King of the Mountain
StatusActive
GenreFoot race up Mount Cooroora
Date(s)Third week in July
FrequencyAnnually
VenueStan Topper Park
Location(s)Pomona
Coordinates26°21′59″S 152°51′15″E / 26.3663°S 152.8543°E / -26.3663; 152.8543
CountryAustralia
Years active1 September 1979 (1 September 1979) (Revived)
Inaugurated27 June 1959 (27 June 1959) (First race)
FounderBruce Samuels
Barry Webb
Previous event24 July 2022
Next event23 July 2023
Websitekingofthemountain.com.au

The King of the Mountain is an annual mountain climb race held in Pomona, in the Australian state of Queensland and organised by the Cooroy-Pomona Lions Club. Since its first formal race in 1959 following a bet in the Railway Hotel in 1958, the race has become a local holiday involving the district schools and a carnival like atmosphere.[1]

Course

Helicopter rescue from Mount Cooroora during the 2015 race.

The original course was from the Railway Hotel (now demolished) to the top of Mount Cooroora and back. The 1979-2021 course went from the ANZ Bank to the top and back. The 2022-Present course is 1km longer but still starts from the old ANZ Bank building.[1][2]

Established

In 1958, Bruce Samuels, a local footballer and railway porter in the town ran to the top of Mount Cooroora as a hangover cure.[2] After being called out, a timed run was held on 22 March 1958 with Samuels completing the run in 40 minutes. In 1959, Brisbane local Barry Webb took up the challenge and completed it in 35:00. On 27 June 1959, the first formal race was held with Frank Mainwaring taking the title with a time of 31:51.[1]

Inter-school challenge

As part of the festival, the inter-school relay is held on the morning of the race on the road surrounding Stan Topper Park. Some schools also partake in the inter-school tug-o-war competition.[3]


The following schools participate:

Main race winners

Bruce Samuels completed a timed run in 1958 to prove it was possible with a time of 35:00. Barry Webb was the first to take up the challenge in 1959 with a time of 40:00, shortly after that on 27 June 1959, Frank Mainwaring took the title in the first formal race involving 5 competitors.[1]

YearName (male)TimeName (female)Time
1958Bruce Samuels35:00
1959Barry Webb40:00
1959Frank Mainwaring31:51
1960Ken Fullerton29:44
1979George Fewtrell26:14Anne Daly(not recorded)
1980George Fewtrell26:25
1981George Fewtrell26:03Bernadette Evans45:25
1982George Fewtrell26:13Anne Daly33:11
1983George Fewtrell24:51Bernadette Evans38:43
1984George Fewtrell25:42Anne Daly31:32
1985Graham Barralet23:27Rosalie Hyland31:37
1986Barry Posser23:48Maureen Lawson30:48
1987Graham Barralet22:50Suzy Walsham30:04
1988Barry Posser22:53Sue Malaxos27:48
1989Graham Barralet22:55Maureen Lawson29:53
1990Graham Barralet23:20Lynette Gordon32:07
1991Graham Barralet23:13Lynette Gordon31:13
1992Barry Posser24:32Lynette Gordon31:34
1993Barry Posser25:14Kim Beckinsale30:53
1994Barry Posser24:04Meagan Burton28:55
1995Matthew Kaluder24:45Meagan Burton29:09
1996Aaron Strong28:18Meagan Burton34:37
1997Aaron Strong23:27Meagan Burton29:30
1998Matthew Kaluder24:45Corallea Edwards31:14
1999Barry Posser24:46Terri Kolb33:40
2000Anthony Smith24:36Corallea Edwards31:43
2001Aaron Strong25:02Meagan Edhouse30:34
2002Michael Wakelin24:13Corallea Edwards31:04
2003Chris Morrissey24:25Kim Beckinsale31:01
2004Michael Wakelin24:13Kim Beckinsale31:10
2005Chris Morrissey24:39Hubertien Wichers31:04
2006Neil Labinsky24:25Hubertien Wichers30:45
2007Neil Labinsky23:54Hubertien Wichers31:36
2008Neil Labinsky22:56Hubertien Wichers30:37
2009Neil Labinsky22:43Maree Stephensen29:05
2010Neil Labinsky23:38Maree Stephensen28:17
2011Neil Labinsky24:16Hubertien Wichers32:38
2012Neil Labinsky24:20Demelsa Murrihy32:56
2013Ben Duffus24:22Helen Roundtree28:55
2014Ben Duffus23:47Kim Beckinsale31:11
2015Hayden Wilde25:42Leslie Saunders33:14
2016Mark Bourne23:53Leslie Saunders31:19
2017Mark Bourne24:36Ruby Muir27:49
2018Ben Duffus23:30Meg Reeves30:47
2019Boaz Clark26:30Reesha Lewis29:49
2020Race cancelled due to COVID-19
2021Jorge Hernaez Navarro27:11Leslie Saunders33:04
2022Mark Bourne31:24Lee Cleary40:39
2023Jorge Hernaez Navarro31:15Ange Harries40:22

Australian band, Midnight Oil, created a theme song for the event when in 1990 they released a single about the race by the same name, King of the Mountain. Although many people think the song is a reference to Peter Brock and the Bathurst 1000 held at Mount Panorama, drummer Rob Hirst confirmed the song is actually inspired by the footrace up Mount Cooroora and the surrounding natural beauty and unique history of the Noosa hinterland.[6][7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Mountain Race History". kingofthemountain.com.au.
  2. 1 2 "King of the Mountain reset". Noosatoday.com.au. 20 July 2022.
  3. "PRIMARY SCHOOL RELAY NEWSLETTER 2019" (PDF). kingofthemountain.com.au.
  4. "Kids relay for mountain festival". Couriermail.com.au.
  5. "Pomona King of the Mountain". www.saac.qld.edu.au/.
  6. "kingofthemountain.com.au". kingofthemountain.com.au.
  7. "Western Advocate". www.westernadvocate.com.au. 12 February 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.