Smurf Endurance Sports

It was a big weekend of racing with everything from 200 milers to Pyramids to road races!

Dan put in the effort of his life to get through his first 200 miler, but this one was special in a number of ways. It wasn't an official event - he did this as a solo journey support by friends and family; he had the incredible support of his wife, kids, parents, sister and many friends over the 3+ days; AND he finished it all in 78 hours! Just incredible!

Over at the Great Pyramid Race, Livvy had a fantastic run in the "race to the base" finishing 3rd in her age category. Even more phenomenal was backing up from the Secondary Schools Surf Carnival to put in this great run. Gordonvale local Andrew ran the full pyramid despite being in the midst of weeks of illness. But Andrew is super determined and wouldn't miss this race for anything, coming away with a respectable result even under duress!

Then further south in Townsville, both Brent and Dylan took on the half marathon. Brent backed up his great run at Cairns Half Marathon with an even faster time at Townsville. He looked like he had a great time capturing photos with the Red Earth Running crew along the way. And Dylan didn't quite have the day he hoped for with some health issues complicating his performance. But to simply get to the finish line was an achievement, and it's another half marathon ticked off.

Congratulations everyone!

🏆 🏃‍♂️ 🌟 200 MILES 🌟 🏃‍♂️ 🏆

🔥 Well this weekend is going to be EPIC! 🤩

There are a few events on, but nothing much bigger than a 200 miler! 😱

After years of building to this, and months of consistent training, Dan lines up this weekend for his first 200 miler. 💪 BUT even more incredible, he is doing this on a local course solo (well...with the support of crew and some pacers). 👏

The epic course starts in Port Douglas, traverses Black Mountain Road, covers super tough and technical ascents and descents, and encounters all the terrain our FNQ trails have to offer, before finishing on the Esplanade. 🏁

All going well, Dan will be done sometime Sunday morning after a Thursday morning start. This is going to be massive! 🔥

But the racing doesn't stop there.

Further south, Dylan and Brent make the trip to Townsville for the half marathon. Dylan is out for redemption after not quite nailing his half marathon here in Cairns. 💥 And Brent will get another race under the belt as he builds towards Smurf's BYU and UTK. 👊

Then finally, Andrew backs up his Canadian 50k with his home race on The Pyramid. ⛰️ Although having been unwell of late, he won't want to miss racing up and down The Pyramid in his backyard.

Best wishes everyone! 💙🙌🍀

🏅 It's PB time! 🎉

Jos made the trip up to Weipa for another crack at the Weipa Running Festival, this year running the half marathon. 🏃‍♀️

Despite the usual niggles along the way, I had confidence Jos was in better shape than she expected for this and set her an achievable but challenging target. 💪

Jos set out on pace on what is a tough course with sand, asphalt, dirt road and just a few aid stations along the way. 🌴 Despite some hard slog through the sand sections, Jos held on to manage a half marathon and course PB, also finishing 4th female overall. 🥳

Congratulations Jos – reward for months of consistency. 👏🔥

The annual Weipa Running Festival is back again this weekend, and Jos will make the trip up ready to tackle the half marathon.

Jos has had a solid training block despite a few niggles along the way, and this race is a nice stepping stone to the road marathon in Melbourne later this year.

It's always a great atmosphere and an awesome event. And we know Jos will do great!

He's been the picture of consistency and diligence over a very long time now, and the work showed dividends for Ollie last weekend at the QSS Cross Country Championships.

For such a long time now, Ollie has been chipping away at swim, bike and run, and more recently has been working hard with Jill and the Pace Project team in preparation for this year's state cross country.

In a tough 4k in cold conditions, Ollie ran super well to come away with 13th in his age group! The state titles are always incredibly competitive and any top 20 finish is outstanding. And for Ollie, it's reward for his consistent application to training.

Congratulation Ollie!! Now to focus back on some triathlon :)

Part 2 of our racing recap from last weekend takes us all around the world 🌏 with events locally and much further afield.

Tablelands local John kicked things off with 3 Marathons in 3 Days 🏃, running and hiking many of our local trails with 120km+ total over 3 days. John has been working on his nutrition and conditioning, and day 1 showed some of the nutrition struggles he has had. Day 2, he backed up stronger, made adjustments to his plan and got through showing great form. Then 17km in to Day 3, something went “pop” in his foot, and he got through the final 25km under duress…BUT he got it done. 💪 Nice work John.

