Macauley Jones excels in 100-mile Kosciuszko running race

Macauley Jones has finished fourth in a 100-mile running race through Kosciuszko National Park.

The KosciMiler takes competitors on a gruelling journey, running a loop through the New South Wales Snowy Mountains region from Thredbo and back.

Now only do finishers cover 164.6km, a distance equivalent to just under four marathons (168.78km), they climb 4738m.

Organisers describe the course thus: “From alpine meadows to snow gum forests, golden pastures to lakeside trails, crystal clear creeks and the ultimate mountain summit – the KosciMiler course was designed as the ultimate Ultra-Trail experience.

“Starting out in Thredbo, courses will ascend the mountainside before making the journey across the alpine plateau towards the highest peak in Australia – Mt Kosciuszko.

“After taking in the views from the top, runners will make their way down the trails of Perisher Valley, stopping off at iconic alpine locations like Charlotte Pass, Guthega and Sponars Chalet along the way to meet with their support crews.

“The alpine meadows turn into snow gum forests, and trails twist and turn between trees as they make their way down towards Lake Jindabyne, before heading back for the mountains and making your way up the Thredbo Valley Trail to your final destination – the finish line at Thredbo.”

The start took place on Friday morning at 05:30 local time, with competitors allowed up to 36 hours to complete the route.

Chris Lenkic took victory in not much more than half that, with a time of 19:23:07s, edging Takumi Sawayanagi’s 19:25:2s, with Hayato Nishikata making the podium after covering the 164.6km in 19:46:25s.

Jones took fourth in a time of 20:18:25s, making the arrival back at Thredbo in the very early hours of Saturday morning.

The Brad Jones Racing driver described the feat as “an amazing experience and achievement.”

It is not the first time, however, that he has pulled off an astonishing physical effort.

In June 2019, Jones set a new Guiness World Record for number of chest-to-ground burpees performed in an hour.

Then 24 years of age, he managed 870 in 60 minutes, beating the previous record by 19, before the benchmark was shifted by another nine in March 2021.

Jones completed his KosciMiler with a support crew drawn from the BJR team.

 

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