Australia’s first Vertical K SkyRace draws elite field

Press Release / 22.11.2015

­The new Vertical K - Mt Donna Buang trail running versus cycling event on 29 November at Warburton has sparked the interest of a number of international level runners. The trail running event is Australia’s first Vertical Kilometre SkyRace® with a 1,098m vertical ascent over just 8km meaning it’s short, sharp and very steep, and it has grabbed the attention of some of Australia’s best.

In the men’s event, it’s going to be a tough battle between Ben Duffus from Queensland and Ralph Street from the UK. Ben Duffus finished 9th at this year’s Skyrunning World Series Vertical K at the Kilomètre Vertical Face De Bellevarde in Val d'Isère in France. Also this year he’s won the 68km Hounslow Classic, the 50km Coastal High and the River to Rooftop, a 55 floor stair race. Ralph Street is an orienteering specialist from the UK and has been in Australia since September working with Orienteering Victoria. While here, he’s already won the Bright 4 Peaks event and clocked a time of 31.42mins for a 10km cross country race.

No doubt the local competition will push these two international level runners up the hill, with the likes of event ambassador David Eadie from The Running Man competing as well as Francesco Ciancio who won the recent Salomon Trail Running Series. “I love uphill races because of how hard they make you work in a short period of time and the views when you finish can be spectacular,” said Ben Duffus, international skyrunner. “I think it’s easy to go out too hard in uphill races. I know I've certainly gotten carried away in some races when I've been feeling great in the first 2km, so I’m expecting a few people to bolt out of the gates. But I also expect that those who hold back a bit won’t regret that decision,” he said.

In the women’s event Lucy Bartholomew from Victoria and Amy Lamprecht from Tasmania will be the ones to watch. Melbourne based Lucy Bartholomew is the current Junior Skyrunning World Champion. She finished 2nd at this year’s 68km Hounslow Classic and is a regular on the international sky running circuit. “I love this short vertical k stuff because the heart has to work so hard but it's not for too long so you just keep going and you feel so good at the end,” said Lucy Bartholomew, Junior Skyrunning World Champion. “I really love the course! It's not often you can find such a long single track climb not too far from Melbourne. It reminded me a bit of some of the mountain climbs in Europe just surrounded by Aussie bush. It's a lot of fun,” she said. Amy Lamprecht finished 2nd at the 100km Surf Coast Century in September and has won the 64km Bruny Island ultra four times. Not only will she be racing Lucy and the other trail runners, she’ll also be aiming to finish ahead of her brother Scott Lamprecht who has entered the cycling event.

Vertical K - Mt Donna Buang is the ultimate test of strength over a vertical kilometre for trail runners and cyclists, who will start together at the base of the mountain and take different courses to race each other to the summit. Mt Donna Buang is well known amongst trail runners thanks to the tall timber forests lining the Yarra Valley and the network of trails that climb up its steep sides. Runners will climb through some magnificent temperate rainforest on a direct single track that brutally goes straight up the side of the mountain… no zig zags, no switchbacks, no steps or handrails and no let-up until the top. In the meantime, cyclists will be racing up the sealed road to ascend 1,077m throughout their tough 17.8km journey. With an average gradient of 6.4% the Mt Donna Buang road climb is not famous because it’s easy! “There’s one section of the course where the runners and cyclists share the road for about 800m; it’s a good opportunity line up your cycling rivals and really race one another to the summit a further 1.3km up the trail,” said Sam Maffett, Event Manager from the race organisers Rapid Ascent.

Visit www.VERTICALK.com.au for entries or to find out more.

EVENT DETAILS:

When: Sunday 29 November
Where: Mt Donna Buang, Warburton, Victoria
What:  Open to trail runners and road cyclists, the Vertical K - Mt Donna Buang sets both groups against the clock and against one another in a race from the centre of picturesque Warburton in the Yarra Valley, to the lofty mountain summit of M Donna Buang.
Video: Watch the promo video at https://youtu.be/zujMd3dbMP4