Gruelling Toowoomba event has new date for 2019

ONE of Toowoomba’s most physically challenging events has a new date for 2019.

Representing TACAPS on the Milne Bay Military Challenge (from left) Andrew Christian, Campbell McIntyre, Ethan OMeara, Tom Sanson and Toby ONeill, Sunday, March 18, 2018. Picture: Kevin Farmer

ONE of Toowoomba's most physically challenging events has a new date for 2019.

The Milne Bay Military Challenge, which tackles the rugged escarpment terrain of Redwood and Jubilee Parks, will take place on April 28 next year.

Now able to be completed individually as well as in a team of up to four people, the challenge takes place across three routes of increasing difficulty - the 7km, 15km, and for a gruelling test of endurance - the 30km track.

The challenge is an initiative of the Rotary Club of Toowoomba South and its satellite club, Rotary Edge, and raises money for Toowoomba-based charities.

Organiser Tressa Lindenberg said interest in the challenge had grown steadily in the six years since it began.

Originally the Kokoda Challenge, the name of the challenge was changed in 2017 to bring about a greater awareness of the Darling Downs-based 25th Australian Infantry Battalion and its role in the Battle of Milne Bay - the first defeat of the Japanese imperial forces on land during the Pacific War in 1942.

"It's a significant part of our history, and we really do need to keep that memory alive," Ms Lindenberg said.

"The big thing is that it's about teams of two, three or four, and it's about finishing with your mates and not leaving them behind."

2019 will bring an exciting new format to the challenge, which will be announced at a later date.

For more information, head to milnebaymilitarychallenge.com or follow The Challenge's Instagram or Facebook pages to stay up to date.

Originally published as Gruelling Toowoomba event has new date for 2019