Continuing the trail running theme, Andrew lined up for the 50k Kaslo Wild Ultra in Canada 🇨🇦 as he continues towards a marathon (or more) every month for 2026. He had a great time bombing it down some of the MTB sections and felt strong on the long steep uphills, getting it done in 8h 15m. A great result in a stunning location. ⛰️

Across the Pacific, Suzanne was on her own epic journey, running and hiking 50k from sea level to the top of Mt Fuji 🗻. She got the runnable road sections done early before sunrise, then locked in for the hike to the top of Mt Fuji. She was greeted with fantastic weather and stunning views, ticking off another epic adventure.

Then in the UK 🇬🇧, Jack completed his second half distance triathlon at Eastbourne Middle Distance Tri. This was a stepping stone and training session for his upcoming big goal of Ironman Leeds, but still a big effort as he continues to accustom himself to triathlon. A rough ocean swim in very choppy conditions made for a tough start, then a super hilly bike leg taxed the legs. But he was able to make the most of his strength, the run, to come home strong and grab a top 10 age group finish. 👏

Congratulations everyone! 👏💙

Last weekend was SO BIG we need two parts to our racing recap! 🤯

Starting with the Cairns Marathon Festival, where over 20 of the crew took on the marathon, half marathon, 10km and kids events. 🏃💙

Cody kicked things off taking 4th overall in his first marathon with a super 2:43:08. Rob also put together a well-controlled sub-4-hour marathon. Kalyra anchored her marathon relay team, passing stacks of runners over her 10.5km leg. Robbo unfortunately had a DNF after battling shin splints, but still reached a PB distance of 33km. Jon had been unwell and also had to pull the pin after the first lap.

In the half marathon, Kensey took 2nd in her age group in her first ever half marathon at just 14 years old (and sub-2 hours too!). 🥈 Sean also ticked off his first half marathon, beating his sub-2-hour goal. Steph ran her second fastest half marathon, while Simon chopped 13 minutes off his PB, jumping straight from the 1:50s into the 1:40s! 🔥 Dylan battled through a tough final third but still ran a 2-minute PB. Glenn backed up Ironman with a half marathon PB of 1:45:38, while Nadine also backed up her fantastic Ironman with a strong run. Celeste continued her Sydney Marathon build with 2:46:40, Michael backed up his 70.3 with 1:47:37, Ange successfully dragged her husband Leigh around the course 😄, Kai fought through pain to go sub-1:40, Hannah nailed 2:00:03 pacing the 2-hour group after last week's marathon, and Brent made a great Smurf debut with 1:37:40. 👏

The morning wrapped up with the 10km and kids events. Ollie smashed a PB 35:58 for 6th overall 💪, Tara finished the 10km less than 24 hours after flying home from Canada, and Isabella and Olivia wrapped up the morning in the 2km... although Olivia was carried for at least half of it! 😂

Congrats everyone! 💙 Now take a breath, relax, and enjoy some well-earned recovery.

Part 2 of this weekend’s upcoming racing is all here in Cairns for one of our biggest events of the year – Cairns Marathon.

The Smurf Squad roles up with a crew of 19 runners across the 10k, Half Marathon and full Marathon distances, excited to out their best foot forward.

MARATHON
Robbo (first marathon), Cody (first marathon), Jon, Rob & Kalyra (relay)

HALF MARATHON
Sean (first half marathon), Kensey (first half marathon), Steph, Nadine, Simon, Dylan, Ange, Glenn, Brent, Michael, Kai, Hannah (2h pacer)

10K
Ollie, Tara

Looking forward to a big weekend of running and racing!

What an incredible race and result for our Hannah!!

Last weekend, Hannah took on yet another marathon on the Gold Coast, and came away with a big 6 minute PB, running a super 3:02:53. But results like this don't just happen.

In the last 6 months, Hannah has dedicated herself to her training with incredible diligence. She barely misses a session, but more importantly nails the intent of sessions and shows control and patience. She ticks the boxes, does the boring and hard work, and keeps showing up.

But it's not just the last 6 months.

I've been working with Hannah now for 3 years, and in that time we have brought that marathon time down from a 3:29 to last weekend's result. 26 minutes in 3 years. This is what strong marathon running takes. Years of determination, commitment and patience.

Congratulations Hannah - reward for your years of work.