Touted as the toughest, most challenging and most spectacular mountain trail-running event in Australia, the Alpine Challenge is not for the faint hearted. However, this year, it’s allowing runners new to the trails to dip their toes in gradually with the introduction of 10km, 16km and 25km short-course distances. A new marathon course also replaces previous years’ 36km option, with individual, team and relay challenge options across all distances.
Located in Alpine National Park, in the Central Highlands and Alpine regions of Victoria, the king distance of the Alpine Challenge is the 100-mile course. It sends runners up six major climbs with a quad-busting 7,600m of ascent and descent, including Mt Feathertop, Mt Hotham, Mt McKay, Spion Kopje, Mt Nelse and Victoria’s highest mountain, Mt Bogong. If that’s not hardcore…