Sri Chinmoy Off-Road Duathlons

Black Mountain Canberra

A genuine bush race in the heart of the national capital

A genuine bush race in the heart of the city
The only annual off-road duathlon event in the ACT
The only athletic event staged within the National Botanic Gardens
Long course for experienced athletes; short course for novices and those in a hurry
Race solo or in a relay team of 2 (one runner, one mountain biker)
Mid-morning start for the best of a mid-Winter's day
Well-marked, scenic courses through gardens and natural bushland
Friendly, supportive atmosphere
Post-event barbecue breakfast
Full results by category, published online same day

About the event

"Ride 'n Stride."

A genuine bush race in the heart of the nation's capital, featuring a long and a short course option. The first run course circumnavigates the Australian National Botanic Gardens. The ride and second run courses explore Black Mountain Reserve.

Compete solo, or in a 2-person Relay Team, where the runner completes both running legs.

Both Long and Short Course races commence from behind the ActewAGL substation at the end of Frith Rd, Acton at 10 am.

The 18th Sri Chinmoy Off-Road Duathlons will be held on Sunday 6th August in 2023.

ONLINE ENTRY WILL COLOSE HERE AT 5PM ON FRIDAY 4 AUGUST. ON-THE-DAY ENTRIES AVAILABLE FROM 9AM ON SUNDAY 6 AUGUST.

Course maps and descriptions –

The short course race is designed for novices and those seeking an enjoyable, relatively easy, non-technical course. View the maps and read the course description for the short course event.

The long course race is for more serious endurance athletes, and is both technically and physically more demanding.  View the maps and read the course description for the long course event.

Events

Short Course 2km run/7km MTB/2.5km run

    • 10.15am
    • $37 solos; $47 teams before 5pm Thurs 6 July
    • $47 solos; $57 teams after 5pm Thurs 6 July
    • Add $10 one race licence fee for non-TA members

Long Course 3.3km run/23km MTB/6.5km run

    • 10am
    • $52 solos; $65 teams before 5pm Thurs 6 July
    • $62 solos; $75 teams after 5pm Thurs 6 July
    • Add $10 one race licence fee for non-TA members

Contact

Prachar Stegemann
0404 071 327
Send Email

Award categories

  • Trophies for top 3 solos under 50 and top 3 solos over 50 (long and short course)
  • Trophies for 1st placed team in each category (long and short course)

Event information

This race is sanctioned by Triathlon ACT as a member of Triathlon Australia, and is conducted in accordance with Triathlon Australia race rules, with the exception of those rules covering drafting on the bike course and the carrying of mobile phones, which are required on the mountain bike and cross-country run courses. Drafting is permitted in this event.

Note that road bikes are NOT permitted to be used in this event. Gravel bikes ARE permitted.

The race rules which pertain to this race are set out on the Triathlon Australia website.

There are 3 Team Divisions for each race. The Divisions are: All-Male, All-Female and Mixed.

The race is designed for teams of 2 members: one runner (who completes both run legs) and one mountain biker.  Teams of 3 may enter, though they are not eligible for awards.

For all pre-entered Teams and Solo Athletes, compulsory registration will commence 60 minutes prior to the start of the race at the transition area alongside the ActewAGL sub-station at the end of Frith Rd, Acton.

If you have made any changes to the membership or composition of your team, these will need to be entered into the database at Registration. At Registration you will collect race numbers, receive information on any last-minute course alterations and meet with some of your competitors.

All competitors will be asked to sign the participant waiver before commencing the race.

Any competitor who commences a leg without first signing the participant waiver will be subject to automatic disqualification, and will be no longer deemed a participant in the event.

For safety purposes, to enable the rapid reporting of any accidents or injuries on course, athletes are required to carry a mobile phone on the mountain bike and cross-country run courses of each event.  All athletes will be required to program the Race HQ phone number into their phones at Registration.  Please note that mobile phones are not permitted to be used during the race as a music or communications device other than in such an emergency.

Please play your part to ensure a safe and enjoyable event for all.

The race will be attended by personnel from Sports Medicine Australia, who will be on hand to treat injuries.

The most important component of ensuring a safe event is common sense, particularly on the mountain bike course. Carefully check your brakes and tyres the day before the race. Please exercise care while negotiating all descents, especially if you are unfamiliar with the course. The time lost through sensible caution is nothing compared to the time lost through a trip to the hospital.

Every athlete must carry a reasonable supply of water and fluids during legs 2 and 3, either in a back-mounted hydration system or in drink containers held in belt-straps or clothing.

