The second Coonawarra Running Festival was a huge success from start to finish, with nearly 300 people lacing up their shoes and racing into action.
The festival raised funds for Breakthrough Mental Health Research Foundation and Coonawarra Running Festival committee member Sandra Wallis was thrilled with this year’s event.
“It was another huge success we feel; we had a great crowd, lots of people turned up and supported us,” she said.
The event coincided with Remembrance Day, so the Coonawarra and Penola RSL held a service which included a flag-raising ceremony.
The Coonawarra Choir also attended to sing the national anthem amongst other songs.
Around 280 participants hit the track and people travelled from all over Australia to take part in races of 21km, 12km, 6km and 1km.
David Staehr was the 21km male winner for a second year with a time of 1 hour, 16 minutes and 36 seconds, Danny Habets came in at second place at 1 hour, 25 minutes and 7 seconds and Tre Davis followed close behind in third place at 1 hour, 26 minutes and 41 seconds.
Kathryn Auld took out the top spot as the female 21km winner with a time of 1 hour, 41 minutes and 19 seconds, Katrina Bell followed closely in second place at 1 hour, 42 minutes and 50 seconds and Kate McDonald took out third place with 1 hour, 46 minutes and 34 seconds.
The 21km male winner was Josh Cameron with a time of 43 minutes and 1 second, Jake Cuming close behind with 46 minutes and 3 seconds and Kevin Haggerty in third place at 54 minutes and 32 seconds.
Cobi Wilbert was the 12km female winner with a time of 1 hour, 2 minutes and 37 seconds, Alisha Stephens was hot on her heels in second place at 1 hour, 2 minutes and 42 seconds and Johanna Kemplay-Hill just a few seconds behind in third place with 1 hour, 2 minutes and 47 seconds.
In the 6km race, Paige Rasheed crossed the line in first place with a time of 24 minutes and 43 seconds with Gavin Kearney close behind in third place at 25 minutes and 5 seconds, and Darryl Patzel took out third place with 25 minutes and 21 seconds.
In the 1km race, Jackson Staehr and Angus McGregor tied first place with a time of 4 minutes and 12 seconds, Hugo Bell in second place with 4 minutes and 54 seconds and Zoe Staehr in third place at 4 minutes 56 seconds.
The Wobbly Winery Walk was a hit once again, with participants from New South Wales, ACT, and Queensland, plus a local school had their Christmas party as part of the walk.
“They all had a ball, people got dressed up in fun costumes and we had a best dressed competition,” Mrs Wallis said.
There was lots of action both on and off the track, with market stalls, pop-up bars, a mental health hub, and a Show n’ Shine, plus plenty of fun for kids with a toddler race and special appearances from CFS’ Smokey the Koala and Lego Man.
The total funds raised is yet to be determined and the money will go towards teenage mental health courses for local students, organised by Breakthrough.
“We want to keep the money within our community to continue supporting the community,” Mrs Wallis said.
The Coonawarra Running Festival was organised by a small committee of five and Mrs Wallis expressed gratitude for all the community support.
“We’re very grateful for all the help because we are a very small committee, we have a lot of support to make the day a success and we certainly could not have done it on our own,” she said.
