REEF RUNNERS COAST THROUGH
GREAT Barrier Reef Marathon winner Trent Harlow only decided to run in the event on Saturday – and certainly didn’t train for it – but was a comfortable winner of the Port Douglas event.
The Melburnian was at the event for work purposes, as the shoe company he works for was sponsoring the event.
“I thought we had enough staff here, so on Saturday I decided to run,” Harlow said from Cairns Airport yesterday, where he has having a beer.
Harlow stopped the clock in three hours and 22 seconds.
He was more than five minutes clear of Austrian runner Niklas Kroehn, who won the Great Barrier Reef Marathon last year.
“It was a lot of fun. I’ve never run in a marathon that’s started on a beach,” Harlow said.
He added that it was tough work, particularly the climb known to locals as “the hump”.
“That killed me. It was brutal – my ears were popping,” Harlow said of the incline.
The 45-year-old said he had pulled up well, but expected to be sore today.
“The beers are going down well but I’m feeling OK at the moment. I doubt it’ll be the same tomorrow,” he said.
Women’s winner Lena Steuri took advantage of the chance to stretch her legs and take in some scenery while on a trip around Australia with her partner.
The Swiss competitor is driving around the country in a motorhome but made sure she was in Port Douglas for the marathon.
“We’re just on our way through. Next stop is Darwin, then Uluru,” Steuri said.
Steuri plans to celebrate with a five-day scuba diving trip later this week.
“I can’t wait,” she said.