There will be an aid station at the transition point, offering water and sports drink, sun block and vaseline, as well as rudimentary bike repair equipment.   Mountain bikers are advised to carry a full repair kit and 2 spare tubes.

This event takes place in environmentally sensitive areas.

We are very fortunate to be allowed to stage these races. The authorities and officers of the ACT City Ranger's Office, National Botanic Gardens and Environment ACT have been overwhelmingly cooperative and helpful.

Please be aware that these events take place in a public as well as a natural domain. We do not have exclusive use of any of these areas, all of which are used by many people on weekends.

The first run courses for the Off-Road Duathlons are on roads within the National Botanic Gardens. It is expressly forbidden to run off the roads at any stage while inside the Gardens.

The second run courses occupy tracks which are designed for walkers, not runners. We are the walkers' guests. Please give way and show courtesy to all walkers using these tracks.

All mountain bike courses are on 4WD tracks through Canberra Nature Park. Keep to the left at all times and respect other users of these tracks.

Please do not litter any where on the course. Carry your litter with you and dispose of at the transition area. Our aim is for each race to leave no footprint.

The management of the National Botanic Gardens and Canberra Nature Park reserve the right to cancel any or all of the legs through the National Botanic Gardens and Canberra Nature Park in the event of a total fire ban, extreme heat, cold or potentially dangerous weather conditions.

If any leg or legs are cancelled or amended either in the lead-up or on the day of a race, organisers will endeavour to stage an alternative leg or legs, subject to prevailing conditions.   Organisers reserve the right whether directed by authorities or not, to shorten, alter or cancel any leg or legs of the race within reason, and without warning.

In the event that the race is called off completely prior to the start, the race will be postponed to a later date.   Only if the race is postponed, entrants may elect to transfer their entry to the revised date or place their entry on hold.   Entries 'on hold' will be valid until used once for the same event within 3 years successive to the date of the original entry.

Once the race has commenced, the race entry will be deemed to have been 'used' and is not redeemable, even if the event is called off before its scheduled finish.

Sri Chinmoy Off-Road Duathlon Long Course Records
  Overall Time Run 1 Bike Run 2
Male Under 50

Ben Hill
1:30:52 (2021)

Michael Chapman
9:41 (2015)

Ben Hill
51:56 (2021)

Trevor Spencer
27:30 (2021)

Male 50-59

Adrian Sheppard
1:42:57 (2023)

Aston Duncan
11:12 (2023)

Adrian Sheppard
59:16 (2023)

Adrian Sheppard 32:09 (2023)

Male 60-69

Trevor Jacobs
2:15:04 (2019)

David Alder
13:02 (2018)

Trevor Jacobs
1:13:13 (2019)

Trevor Jacobs
45:23 (2020)

Male 70+

Trevor Jacobs
2:22:25 (2021)

Trevor Jacobs
15:19 (2021)

Trevor Jacobs
1:20:54 (2021)

Trevor Jacobs
46:12 (2021)

Female Under 50

Penny Slater
1:50:48 (2020)

Penny Slater 11:20 (2020)

Michelle Cooper
1:05:01 (2018)

Penny Slater
33:58 (2020)

Female 50-59 Margaret Hemsley
1:57:45 (2021)
Margaret Hemsley
12:13 (2021)
Margaret Hemsley
1:10:48 (2021)
Margaret Hemsley
34:44 (2021)
Female 60+ Catherine Hanley
2:46:13 (2019)
Catherine Hanley
15:09 (2019)
Catherine Hanley
1:30:58 (2019)
Catherine Hanley
1:00:06 (2019)
Male in a Team  

Craig Benson
9:48 (2016)

Kel Boers
55:25 (2015)

Samuel McNamara
30:02 (2023)

Female in a Team  

Elizabeth Humphries
10:45 (2019)

Eliza Smyth
1:06:06 (2019)

Keira Germech
32:57 (2023)

All-Male Team

Andrew & Ben Tuchler
1:40:03 (2017)

 

   
All-Female Team Lize & Eliz (Eliza Smyth & Elizabeth Humphries)
1:52:25 (2019)
     
Mixed Team

Not so Puffs
(Elizabeth Humphries & David Osmond)
1:45:43 (2018)

     
Sri Chinmoy Off-Road Duathlon Short Course Records
  Overall Time Run 1 Bike Run 2
Male Under 50

Bradley Morton
34:09 (2005)

Daniel Waugh
5:04 (2012)

Bradley Morton
18:20 (2005)

