens Gardens up some of the hill’s best known tracks.

But the Friday afternoon race is only the start of the weekend of fitness with the Castle Hill Trail Run hitting the starting blocks on Sunday with 500 runners competing across three distances.

Outer Limits event organiser Sam Steadman said it be a big weekend of running on the Townsville landmark to begin the season of North Queensland trail running.

“The ‘Goat’ was brought on last year for its first year to showcase trail running and to get the public enthusiastic about cheering on trail runners,” Steadman said.

“Castle Hill is so accessible and the goat track is so popular. The Goat gets the fittest and the fastest of the runners who want to hurt the most to race here to the top of Castle Hill,” he said.

Runners Carmen Ritter and Mitch Nissen, with event organisor Sam Steadman (centre) will be vying for line honours and $1600 in prizemoney in The Goat this Friday before tackling the Castle Hill Trail Run on Sunday. Picture: Evan Morgan

He said the Castle Hill Trail Run was the first of six of the popular trail run series running throughout the year.

“Our six race trail running series kicks off on Sunday with Castle Hill which will be sold out at 500 runners over three distances, three kilometres, seven kilometres and 10 kilometre events with the start and finish at the Belgian Garden State School,” Steadman said.

“It’s either going to be hot or wet racing in trial running in February, and we’re looking forward to the first of the six race trial running series on Sunday morning.

“The five races afterwards start out at Alligator Creek with the open flowing trails out there, then we head over to Magnetic Island, which is one of our favourites. Following that we go down to Bowen and race down there before we head to Pallarenda and we finish off in Paluma.

“Registrations will close once the Castle Hill event is sold out but we also have a volunteering page as well and we’d also love to see plenty of spectators out cheering the runners on,” Steadman said.

For information on the Trail Run Series and the Castle Hill Trail run go to https://outerlimitsadventure.com.au/

Originally published as Iconic Castle Hill Outer Limits Trail Run to return