There was a feel-good start and a ferocious finish to the eighth edition of trail running epic The North Face 100 in the Blue Mountains on the weekend. The 100km race and its sister 50km event attracted more than 2000 entrants, but it was a man from Nepal and a man from California who made things special at both ends of the 100km classic. And for the Blue Mountains crowd, there was a podium finish for a "local" boy.
No-one who followed this year's TNF100 will forget seeing Nepal's Purna Tamang bravely running at the front of the race in its early stages, just weeks after his country was devastated and his own home destroyed by an earthquake.
But midway through the race, as the men climbed out of the Megalong Valley, it was Katoomba-based New Zealander Scott Hawker in the lead. In the end it was American Dylan Bowman who prevailed in a record time of 8:50:13. He was followed in by Hawker (8:51:35) and Yun Yanquiao of China (9:01:29).
Being a Blue Mountains resident these days, Hawker was cheered at the Scenic World finish line like a local hero rather than a Kiwi raider. The crowd was also elated when Tamang came in 20th.
China's Dong Li became the first woman home in 11:05:22. Amy Sproston of the US was second in 11:27:50.
In the 50km race, the men's winner Andrius Ramonas from Lithuania streaked home in a course record time of 4:23:41. The first female, and seventh overall, was Australian Emma Rilen in a time of 4:59:05.
The 50km race also featured 21-year-old American Bobby O'Donnell, who was looking to find peace again by running in the Blue Mountains bush after the trauma of experiencing the Boston Marathon bombing of 2013.
He finished in 7:04:50 and described the race as a "beautiful experience".
Hawker moved to the Blue Mountains a month ago after four years in Perth because he felt the flat terrain and heat of the West Australian capital were not letting him train to reach his potential.
"I always thought, 'I wonder what I might be able to achieve if I could train on some good terrain'," Hawker said. "the trails are just amazing here. The climate is world-class too."
In the weeks leading up to TNF100, Hawker trained exclusively on the course and has no doubt that contributed to his stellar performance.