Charles Nicoll
9:35 (2012)

Male 50+

Kim Houghton
39:45 (2017)

Gerry Smith
5:42 (2015)
Nick Smee
21:12 (2017)
Bruce Jenkins
10:50 (2023)
Female Under 50

Laura Darlington
40:27 (2019)

Olivia Stutchbury
5:42 (2019)

Christelle Van Niekerk
21:40 (2011)

Amy Bainbridge
11:21 (2005)
Female 50+ Carolyn Dews
50:48 (2020)
Carolyn Dews
6:23 (2020)
Liz Widdicombe
28:51 (2011)
Carolyn Dews
12:58 (2020)
Male in a Team  

Brendan Mulhall
5:17 (2005)

Morgan Fitzgerald
17:15 (2023)

Brendan Mulhall
10:47 (2005)

Female in a Team  

Taylor Traecey
5:20 (2023)

Thea and Sam
22:17 (2018)
Taylor Traecey
10:25 (2023)
All-Male Team

Team Bennie (Tom Bennie & Jacob Stewart) 38:49 (2016)

     
All-Female Team Hard to See
(Thea and Sam)
39:31 (2018)
     
Mixed Team

Team Fitzgerald (Taylor Traecey & Morgan Fitzgerald)
33:00 (2023)

     

 

Previous Results

  • 2023 Aug 6th
    Sri Chinmoy Off-Road Duathlons, Canberra, Sunday 6 August 2023

    LONG COURSE

    Certain athletes have an affinity for certain races. Many have excelled at the Sri Chinmoy Off-Road Duathlons over the years, but none have shone as consistently and brilliantly as Adrian Sheppard. Now in the over 50s bracket (though you wouldn’t know it), Adrian offered a master class over this tough course, winning the race outright and smashing his own M50-59 record in the process with a stellar 1:42:57. He also claimed a new bike course record and 2nd run course record along the way.

    It was certainly a race for the older chaps, who took 3 of the top 4 placings outright. Next home was Aston Duncan (1:55:41), who set the pace early with a new age group course record for the 1st run of 11:12, perhaps inspiring Adrian to bring forward his own very best. 3rd outright was the first Male Under 50, Scott Melgaard in 1:57:27, though only seconds ahead of the 3rd placed M50-59, Andrew Oberg, with a fine 1:57:51. Chris Weenink took 2nd MU50 with 1:58:04, ahead of 3rd placed James McMurray’s 1:59:23.

    Michelle Res was a clear frontrunner (and rider) in the women’s race, establishing strong leads in each of the legs, to win in 2:10:32, from 2nd placed Louise Basyoni’s 2:26:05 and Kim Elms with 2:30:42.

    Frederike Stock and Keira Germech (“Bilby Blondies”) won the Al-Female relay team’s 1st prize in 2:09:07, with Keira running away with a new record for the final run leg with a sleek 32:57.

    Samuel McNamara and Raymond McAleer of “Macs stacks and tracks” took home the main prize in the All-Male teams in 1:55:37, with Samuel bringing down the record for the final run with an impressive 30:02.

    First placed Mixed relay team on the day was Rowena and Stephen, of “Terrawood”, winning in 2:05:12.

    SHORT COURSE

    Hayley Achurch led from the very start of the women’s solo race and powered home in a commanding 50:51. However behind Hayley, a cluster of women vied for the other podium placings, with just 12 seconds separating 2nd from 5th place. Tiana Sinclair won that charge, finishing in 52:49, with 3rd going to Jennie Walker with 52:51.

    Sadly, there are no Over 60 and Over 70 categories in the Short Course race; otherwise Trevor Jacobs would have set another record in the 70+. Instead, he had to settle for 3rd place in the Male Over 50 with his 46:22, behind the flying Bruce Jenkins’ 40:01 – Bruce set a new age group record for the final run leg of 10:50 en route to his win – and 2nd placed Florian Geier with 45:44.

    With a few of the frontrunners inadvertently taking an early turn on the bike course, the men’s race opened up, with Dayan McSwain coming through the field to claim top spot in 43:08, from Danny Poole’s 46:21, and 3rd placed Connor Dent with 47:45.

    On-the-day Mixed Team entry “Team Fitzgerald”  were in a class of their own, to not only set a new course record (the previous had stood for 13 years), of 33:00; runner Taylor Traecey broke both run records (now 5:20 for Run 1 and 10:25 for Run 2), and biker Morgan Fitzgerald set a lightning new fastest time of 17:15.

