Wild Gorge Skyrunner #12

Dôme Café

829 South Western Highway, 6122, Byford, WA, Australia

Jonathon from ToptrailsPerth

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ToptrailsPerth had its genesis in 2017 as Bernadette, Jonathon and others rediscovered the 30km Kattamorda trail from Bickley to Mundaring and vice-versa.The first free toptrailsperth event was held in Mundaring showcasing the 1988 Kattamorda trail which was based on an ancient railway line dating back over 150 years ago which played a key role in the export of Jarrah to England and later the construction of Mundaring Weir Dam.Jonathon also helped lead groups of UTA and Bloated Goat race aspirants in Wungong on numerous occasions.Guided trail running in the Mundaring area soon followed, and later adventure trail based personal training clients hiked the trails in Kalamunda, Serpentine Jarrahdale and Wungong with Jonathon from ToptrailsPerth.Perth Trail Series has had many races in Wungong since about 2014 which Jonathon was blessed to compete in.Jonathon has been hiking or running in the Wungong Gorge since the 1980s, ultra racing about 20+ ultras on trails since 2005, and completed the Ultra Trail Australia 100km with over 4000m of elevation gain in the Blue Mountains near Sydney, NSW in 2018.In early 2022 Jonathon saw the need for a high vertical gain race in Wungong to assist with training for UTA , Transcend and WTF ultra.The Wild Gorge 5 event skyrunning series in Wungong had its genesis in 2022 and about 12 runners entered races.GPX and Course markers assist in navigating in the Gorge but it seems the course markers and/or a pre-race recon/reccie are essential to perfect navigation in this rugged tricky maze of trails.Landmarks and strava segments also assist.In 2023 the Wild Gorge Skyrunning series and ToptrailsPerth aim to enter a new era of better organisation and develop more interest in this niche event the only skyrunning series in Western Australia.The Mt Buller skyrunning race in the high country of Victoria , Australia and some European races are part of the inspirations to this race in the little "mountains" of the Darling Range, which are about 200m lower than the summit mountain of the Darling Range Mt Cooke which is more than 500m above sea level. Enjoy the adventure !