{"id":314484,"date":"2022-03-10T16:19:21","date_gmt":"2022-03-10T06:19:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=314484"},"modified":"2022-06-02T12:38:23","modified_gmt":"2022-06-02T02:38:23","slug":"runners-heading-to-rail-trail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2022\/03\/10\/runners-heading-to-rail-trail\/","title":{"rendered":"Runners Heading To Rail Trail"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Last year’s South Burnett Express Rail Trail Relay attracted about 60 runners (Photo: Ashgrove Rangers)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

March 10, 2022<\/strong><\/p>\n

Runners will be converging on the South Burnett Rail Trail on May 2 for the second annual\u00a0South Burnett Express Rail Trail Relay.<\/p>\n

The relay run is being organised by the\u00a0Ashgrove Rangers Athletics Club, which is now taking registrations online for the event.<\/p>\n

Club president Dan Murray said teams of between five and eight athletes would run legs from Kingaroy to Wondai and back.<\/p>\n

“The course is approximately 60km with distances averaging about 5km for each leg,” he said.<\/p>\n

The event was first held in October last year.<\/p>\n

“It was really, really successful,” Dan told southburnett.com.au.\u00a0<\/strong>“We had eight teams with about 60 odd runners in total.”<\/p>\n

“We pretty much expect to the double the numbers this year,” he said.<\/p>\n

Dan said the club hoped to bring back long-distance relay events to Queensland.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The rail trail was the perfect venue and the scenery was also a real drawcard.<\/p>\n

“There’s a good chance it could build up to be one of the must-do races on the Queensland calendar. Queensland Athletics is right behind this,” he said.<\/p>\n

While there is a competitive angle to the race, there is also a social side.<\/p>\n

“Teams of all levels go head-to-head but it is all about supporting each other and not taking it too seriously,” Dan said.<\/p>\n

“The local Kingaroy Scouts will also be providing a lunch barbecue for everyone.<\/p>\n

“An all-teams dinner is also scheduled the night before the race at the Carrollee Hotel.”<\/p>\n

The club says holding the event on the May long weekend provides a great opportunity for visitors to spend a little bit of extra time in the region.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we ran it last year many commented they loved spending the weekend away in Kingaroy and were keen to come back again,” Dan said.<\/p>\n

“We hope our event grows in time and provides a nice boost to the local economy. We want this to become of the must-do long distance relays in Australia\u201d.<\/p>\n