Winery Run goes fancy dress, just for fun..
Although there are plenty of serious runners heading to the Hunter Valley for the weekend of 19-20 July, it seems that the line share of runners are very recreational and looking for a fun day out. With this in mind, this year the event is offering a prize for best dressed.
“Over the last few years we have had everything from chickens, to super heroes, to fairies running, all in the name of a healthy fun day out’, says Event Director and founder of the festival, Paul Humphreys. “To encourage the trend, this year there is a $500 prize for the best dressed, and lots of local produce for runners up”. This year’s Winery Run expects to attract more than 3000 participants with over 60% being female and looking for a great event in the vineyards. The unique participant sports event has grown on the back of the interesting and picturesque course, great host venues and a local event management team from sports event organisers, H Events. With six running and walking events on offer, the event caters for novice and serious participants. Races on offer include the regular Marathon, Half Marathon, Coal & Allied 10.3km Vineyard Run, 5.3km Winery Wander, Pacific Smiles Dental Kids Marathon or Storybook2k and new 52.5km Ultra Marathon.
One of the major attractions for runners is having the start and the finish line next to each other on the oval beside Hunter Valley Gardens. This is located next to 32 acres of international standard themed gardens and a tourist village brimming with cafes, restaurants and shops. The event offers a carnival atmosphere with sport/health, local produce exhibitors and live entertainment. A unique aspect of the event is the course, which meanders through or past Tallawanta, Audrey Wilkinson, Brokenwood, McGuigans, Pooles Rock, Mcleish, Tullochs and Lindemans vineyards. The day will be a celebration of the healthy lifestyle on offer in one of Australia's most picturesque tourism areas.
Contrary to popular belief we DO NOT serve wine on the drink station. Save that for after!
For those looking to ‘do more than make it to the finish line’, competitors can start fundraising for their favorite charity. This year the official charity is the Leukaemia Foundation.
Entries are right on track for another record field, so enter online today by visiting www.huntervalleymarathon.net
Event Summary:
Location:
The event compound, start and finish lines are located on the Oval within the Hunter Valley Gardens complex - just west of the intersection of the Broke and McDonalds Rd intersection, Pokolbin.
Course details:
There are 4 courses which overlap, including the 21.1km half marathon course, 10.3km vineyard run course, 5.2km Winery Wander and 2km Kids Marathon course (the children’s race is completely off road). There is a substantial traffic management plan in place during the event. For the marathon and 10.3km course there is a substantial hill at the Audrey Wilkinson Winery. Otherwise the courses are a combination of vineyard, gravel roads/paths, sealed road and grass. Marathon and Ultra Marathon must be off local roads by 1pm.
Event Schedule - Start times
Saturday - 19 July
10am-4pm – Race Kits Collection and Sports and local produce expo on the oval
2pm – Course/Event question time at the event compound
6.30pm – Pre Race Carb loading dinner with Marathon expert Fran Seton – Mercure Hunter Valley
Sunday – 20 July
6.30am – Ultra Marathon – 52.5km – 2 laps of the Half Marathon course and then the 10.3km course
7.00am- Marathon – 42.2km – 2 laps of the Half Marathon course
7.30am- Half Marathon – 21.1km – 1 lap course
9.30am- Coal & Allied – 10.3km Vineyard Run
10.50am – Kids Marathon and Storybook 2k – through Hunter Valley Gardens
11.20am – Winery Wander 5.2km
Contact Paul Humphreys, H Events on 0249348138 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.