RECORDS were smashed at the 2019 Mount Gambier Tower Trail Run on Sunday with an unprecedented amount of entries and finishing times.
A total of 327 competitors took on the gruelling circuit, a remarkable 122 more than last year’s previous attendance.
The event’s headline race – the 56km ultra-marathon – was blitzed by winner John Csongei.
The Adelaide athlete’s time of five hours, nine minutes and 33 seconds was a staggering 43 minutes faster than the previous lap record from 2018 winner Brad Tilley of Millicent.
Csongi enjoyed a 21-minute advantage from runner-up and fellow Adelaide product Jarrad Browne, while Victoria’s Zachary Nowell crossed the line in third place.
The South East was represented by Tilley who clocked a time of 6.17.47 to record solid 13th position on a day where finishing is an achievement in itself.
The women’s 56km event was claimed by Adelaide’s Ally Gosling with a strong time of 6.14.02, five minutes ahead of runner-up Sharryn Macgowan and 38 minutes faster than the previous record.
A regional highlight was Millicent’s Dannielle Vanderheul, who recorded victory in the female 42km race after close to five hours of running, while seven other South East entrants completed the 42km event.
Adelaide’s Howard Norton broke the four-hour barrier by six minutes to secure the male honours as Mount Gambier’s Jacob Bradley, Camron Jorgensen, Jamie Hua, Andrew Crouch and Chris Jordan finished well.
Mount Gambier dominated the 21km race with Danny Habets and Rebecca Beumer victorious in the male and female standings respectively.
Guinness World Record Penola runner Justin McDonald blitzed the 10km layout in a quick time of 48 minutes, while Mount Gambier pair Amechai Bawden and Brayden Burston finished one-two in the 5km sprint.
Event organiser Phil Ackland said the biggest Tower Trail Run was a success.
“It went really well,” he said.
“We had record attendance numbers and a couple of course records broken along the way.
“We also got some great feedback from the many travelling runners who were here.”
Ackland said he received a glowing reception from runners far and wide about their experience on the day.
“They are all talking about coming back next year for more,” he said.
“With the addition of the 5km event, each member of a group of 30 from Adelaide got involved and loved it.
“At the other end of the scale we got some great feedback from the 56km runners because they now have the intention of coming back next year and bringing more people along.”
Ackland said the visitors were particularity impressed by the stunning location of the event.
“They really enjoyed it and got something different out of each lap because of the weather,” he said.
“The long distance runners mentioned they saw a sea of fog at sunrise.
“Going into the leg of mutton, they dropped down into the mist and popped out the other side above it.
“The sun eventually rose through and the fog lifted, so there was variation in just those conditions, in addition to the terrain and scenery.”
Ackland said the Tower Trail’s recent addition to the South Australian series of long-distance trail events raised both the number and calibre of the field.
“Being part of the series got them over the line to come down here and introduced them to Mount Gambier,” he said.
“It has enticed more entries in the 56km distance and made the event a little more competitive.
“At the front end of the field there were more runners going hard for some quick times and that filtered down the line.”
Ackland said this was reflected through the professionalism and manner of how the outright winner Csongei, went about his business.
“When I mentioned to the winner (Csongei) he broke the course record, he knew straight away,” he said.
“He quickly pointed out he also broke the unofficial 14km record on his first lap.
“He had all the laps sorted in his head.
“He did what he wanted to do and ticked them off.”
Despite the numerous amount of individual victories achieved on the day across the five events, Ackland said his main focus was creating a vibrant and positive atmosphere.
“An encouraging atmosphere is what we want from it,” he said.
“It is not just a running event, we aimed to foster a real community and positive vibe about it.”
Ackland said he is happy with the progress of the event, but is already searching for new improvements to make next year even better.
“We will wrap up over the next several weeks to months and start to plain what we are going to do next year,” he said.
“I think what we have got is working pretty well and will probably tweak rather than change.”
