1 week Ago
The seventh edition of the Margaret River Ultra Marathon will take place this weekend, with a sold-out field of ultra runners ready to hit the trails. 350 competitors will run the traditional 80km ultra marathon as solo competitors; while 1,150 will be running as part of a relay team of 2 to 5 members covering 10-20km each. A new 42km trail marathon introduced this year will be held on the Sunday is also at capacity with 400 solo runners.
The 80km point-to-point ultra course held on Saturday sees competitors starting at Hamelin Bay and heading north along the coastline, passing through Boranup, Redgate and Gracetown. Runners then head inland to the finish line at Howard Park Winery in Cowaramup. Reigning 80km female champion Jayme Bergman of Esperance is one to watch, coming off another win at Rapid Ascent's Surf Coast Century 100km race held in Victoria last September.
The in-form ultra runner is looking to go back-to-back all whilst enjoying the journey of ultra running; "Last year I went into the race just to see if I could do it. This year I'm back because I loved it!" said Bergman. "I'll be taking the same approach where I'll pace myself for the first three stages so I can power up to the finish and reach my limit at the end!" "Participating in the ultra again is a real privilege; my family will be coming along this time and I'm excited for them to be part of the atmosphere," continued Bergman.
80km competitors will finish well into the night at Howard Park Wines, the of.
