It’s year four of The Guzzler, with a new course and the same great vibes. Time to have a bit of fun and see who is who in the zoo.
THE GUZZLER ULTRA, 100KM
The name to beat will be Reesha Lewis. Reesha had a win here in the 50km last year and has since won The Blackall 100km, breaking the long-standing course record, Yandina 5-0 and West Macs Monster. Rebecca Phillip, the 2020 Guzzler 100km winner and course record holder, is back to give the 100 another crack. Bec won The Mt Glorious trail race last year and may round out the podium with Nicole Harrison. Nicole finished 6 th here last year so may find herself jumping up a few spots this year all going well.
For the men, Shaun Pettit is back defending his win from last year, where he set a new course record. Shaun won The Razorback 64km earlier this year, where he also set a new course record, so looks to be in good form. Word on the street is can he go sub 11? Hot on his heels will be Noelis Rheault, past winner of the BTU 100mile and a recent 4th at the Brisbane Trail Marathon. Other names to keep an eye on will be Adrian de la Nougerede (2nd The Glass Half Full 50km 2020), Benjamin Millen (6th The Guzzler 100km 2021), Benn Coubrough (15th UTA 100km 2021, 2nd Elephant Trail 50km 2021) and you can never be too relaxed around The Professor, Chris Jacobson (2nd Blackall 100km 2020).
“The best thing about 100km though – anything can happen on the day and there’s always a few surprises!”
Meagan Brown
THE GLASS HALF FULL, 50KM
There is an exciting entrant with Paige Linegar lining up to take on The Glass Half Full. Paige took 2nd in the UTA 50 last year, giving none other than Ruth Croft a run for her money. Behind Paige may see Georgia Jones (2nd Mt Glorious 21km), Tracey Mcdonald (3rd The Glass Half Full 2021) and Katie Dall (3 rd The Glass Half Full 2019) working together. All are strong local runners with good experience.
Casey Munro has returned to defend his title from last year and looks like he may be able to go for a back to back win. Casey took 2 nd at Yandino 5-0 earlier this year off not much run training. I wonder if he’s done a bit of running for The Guzzler hills? The other podium spots may see Joey Campbell (4th The Guzzler 100km 2021) and Michael Lubke (2nd The Big Sipper 2020, 2nd Mt Glorious Trail Race 2021) give it a good push.
“Casey Munro has returned to defend his title from last year”
Meagan Brown
THE BIG SIPPER, 21KM
Murphy Rankin took the win last year and has been unbeatable since. She can definitely do it again and set a solid course record for the new course. Keep an eye on up-comer Sophie Butler. Sophie finished 5th here last year and is a great runner, who may find herself jumping up a few places
The men’s Big Sipper race will be very exciting with Ben Duffus and Jack Gill battling it out. Ben is last year’s Big Sipper returning winner and has also had a win here in The Glass Half Full 2019, among many others. Jack had five from five wins and two course records in the recent SEQ Trail Run Series. He did just run a 2:39 at the Gold Coast marathon, will he be recovered? Other speedy contenders are Luke Davison, Dave Coombs and Benjamin Foessel.
THE DRY RUN, 10KM
It’s the inaugural Dry Run 10km and this looks to be a blast. Alanna Dicks has had great success at the SEQTRS and may find it here as well. For the men, it’s open season! Who do you think the inaugural champ will be?
“Now there’s nothing to it, but to do it! Good luck and enjoy everyone.”
You can follow the action and track your runner live at The Guzzler Ultra on July 23rd–24th, 2022
