Gold Coast runners take on 70km trek from O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat to Currumbin beach in one day
For some it sounds like a nightmare but for these hardcore adventurers it’s the trek of a lifetime: hiking from the middle of the Gold Coast hinterland to Currumbin beach – in one day.
Gold Coast
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IT was all smiles as a team of Gold Coast adventurers shuffled bleeding and covered in mud on to Currumbin beach – 18 hours and more than 70km from where they started.
The group of six set out around midnight on Wednesday from O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat in the Lamington National Park, having challenged themselves to walk, run and climb all the way to Currumbin in a single day.
It was a challenge “adventurepreneur” Ben Southall said was half a decade in the making.
“I’ve always gone and done crazy, silly adventures, whether they’re running up mountains in Africa or kayaking the length of the Great Barrier Reef,” he said.
“It was just one of those things where I know something’s possible, so why not go out and do it?
“About five years ago (working with O’Reilly’s) I thought wouldn’t it be great to go from right up there in the clouds, all the way to the coast.”
Joined by five other experienced adventurers, including Burleigh athlete Sam Weir, the group raced along both established and “new” tracks and trails and skirted the mountains along the Queensland-NSW border.
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They were supported along the way by O’Reillys and outdoor gear company Wild Earth.
Mr Southall, who founded expedition company Best Life Adventures, said a few close scrapes forced them to give up on their plan to arrive in Currumbin by sunset.
“Our primary goal was to get to Currumbin Rock by sunset to sit down, have a beer on the rock and watch the sun go down,” he said.
“Not every adventure goes to plan.
“We had points where things didn’t go right, where we were stuck on the side of cliffs trying to work out how to get up or get down, and we basically had to forge our own way.”
After five years of waiting to finally take on the journey, Mr Southall said the “zombie shuffle” over the sand in the dark was well worth it.
“It’s just one of those ones where there’s a big sweaty, stinky hug at the end,” he said.
“We crossed the finish, cracked open a beer, sat down and said, ‘we did it’.”
As for whether he was enjoying a break a day later yesterday he said: “I’ve got a three-year-old and my partner’s (away) with the military. So I was up again at 5.30 this morning.”
Originally published as Gold Coast runners take on 70km trek from O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat to Currumbin beach in one day