In 2004, local ultra runners Ean Jackson, Wade and Dom Repta, and Dave Cressman all set out to be the first runners to complete the entire 180km Sunshine Coast Trail in a single, non-stop trip.
The journey was not without its drama as the runners had to manage difficult trail conditions, injuries, exhaustion, and getting off-track a few times.
Luckily for us, Shay Wilson and Angus Mclellan filmed the adventure, and put together a very entertaining documentary called XS-NRG. The film was released in 2010, and played at several film festivals, and was available for purchase online. It has now been made available to watch on YouTube.
The film does a great job of showcasing the beautiful Sunshine Coast Trail and interviews some of its most fervent builders for an inside look into its creation, and the motivations behind it. In the end, only one runner is able to finish the entire trail and set a ‘fastest-known-time’. At 43h 50m, it is a record that is still standing 10 years later.
If you’re into running at all, I highly recommend this movie. It is very entertaining, and does a great job of capturing the beauty of our coast, what the human body is capable of, and also just plainly captures some hilarious banter between a group of ultra runners. The video can be found here on YouTube.
As a bonus, the video also has a cameo from a younger and beardless Gary Robbins.
