My Aussie Challenge Recap – An Unstoppable Journey

Why Sydney?

I hit “register” in October 2023, nearly a full year before race day, and was still riding the endorphin wave of back-to-back World Marathon Majors in Berlin and Chicago. If you’ve ever run a marathon, you know the rule: cross one finish line, start planning the next, even though you swore from mile 18 to the finish you’d never run another. Back then, Sydney was generating quiet a buzz as a potential Abbott World Marathon Major. There was no lottery, no frenzied rush to get in, just a whisper of “what if” among marathoners. I’ll admit, I secretly hoped that early registrants might get grandfathered in with a coveted sixth star (spoiler: only age-group qualifiers got that honor). It wasn’t the “it” race yet, but I wasn’t chasing cool points, I was chasing continents. With my eyes ultimately set on the Antarctica Marathon, I still needed a full marathon in Oceania, Africa, and South America to complete the circuit (I’d only run halves on those continents). So Sydney ticked a strategic box. But if I’m honest, it was more than that. I’m in my Australia era. My daughter is studying Down Under, and I’m always looking for an excuse to go and explore more of her new home base. The marathon was the perfect reason to book the ticket and build the adventure around it. In fact, I named it My Awesome Aussie Adventure.

Enter the Aussie Challenge

I already had my Sydney Marathon entry and was planning an epic Australian adventure, nearly a month Down Under, with the marathon being just one piece of the puzzle. A couple of months before the race, I was browsing the Marathon Tours & Travel website (looking into a potential London Marathon entry) when something caught my eye: the Aussie Challenge. Run the Kangaroo Island half or full marathon plus the Sydney Marathon, and you’d earn a special challenge medal on top of your race medals. If you’ve been following me for a while, you know I love a good challenge, especially the self-imposed kind. Think back-to-back race weekends (Oslo and Copenhagen), marathons just days apart, the Lola Challenge in Puerto Rico, or the Dopey Challenge at Disney World.  So, the chance to add another race while already in Australia? I was all in.

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Planning Shift: Handing Over the Reins

After years of planning and flying solo for international races, I decided to do something different for Sydney. I’d already booked my race entry and flights, and I’d visited Sydney before. I even had the post-race portion of my trip fully mapped out. But when it came time to figure out the race weekend and corresponding activities, I was deep in planning fatigue. That’s when I made the decision to hand over the reins to a tour company so I could focus solely on enjoying the experience. 

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Kangaroo Island: Wine, Hills & a Hidden Gem

I arrived in Adelaide a day before the official tour kicked off and settled into the Pullman Hotel—perfect for catching my breath before the adventure began. The next day, the marathon tour group met up and jumped straight into the bonding process with a beer cycle tour through the city. Let’s just say the drinking started early and didn’t let up. That evening, we gathered for a welcome dinner, full of good food and first impressions. The following day, we made our way to Kangaroo Island, Australia’s third-largest island after the mainland and Tasmania, with a surprisingly small population of around 5,100 people. The journey was no small feat; 2.5 hours on a bus, an hour-long ferry, and another couple of scenic drives, but we broke it up with a stop at a winery for lunch and a wine tasting that quickly made us forget the travel time. After checking into the hotel, we had a race briefing and group dinner, though I skipped the meal, still full from the long, wine-fueled lunch (a pattern that would repeat itself throughout the trip). The next day, we explored Kangaroo Island’s rugged beauty with visits to a national park, an eucalyptus distillery, and a cider tasting; hydration, of course, in its most creative form. 

Race Day: Kangaroo Island Half

Race day on Kangaroo Island took us deep into Flinders Chase National Park, a rugged, windswept landscape where nature does all the talking. The Kangaroo Island Marathon (and half) may be small, but it’s a hidden gem; hilly, scenic, and surprisingly tough. The course followed undulating, mostly straight paved roads, but the elevation gain of 589 meters (1,930 feet) of relentless climbs quickly reminded me that this wasn’t going to be easy. Still, the views made every uphill stretch worthwhile: vast expanses of bushland, the crashing Southern Ocean, and surreal rock formations that looked like something carved by a master sculptor. What the race lacked in size, it made up for in spirit, thanks to the warmth and pride of the local community. There were long stretches where it was just me, the wind whispering through eucalyptus trees, the steady thud of my footsteps, my increasingly dramatic breathing (thank you, 589 meters of elevation), and my playlist doing its best to distract me from all of the above. And when it was over, we returned to the hotel for a celebratory wine tasting, because of course we did.

