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Anyone who’s taken part in anything from a casual athletics carnival to a full-blown marathon knows the jitters that hit at the start line. But imagine if the start line was replaced with a steam train ride? That’s exactly what’s rolling into Tasmania’s wild West Coast this May, with the launch of a bold new three-day running festival.
Debuting in Queenstown, the inaugural Diverge Skyruns Festival will feature eight incredible trail and skyrunning events set against one of Australia’s most rugged landscapes. You don’t have to be an elite athlete to join the fun – from beginner runners to hardcore hikers, everyone’s invited to explore the region’s wild terrain on foot, with distances ranging from one to 50 kilometres.
The event we’re most excited for is the five-kilometre Lynchford Express. Unlike your standard race commute, it kicks off with a scenic 20-minute ride aboard Tasmania’s iconic West Coast Wilderness Railway steam train – the only operational Abt rack-and-pinion railway in the Southern Hemisphere.
Aboard the charming 19th-century train, you’ll journey deep into remote, dense rainforest, arriving in the former gold rush town of Lynchford. From here, there’s only one way home… on foot.
The five-kilometre route back to Queenstown runs parallel to the railway line, so you can even challenge yourself to beat the train back! Yep, you’ll need to get those legs chugga chugging.
Alongside the Lynchford Express, the three-day Diverge Skyruns Festival offers two gnarly skyruns (Mt Lyell 50km and the Mt Owen 25km), a less technical but still challenging trail run or hike (Little Owen 15km), two Queenstown runway races (Airfield 10km and Airfield 5km), plus a Kids’ Run and a family-friendly Queenie Rogaine.
Diverge Skyruns Festival runs from May 1 to 3 – and you can register here.