Photo by Chris Olszewski via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Australia › Brisbane › Races
Brisbane Trail Ultra
110K, 60K, 30K in Brisbane, normally held in August. A trail race — Trail ultra in the D'Aguilar Range on the city's western edge.
The Brisbane Trail Ultra at a glance
| Distances | 110K, 60K, 30K |
|---|---|
| Main distance | 110 km (ultra) |
| Usually held | August |
| Course | Trail |
| City | Brisbane, Australia |
| Typical conditions | 22.7°C high / 10.9°C low, rain on ~17% of days |
Trail ultra in the D'Aguilar Range on the city's western edge.
Entering the Brisbane Trail Ultra
Entry fees, closing dates and start times are set by the organiser and change every year, so they are not reproduced here — a stale deadline is worse than none. The organiser’s own site and its social channels are the authoritative source for the current year, and are where entry opens.
What is stable, and what this page covers: the month the race is held, what the course is like, the conditions you should expect, and how long a build-up the distance needs.
Weather at previous Brisbane Trail Ultra races
Across the last ten years, Brisbane in August has averaged a daily high of 22.7°C and a low of 10.9°C, with at least a millimetre of rain on about 17% of days.
These are recorded observations for the race month averaged over ten years, not a forecast and not a single past race day — race dates move, so one day’s figures would mislead. Source: Open-Meteo historical archive.
How to prepare for the Brisbane Trail Ultra
How long to train
Build for 20 to 24 weeks from a base you already hold rather than from nothing. For ultra the block should peak at a longest run of back-to-back long runs of 30 km and 20 km on consecutive days, reached at least two weeks before race day so there is time to taper. Three weeks of taper is standard: cut volume by roughly a third each week while keeping some race-pace work so the legs stay sharp.
Training for this course
This is largely off-road, so surface skill matters as much as fitness. Run at least a third of your training on the same kind of ground, in the shoes you will race in, and practise eating and drinking while moving on uneven footing.
Conditions in August
Conditions are usually good for racing: highs average 22.7°C and lows 10.9°C in August, which is close to ideal for ultra running. Dress for the temperature about ten degrees warmer than it actually is, since you will warm up within two kilometres.
Fuelling
Over 110 km you will need 30–60 g of carbohydrate an hour from early on, not once you feel empty. Rehearse the exact products in training — the gut trains like anything else — and check in advance which brand is handed out on course, because switching to an unfamiliar one mid-race is a common and avoidable mistake.
Race week
Sleep matters most two nights before, not the night before, so protect that one. Keep eating normally with a modest tilt toward carbohydrate, lay out kit the night before, and do nothing new: no new shoes, no new breakfast, no new socks. Plan to arrive at the start with time to spare — ultra fields move slowly through bag drop and security.
Distances and where the race is run
- 110K — 110 km
- 60K — 60 km
- 30K — 30 km
The pin marks Brisbane city centre, the area the Brisbane Trail Ultra starts and finishes in. This is not the course line: the route is set by the organiser and changes between editions, so the official course map for the current year is theirs to publish. The routes below are for training on the same roads.
Train on these roads: 10K routes in Brisbane · long runs in Brisbane · GPS art routes
Other races in Brisbane
- Brisbane Marathon Festival — Marathon, Half marathon, 10K, 5K, August
- Bridge to Brisbane — 10K, 5K, August or September
- Twilight Bay Run — 10K, 5K, March