The McDonald's Townsville Running Festival, to be held on 5-6 August 2012, contains one of Australia's few
"flat and fast" marathons, and has grown from just 215 competitors in
1999 to almost 2,500 competitors in 2011.
This year, 50 per cent of competitors will travel from
outside the region to attend - some from as far away as New Zealand, USA,
England, Japan and Papua New Guinea.
2011 winner Richard Banks from Manly, NSW will return to
defend his title. As the winner of the 2011 Townsville Marathon, Richard was
invited to compete in a race in sister city Iwaki, Japan
in February this year. Iwaki is just 60km from
the Fukushima
nuclear plant that was plunged into crisis following an earthquake and tsunami
in March 2011. Richard saw first-hand the devastation that these events caused
for the local communities.
Then there's Sue and Andrew O'Brien - who in 2008 ran eight
marathons in eight countries over eight consecutive weeks, finishing in
Townsville - and will return for their third time this year. The Townsville
Marathon is on Sue's list of the 5 most memorable marathons she's run in the
past decade. With a breathtaking courses winding alongside the Coral Sea, it's not hard to see why.
For more information about the McDonald's Townsville Running
Festival, click on the Website www.townsvillerunningfestival.com
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