Simpson Desert  Ultramarathon

Starts September 15th 2013

No foot race on Earth can match this. 

Due to the high number of runners enquiring about running next year in the 2013 Simpson Desert. see below for entry form.

The inaugural Simpson Desert UltraMarathon starts on September 15. It's the ultimate test of human (and superhuman) endurance. Think that's an exaggeration? Consider this: the 240km Marathon des Sables in the Sahara Desert is the current benchmark for multi-marathons. At 650km, Australia's version eats the Sahara alive. Two-forty kilometres? Please. Do another couple of laps and get back to us.

Real-life drama will unfold on a daily basis. The harsh/mystical/mesmerising/unforgiving Australian outback will provide a compelling backdrop. Runners will push themselves beyond every limit to become the first champion of a soon-to-be iconic race. He'll have claims to being the fittest and toughest athlete in Australia. will be run in 11 days. 11 Stages The starting gun will go off at Lamberts Centre, smack-bang in the middle of this big brown sprawling land, with the finish line for anyone left standing (no guarantees) just a stone's throw from the renowned Birdsville Hotel. Ten runners will tackle the danger-laden course this year, just an appetiser for what's on the horizon. An international field is expected for 2013 given the soaring levels of interest from overseas runners and agents.

It's a race for the lion-hearted, the adventurous, the bold, the breathtakingly fit. If you're in less than peak condition, you won't make it. That simple. The terrain adds a whole new dimension. The Simpson has more than a thousand sand dunes, river crossings, 50-plus degree heat, dust storms, torrential rain. It has dingoes, bull camels, taipans - if you're easily spooked, stay at home. The physical demands are obvious. The mental strain is overwhelming. The Simpson can send the uninitiated stir-crazy. The repetitiveness of certain sections of scenery, the brutality of the weather, the isolation, the disconnect from the modern world - when four runners tried the course for charity last year, three of them fell in a screaming heap. Only man finished. His name was Barry Golding. 

"The race in the Sahara has the reputation for being the toughest foot race in the world," Golding says.

"But I think of our race like this. Go to the Sahara and when those runners have just crossed the finish line, when they've collapsed with exhaustion and they're all rolling round saying how much it hurts, tap them on the shoulder and tell them they've got to do nearly two more. That's what our race is. Double the Sahara. I've done this run, once, and it's just brutal. No words can do justice to how bloody hard this is going to be."