Trail running has been gathering plenty of momentum in recent years and an indication of just how popular it has become was seen on Sunday when over 800 participants took part in the inaugural Coastal Ascent.
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The trail event had 11-kilometre and 25km courses that both started at Dixon Park beach and went into Glenrock State Conservation Area.
Trail running is a trend that has caught on quickly and there is so much to like about it.
There is a lot less impact on the body than pounding the pavement, there is plenty of scenery to take in and varying terrains mean for various challenges.
The Coastal Ascent was brought to Newcastle this year when the Pont 3 team organisers of Blackmores Sydney Running Festival joined forces with Runlab's Vlad Shatrov.
And, after the success of the weekend's first event where nearly half of the participants were from the Hunter region, a strong portion from the Central Coast and interstate entrants as well, it looks set to become a permanent fixture on the Newcastle running calendar.
It is great news for those many Novocastrians who have made an annual challenge out of the Ultra Trail Australia in the Blue Mountains next month.
The Coastal Ascent has offered the perfect lead-in event for that.
North Lambton's Luke Babic was the first male across the finish line for the 25km event in a time of one hour, 47 minutes and 13 seconds. Charlestown's Ingrid Cleland won the women's equivalent in 2:07.28.
Mayfield's Sean Kelleher won the men's 11km in 50:25 and Geordie Boyn, of Cooks Hill, was the women's winner in 1:04.44.
But the beauty of trail running, and walking, is it can be enjoyed by many people of varying abilities.
Another new event coming up next week is the Wings For Life World Run, which is being held in Newcastle for the first time as an app run on May 5 at Nobbys beach.
The run was started in 2014 and is now held in cities all over the world at the same time. For Newcastle it will be a 9pm start.
All proceeds of the $15 entry fee for the Newcastle event goes to spinal cord research and one of the Newcastle ambassadors is paratriathlete Lauren Parker, who was paralysed from the waist down in a horrific training accident in 2017.
Newcastle running expert Dave Robertson is also an ambassador and said it offered a "unique" experience while also providing a good hit-out. The Wings For Life World Run does not have a finish line. Instead participants are racing a catcher car, or a virtual catcher car in an app race.
"Everyone just starts running or walking then half an hour later these cars roll out from the start line then they chase all of the runners and they progressively get a little bit faster until the last runner is caught," Robertson said.
The Newcastle event will be a continuous loop from Nobbys beach around to Newcastle beach and back. Find out more at wingsforlifeworldrun.com/au/en/app-run-newcastle/.
Upcoming Fitness Events
Wings For Life World Run, Nobbys Beach, May 5: A global running event held at various locations simultaneously. All proceeds from entries go towards spinal cord research. Instead of a finish line, participants are running, or walking, to stay ahead of a virtual catcher car.
Maitland River Run, Maitland, June 2: A range of distances are on offer, including 4km, 8km, 12km, 21.1km and the River Maitland Mile. The courses hug the banks of Maitland River.
The Bloody Long Walk, Newcastle, July 28: A 35-kilometre walk from Belmont to Newcastle beach to raise funds and awareness for Mitochondrial Disease.
Autumn Sessions Week #8
This is an interval session, combining strength and cardio. Modify it to suit your individual needs, goals and capabilities. That might be by adding more time to your recoveries or lessening the recovery times to work harder.
Set 1: Work hard for 30 seconds then rest for 30 seconds. Use each of these five exercises - squats, dead lifts, push-ups, bear crawls, pull-ups/rows. Repeat three times. You can vary it by doing the three sets of each exercise with rests before moving on to the next.
Set 2: Run/walk hard 30 seconds then rest for 30 seconds. Do 10-15 minutes continuous.
Finish with some core work and add a five to 10-minute warm-up and cool-down.
Send your health and fitness news and events to r.valentine@fairfaxmedia.com.au.
Renee Valentine is a writer, qualified personal trainer and mother of three.
