Jarrod Ausburn celebrates consecutive Weipa Running Festival marathon wins after stopping the clock in 3:22:19 on Sunday morning. Photo: Cape York Weekly.
Aurukun runner Jarrod Ausburn says he is already turning his mind to a cheeky trifecta after securing back-to-back wins in the men’s marathon at the 2025 Weipa Running Festival on 20 July.
Ausburn crossed the finish line in three hours, 22 minutes, 17 seconds ahead of Chrisden Russ (3:38:27) and Michael Collins (3:41:55), while Kim Adams (4:22:44) was the first female marathoner home from Stephanie Kurz (4:43:56) and Sandra Kirk (4:51:19).
After a self-confessed “less-than-perfect” preparation, Ausburn said he was thrilled with the outcome, and joked there would be no overseas trips ahead of next year’s three-peat attempt.
“Mate, I’m absolutely stoked,” he said.
“I think we’ll skip Bali next year and focus on coming back to Weipa and doing it again.”
We Be Sore As (centre) secured the coveted golden shoe in the Mission team event. Photo: Cape York Weekly.
In the half marathon, Nathaniel Collins and Sophie Bee set the 22km circuit alight as they went on to win the men’s and women’s races in course record times.
A new participant record was set on Sunday, with 400 racers tackling five events ranging from the 42-kilometre marathon to the 2.5km fun run.
While many competitors celebrated their race day debut, there were plenty of other efforts worthy of note, including father-and-son duo Scott and Jack Barton, who backed up for the marathon less than eight hours after notching up wins at Fight Night 2.0.
Michael Collins and Liam Cullin also completed an impressive milestone of crossing the finish line in three marathons in three weeks.
Bob Hall inspired fellow racers and the crowd by completing the 5km event with his daughter before immediately heading back to the bitumen to run side by side with his grandchildren in the 2.5km fun run.
2025 WEIPA RUNNING FESTIVAL PODIUMS
Finishing times displayed as H:MM:SS
Men’s marathon (42km)
1: Jarrod AUSBURN 3:22:17, 1: Chrisden RUSS 3:38:27, 3: Michael COLLINS 3:41:55
Women’s marathon (42km)
1: Kim ADAMS 4:22:44, 2: Stephanie KURZ 4:43:56, 3: Sandra KIRK 4:51:19
Men’s half marathon (22km)
1. Nathaniel COLLINS 1:38:28 (course record), 2: Mark BOWDEN 1:48:49, 3: Jimmy MANN 1:55:28
Women’s half marathon (22km)
1: Sophie BEE 1:39:27 (course record), 2: Jordyn MULHERIN 1:55:26, 3: Lea BOURVERET 1:57:28
Men’s 10km
1: Nicholas CLARK 47:10, 2: Adam REID 48:27, Luke O’DAY 48:49
Women’s 10km
1: Liz WEIDMAN 50:38, 2: Tanna DE TOURNOUER 51:45, 3: Adriana RODRIGUEZ 51:48
Men’s 5km (senior)
1: Travis ISON 23:58, 2: Jason SMITH 26:43, 3: Matthew BAKES 29.08
Men’s 5km (junior)
1: Archie THOMAS 23:36, 2: Beau ISON 23:46, 3: Thomas BREWER 23:58
Women’s 5km (senior)
1: Clare THOMAS 26:56, 2: Justine NOURRISSON 31:01, 3: Lucie TEMPLE 31:04
Women’s 5km (junior)
1: Eva GINN 24:21, 2: Teeahne-Rae MASSO 28:11, 3: Violet BITHELL 28:59
