James Murphy
THE seaside township of Robe is well known for its stunning views and landmarks, but this weekend, sites will be taken in at a quicker pace.
The inaugural Robe Run will be held tomorrow and is set to bring around 500 competitors into town.
Organised by Adelaide Trail Runners, the event will offer four running distances with all courses to start and finish in the heart of town, along the Foreshore.
The run was the brainchild of Adelaide Trail Runners founder Brett Crosby, who said he had contemplated a running event in Robe for some time.
“I guess it started when I was holidaying there about three years ago,” Crosby said.
“I am an avid runner myself and I was running through all of those amazing trails along the coast and Long Beach.
“I thought to myself what an amazing place that would be to put on an event.”
Eventually those thoughts led to action and now the first Robe Run will give athletes a chance to take in the picturesque coastal town and its surrounds.
“The terminology we tend to use these days is ‘runcation’,” Crosby said.
“Avid runners will look for amazing locations where they can combine a vacation with a run.
“(Robe) is the perfect recipe for a runcation. They can have an amazing weekend away in a beautiful town and hopefully have a good run at the same time.”
A full marathon (42.2km) and half-marathon (21.1km) is on offer, along with a 13km and 5km fun run.
“They start by running out towards Long Beach and the half and full marathon actually have a 3.5km stretch on the beach before they turn around and head back to town,” Crosby said.
“Then all of the distances finish along the amazing coastal trails around near the Obelisk and back into town.”
Crosby said the beach leg of the longer distances was something unique and could provide a challenge.
“You can’t just run on any sand, it has to be hard and compact,” he said.
“Long Beach has that.
“I think it is going to offer a bit of everything.”
Entries had already reached upward of 490, with runners from as far as Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia.
Crosby said there had also been lots of interest from “local” South East competitors, while a strong contingent of Adelaide runners will make the trip as well.
“When I created the event, if I could have had 150, I would have been happy with that,” he said.
“The support of all the locals and local businesses as well has been incredible.”
While the scenery of the course is enough for many, there will be some added incentive for those more serious runners.
A purse of $2500 will be split between the top three finishers in the half and full marathon events.
“We will look to grow that purse as the years go on,” Crosby said.
“We want to make it attractive to elite runners as well as your average runner.”
A date has already been pencilled in for 2024, with the hopes to grow it into a prominent event on the nation’s running calendar.
