At the end of this month, Brian Haddy, also known as Sci Fi Bri, is holding the first of what he hopes will become an annual running festival right here in the Silver City called the Mad Max Marathon.
After organising a marathon in Coober Pedy last year, in country South Australia, Mr Haddy started thinking about where else in outback Australia could he arrange a running festival, and only one place came to mind – Broken Hill.
“Why not Broken Hill?” Mr Haddy asked the Truth.
The event is set to take place on July 30 and will start and finish at the Broken Hill Racecourse. For the longer events, it will include a lap of the racecourse and then the outlying areas surrounding the racecourse.
“There’s no bitumen to traverse. All the running outside of the racecourse will be on dirt paths alongside the roads,” says the scientist.
Along with a full marathon (42.2kms) and a half marathon (21.1kms), there are also some shorter distances planned for people looking to get involved in the event but who may not have elite fitness – which, let’s be honest, is probably most of us.
“For the keen ones there’s a marathon and a half marathon. Then we have some shorter distances including a 10km, 5km and for the under 12s we are putting on a free 2km event, which is exactly one lap of the racecourse,” Mr Haddy told us.
“I took a run on it the other day [the racecourse] and it is a beautiful surface to run on.”
Mr Haddy’s hope is this will become an annual event that promotes an active lifestyle, and he is very keen for youngsters to get involved.
“I want this to be the start of Broken Hill being known for a major running event, but also be known for locals getting out and doing a bit more, you know, in terms of exercise.”
There is a fundraising element, with people able to donate a small amount of money on top of their registration fee that will go to Maari Ma.
“There is a community element to it. We’re delighted that Wilcannia artist Andrew Thuli Jones has designed our t-shirt, which looks spectacular.”
If you want to get involved, there is a special bonus for people who register before July 2.
“For everyone running five kilometres or more, they will get a very special Mad Max marathon medal and for people who register this weekend before midnight, July 2, then they get their first name on a very special race bib which will be a fantastic memento for people to keep.”
To register for the Mad Max Marathon, head to madmaxmarathon.com.au