  • 2022 Dec 11th
    Sri Chinmoy Off-Road Duathlons, Canberra, Sunday 11 December 2022

    Of course it’s perfectly normal to run and ride in the warm sun – yet, this felt somehow strange … perhaps because for all of its 17 years, this event has ALWAYS been held in the freezing cold of mid-Winter, with runners and riders for its past few editions, flailing through furlongs of slosh and mire. With the course practically bone-dry today, one had to pinch oneself to be reminded that Black Mountain Reserve was closed when the race was originally scheduled in August due to long tracts of the course being impassable.

    Dave Osmond – this race’s most consistent performer across its history – proved he’s just as good in the warm and the dry as he is in the cold and the wet, taking out the long course men’s race with a quality 1:50:28, ahead of another regular, David Simpfendorfer, who this year stepped up from the Short Course to take 2nd in the Long race with 1:53:52, with 3rd going to a resurgent Ben Crabb with 1:56:21. Andrew Leigh sparkled on the last run to convert a significant deficit into a narrow victory in the Male 50-59, winning in 2:09:11 from Mark Duncanson’s 2:09:29, with Jon Schol’s 2:25:14 taking 3rd.

    Michelle Res won the women’s Long Course race with a fine showing of 2:08:54. Next woman home was Julie Kael, taking out the Female 50-59 with her excellent 2:33:53. Angela Hipwell took 2nd in the Female Under 50s with 2:50:05, with Clarinda Sheeley rounding out the podium placings in 2:55:47.

    Samuel McNamara and Roy McAleer teamed up to form “Macs stacks and tracks”, and take the All-Male teams’ prize with their 2:05:16; while Hayley & Pete Cuttle won the Mixed Teams division in 2:33:05.

    In the Short Course race, Daniel Randall used his running speed to advantage in winning the men’s race in a fine 49:57, from Brandon Primrose’s 54:45 and Joseph Howland with 58:20. Mick Hanbury took out the M50+ with 46:36 ahead of Bruce Jenkins in 52:27 and David Baussmann’s 1:03:39.

    Hilly Krone was fastest among the Female Under 50s to take the win in 56:42 form Rachel Venn with 59:05, and Michelle Welch’s 1:02:00. Deirdre Walsh took out the F50+ with 1:02:02, from Ray Wilkins in 1:15:34.

    The Sri Chinmoy Off-Read Duathlons will return to their mid-Winter calendar abode in 2023.

  • 2021 Aug 1st
    Sri Chinmoy Off-Road Duathlons, Sunday 1 August 2021

    Whoa! We may have seen a smaller-than-usual field today due to various social restrictions presently in place, however the quality of the field – like thick, rich cream – was condensed and even elevated within the more intimate setting. The intensity of racing in the Long Course event in particular, was of the highest order, producing a record crop of outstanding course records on a day when Australia collected a record 4 gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics.

    In a day of head-turning performances, the most phenomenal was surely Margaret Hemsley, who smashed a famous 12-year-old course record for the Female 50-59 category, her amazing time of 1:57:45 placing her 2nd fastest female ever, behind only the stellar Penny Slater. Margaret’s split times (1st run 12:13; bike 1:10:48; 2nd run 34:44) were of course each new best times as well.

    In the men’s race, Ben Hill led from the front with an incredible new all-comers best time for this well-established event of 1:30:52, just 22 seconds ahead of the flying Trevor Spencer (whose final run split of 27:30 is a new course best) with 1:31:14. While it must be noted that the overall course is now faster following the shortening of the 2nd run leg last year, the quality of Ben’s win is exemplified in his lowering the long-standing bike course record set by the legendary Dylan Cooper, with a new time of 51:56 (the bike course has been unchanged through the years). Ayden Toovey in 3rd place with 1:32:58, was also inside the previous record time.

    Adrian Sheppard followed suit to break his own M50-59 record with a sensational 1:43:29, also breaking his own best times for the bike course (now a sizzling 59:48) and final run (32:15) in the process; winning his category from Mark Duncanson (2:05:16) and 3rd placed Darren Blackhurst (2:08:09). Meanwhile the remarkably consistent Trevor Jacobs, who at one time held the record for the M50+ and still holds the M60+ standard, stepped up to a new category and established a debut record for the M70+ with 2:22:25.

    The women’s race (under 50) was won by Matilda Stevenson in 2:16:10, with Mathilde Batailler following in 2nd place with 2:20:26 from 3rd placed Lucy Skeldon’s 2:26:37. Analise Arnold gets the award for most patient competitor of the day, for ‘enjoying’ the course for the longest time, in 3:42:16.

