Great Southern Stage Run entries open for the 2023 event, limited spots for competitors

After a successful opening year, the Great Southern Stage Run is set to return for a second year of spectacular scenery and gruelling racing.

The 200km point-to-point course is covered over three days of racing and highlights some of the region’s most spectacular landscapes from the towering tingle forests to the rugged cliffs of Torndirrup National park.

The race will encompass large sections of the Bibbulmun Track between Walpole and Albany.

Designed for relay teams of four runners, competitors will run between 10km and 26km each over the four legs that make up each day.

In the solo category competitors run 70km on day one, 77km on day two, and 56km on day three.

Entries for 2023 are now open with the race scheduled to run November 16-18, giving competitors plenty of time to prepare for the gruelling race.

There are limited places available with organisers limiting the participants to protect both the natural environment and create an intimate experience for the competitors.

Last year’s event brought 370 participants to the Great Southern with 75 per cent of entrants coming from interstate or other regions of WA.

Ninety-two per cent of event attendees stayed four or more nights in the area contributing more than $1m to the local economy.

Rapid Ascent event director Sam Maffett said organisers were blown away by the reception of the inaugural event, calling it a world-class course.

“We can’t wait to once again see competitors push their frontiers and broaden their horizons on the challenging, yet satisfying course,” he said.

“Being part of a team environment rates very highly in the ultra-running community as it provides a shared experience between friends that will live with them forever.”

The 2022 solo female winner Linda Kilpatrick said it was a beautiful course.

“It really blows my mind how you find these courses and all those tough little bits too,” she said.