Tammy Edmonds from Bega, Lisa Lukassen from Merimbula and Andy Gibbs from Tura Beach took on the 100km course, which started in Anglesea, running along the beach below the towering cliffs and around rocky headlands, past Bells Beach to Torquay, before returning via scenic bush and clifftop trails.

Cath Griffin from Bega and Michelle van der Voort from Tura Beach completed the 50km course, which comprised the second half of the 100km course.

True to Melbourne's reputation, the weather went through all seasons in one day - several times over. There was rain, thunderstorms, hail and freezing cold wind, interspersed with sunshine and calm weather. The regular rain they have received in that part of the state meant that the countryside was nice and green and the wildflowers were an amazing display, but some of the tracks were very muddy. 

The start of the 100km race was timed to coincide with low tide, so that runners could negotiate the cliffs and headlands safely. This didn't mean they had a dry run - they still had to wade through some areas of water, nearly waist deep at times.

Luckily there were aid stations with warm drinks and food, and opportunity to change into dry clothes and shoes if necessary. The later start time this year meant that all of our five runners finished in the dark with the aid of head torches.

This was the first attempt at a 100km race for both Gibbs and Edmonds, with both of them completing the race strongly. Gibbs finished in 11hrs 37min, earning him a large beer stein, while Edmonds finished in 15hrs 8min, earning her a smaller stein. Lukassen ran with Edmonds and earned the smaller beer stein to add to her large one from this event in 2016. 

Griffin and van der Voort ran together throughout the whole 50km event, finishing in 8hr 41min. This was Griffin's first ultramarathon, but the poor weather conditions haven't deterred her, and she is considering another one.

Glenn Edmonds from Bega and Phil Lukassen from Merimbula were an amazing support crew for all our local runners – being at various aid stations to provide dry clothing, extra food and much needed moral support.

In other, unrelated, results last weekend, Peter Dickson from Merimbula completed the Sydney half marathon (21.1km) in a personal best time of 1hr 32min.

The next local running event being organised by Sapphire Coast Runners is the Bega Fun Run on October 21, with distances of 10km and 5km, as well as a 2.5km kids dash.