    Outright winner in the Short Course race came from the Male 50 and Over category, with Bruce Jenkins showing his younger rivals a clean pair of heels to take out the race in a fine 40:32. Next home came Cameron Pensini, taking out the Male Under 50s, from Justin Hayden’s 41:59 and Robert Berrell with 42:51. 2nd M50+ was Kim Houghton in 43:04, from Geoff Ives’ 46:51.

    Samantha Morley was fastest among the Female Under 50, her 46:41 just edging 2nd placed King Cayzer’s 46:45, with Anna De Vries taking 3rd in 55:35. Sally Thauvette was best among the F50+ with 54:58, from Razz Wilkins with 1:04:14.

    Our gratitude to all who helped behind the scenes to bring this event into being – to the representatives from the Australian National Botanic Gardens, Environment ACT and Triathlon ACT; and specially to Iain Adinell and Petra Lean, technical officials, and Rebekah Stamatis, event medic.

  • 2020 Aug 9th
    Sri Chinmoy Off-Road Duathlons, Canberra, Sunday 9 August 2020

    For all the things that have changed in our lives this year – staying apart from each other, avoiding gatherings, missing concerts and parties, working from home, all becoming experts in epidemiology – it’s worth acknowledging and appreciating how much has stayed the same – Canberra Winters are still cold, hills are still steep, rain is still wet, mud is still great fun, and exercising in Nature is still one of life’s deepest thrills…

    For the annual Sri Chinmoy Off-Road Duathlons (2020 edition), held in the heart of the city within the grounds of the National Botanic Gardens and Black Mountain Reserve, Canberra prepared some of its best ‘social distancing’ weather, to ensure spectators stayed away, and participants lingered only fleetingly before racing directly to leg 4 of the day’s event – a hot shower at home.

    With “Breakfast Hill”, our accustomed route up Black Mountain, closed to foot traffic for regeneration, a revised second run leg in the Long Course race measuring almost one kilometre shorter than the “old” route, meant that course records were bound to be challenged, despite the sloppy surrounds. Sure enough, new best times were set for this leg in all 4 age categories represented today.

    It was Jarrod Osborne who set this new course alight with a sizzling 29:15 in the men’s race, though Trevor Spencer’s all-round consistency proved the winner on the day, cracking Dylan Cooper’s legendary Long Course record in the process with his new best time of 1:38:36. Next home was Dave Hardwicke in 1:40:46, from Daniel Simpson’s 1:45:28. Newly minted Male 50-59, Adrian Sheppard – one of the stalwarts of this race since earliest times – came 5th overall and claimed new records for every single leg of the race: 11:20 for the 1st run, 1:01:37 for the bike, and 34:25 for the 2nd run, for an impressive overall record of 1:47:24. Trevor Jacobs took out his accustomed 1st place in the Male 60 and Over in 2:27:22, his 45:23 now the record for Run 2, to sit alongside his bike and overall course records.

    Penny Slater blitzed the women’s Long Course race, setting new best times for both 1st run (11:20) and 2nd run (33:58) en route to her outstanding overall course record time of 1:50:48, and a 6th outright placing amidst a tough field. Following Penny in the women’s standings were Jennifer Davis (2:10:46) and Melissa Clarke (2:14:58).

    While there were no Over 50 women in the Long Course race this year, this category was the most outstanding race of the day in the Short Course event – Carolyn Dews raising the bar for a new Course Record performance of 50:48, which saw her also claim new best times for the 1st run (6:23) and 2nd run (12:58). Not far adrift of Carolyn were the impressive Simone Annis in 53:54 and Helen Way with 57:00. Alexandria Nicholls took out the women’s overall race with a fine 44:27, from Katrina Cousins (45:44) and Clarinda Sheeley (49:23).

    Guy Jones ran and rode the Short Course men’s race as though breathing a higher grade of oxygen from everyone else, reaching critical turns on the course before marshals were even in place, to win in 38:04, from fast-running Steve Sibraa’s 40:10 and Cameron Pensini’s 40:57. Kim Houghton showed customary class in the Male Over 50s to take the top prize with 46:07, from David Baussmann with 53:19 and John Kennedy’s 58:27 (sorry David and John, there’s no Over 60 category in the Short Course race!).

    Astonishingly, for a day when surfaces were at their slipperiest and potentially most treacherous, our medic Mike Corrigan reported not a single scratch or scrape to any human, with the greatest damage to be revealed in the coming week’s cleaning bills!