Adelaide Reset: Wine, Gin & the City of Churches

The day after the race, we said goodbye to Kangaroo Island and made our way back to the mainland — ferry, bus, and all — returning to the familiar comfort of the Pullman Hotel in Adelaide. But first, came wine…naturally. South Australia is a world-class wine region, producing over 50% of Australia’s wine, and it’s home to iconic areas like Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Adelaide Hills, and more. With more than 400 wineries and some of the oldest vines in the world, thanks to a rare immunity to the phylloxera vine pest, it’s a wine lover’s dream, and we did our best to honor that legacy. We spent the day weaving between tastings and scenic stops, including a winery lunch and a final surprise: a gin and tonic flight at the award-winning Never Never Distilling Co. Along the way, we soaked in more of Adelaide itself, a city of about a million people, known as the “City of Churches”, with its charming mix of old architecture, modern vibes, and surrounding hills blanketed with vineyards. It was the perfect wind-down from race mode and a delicious transition into the next chapter: Sydney. 

Welcome to Sydney

The next morning’s city tour was the perfect way to ease into marathon weekend. From sweeping views of Sydney Harbour and the iconic bridge to winding through historic districts like the Rocks, the experience helped me feel grounded in the city I was about to run through.

We passed landmarks old and new, cathedrals, coastal cliffs, Bondi Beach, and soaked up both sunshine and stories, like how Paul Hogan once painted the bridge or how the Opera House’s self-cleaning tiles actually lose some now and then. It was a beautiful, relaxed lead-up to race day. Best of all, my daughter arrived that evening to spend the weekend with me!

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Shakeout, Prep & Pep Talks

The next couple of days moved at a quieter, more intentional pace. We had a free day to explore or rest, and I took advantage of both. I wandered the city a bit, took it easy, and mentally prepared for what was ahead. The following morning, we met for the official shakeout run, an easy jog along the harbour that felt more like a celebration than a workout. Seeing so many runners from around the world all buzzing with the same nervous excitement reminded me why I love this community.

Later that day, we had another window of free time before gathering for our pre-race carbo-loading dinner, equal parts fuel and camaraderie. We swapped stories, made last-minute gear decisions (though following the rule of nothing new on race day), and gave each other pep talks. Then came the night before the marathon. My bag was packed, my bib was laid out, my flat lay had been photographed, and I was as ready as I could be. One more sleep until the big dance.

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Race Day: Sydney Marathon

Race day arrived, and I’ll be honest, I went into it knowing I wasn’t fully prepared. I hadn’t trained the way I wanted to, and I was under no illusions about chasing a personal best. My plan? Treat it as a long training run for upcoming fall races and lean hard on race-day adrenaline, crowd energy, and sheer determination. I stuck to a 1-minute run / 30-second walk interval, and it worked surprisingly well. The course itself had standout moments: the thrill of crossing the Harbour Bridge within the first mile was unforgettable, and finishing at the steps of the Sydney Opera House felt iconic.

But between those highs were long stretches that didn’t quite hit the mark. There were several switchbacks and long stretches with minimal crowd support. Centennial Park, for example, was only about 4 kilometers, but it felt never-ending. ​​Just as I was starting to drag, a bright spot appeared in the form of my daughter! As I was leaving the park, I saw Miss V cheering wildly, holding a sign and flashing a big, bright smile. That unexpected burst of joy and love was exactly what I needed. It put a pep in my step and gave me the boost to power through the final miles.

The volunteers were fantastic, the hydration stations were well-placed and well-stocked, and even those of us in the back of the pack had access to both GU stops, so major points for that. And while I wasn’t breaking any records, Sydney was: both the men’s and women’s course records were broken that day, setting new fastest marathon times on Australian soil. 

Final Thoughts

The Sydney Opera House sounds like a dream finish, and it is – in theory — but the setup made it surprisingly tricky to capture that perfect finish line photo. As we crossed the line, we were facing the Opera House rather than having it behind us, so unlike Berlin’s epic Brandenburg Gate backdrop, you don’t get that same sweeping “I just conquered this city” moment on camera.  The area between the finish and medal pickup was also pretty congested. Volunteers were doing their best, but runners were ushered out quickly, which made it hard to stop for even a halfway decent selfie. Non-runners might not get it, but trust me: finish line photo logistics matter.

A racecation that blends wild beauty with big city energy, the Aussie Challenge is a perfect pairing. Kangaroo Island was stunning — remote, peaceful, and just challenging enough to feel like a true accomplishment. It was well-organized, intimate, and the kind of race that stays with you. Sydney, on the other hand, brought the buzz. Knowing this was its “final exam” in the bid to become the next Abbott World Marathon Major gave the whole weekend an electric, once-in-a-lifetime feel. The contrast between the two races, one rugged and wild, the other urban and iconic, made the experience even more memorable.

For me, it was another unforgettable chapter in my running journey and one I’d recommend to any runner looking for something a little different. Two races, one trip, and a whole lot of Australia in between. If the Aussie Challenge is on your radar, consider this your nudge: sign up, pack your shoes, and go.