ON 25 September 2020, my friends, Ross McPhee and Simon Austin, and I attempted to run the fastest known time (FKT) on the Goldfields Track. An FKT is essentially a speed record on any track or route of significance. Australia hosts 87 such routes, with 16 residing in Victoria. The Goldfields Track is part of the Great Dividing Trail Network (www.gdt.org.au) and is the third-longest of the Victorian routes at 200km.
A point-to-point route, starting at the top of Mount Buninyong some 20km from the centre of Ballarat, the track traverses the Great Dividing Range, passing through Ballarat, Creswick, Daylesford and Castlemaine, then descends off the northern slopes to Bendigo. The track is an absolute gem, passing through some seriously wonderful countryside and heritage areas. Evidence of the region’s past gold rush days keeps the traveller entranced, as though they were seeking their own fortunes along the way. One cannot stop thinking they will stumble across a glittering gold nugget at any moment!
The Goldfields Track has four sections. Each caters perfectly for day trippers, whether they be runners, walkers or bike riders, where alternative routes bypass the rougher, more technical areas of the track. Eureka Track links Mount Buninyong to Creswick, Wallaby Track connects Creswick to Daylesford, Dry Diggings Track joins Daylesford to Castlemaine, and the Leanganook Track ties Castlemaine to Bendigo.
THE IDEA of running the entire length of the Goldfields Track was one I had been contemplating since early 2020. Ross and Simon had entered the Canberra Marathon and had been training the house down. That is, until COVID-19 came along. With the postponement of the marathon, they did a series of longer reconnaissance runs with me, the first being from Castlemaine to Bendigo along the Leanganook Track.
On 5 June 2020, Simon, Ross and I caught the train from Bendigo to Castlemaine and commenced the 60km run back to Bendigo. Our running friend, Craig Feuerherdt, met us 15km from the end to run with us back to Bendigo railway station.
The Leanganook Track passes through the heavily excavated regional gold diggings on the
