Down Under 135 — Australia’s gnarliest trail epic

A whip-crack, a gorge, and 220 kilometres of reckoning

Before first light on Friday 16 May the Lerderderg River whispers through a slate-black gorge. A lone stockman raises a bull-whip. The crack ricochets off sandstone and the seventh running of Down Under 135 surges into darkness. Head-torches scatter down the river bend like fireflies, and every runner knows the next three days will redefine what the words hard and possible mean.

This is no ordinary ultramarathon. With 135 miles (220 km), 14 000 m of vert, 55 hours to finish and a lifetime of stories to collect, Down Under 135 offers Australia’s ultra community an unfiltered shot of wilderness, grit and genuine self-discovery.

Down Under 135 Quick-scan facts

Why this is the Southern Hemisphere’s benchmark suffer-fest

1. Authentic extremity – designed by five veteran mates who wanted an Aussie counterpart to Barkley, Tahoe 200 and Hardrock.
2. Ever-changing course – route tweaks yearly; 2025 returns to the “Lerdy-first” original, starting down-river and climbing into Blackwood. No stale GPX files here.
3. Whip-start folklore – the ceremonious stock-whip crack is now iconic in Australian trail culture.
4. Community saga – a three-day festival for runners, crews, pacers, medics and volunteers who swap war-stories around checkpoint camp-fires.
5. Hall-of-Fame legends – finish and your name joins a list where some years 97 % of starters timed out.
6. Cost-price ethos – not-for-profit fee barely covering permits, medical, and 55 hours of aid.

Down Under 135 Course deep-dive — kilometre-by-kilometre fight-song

Total tallies: 220 km • 14 000 m + • 11 crew hubs • SPOT Live-Tracking pinging every 5 min.

How the schedule unfolds (all AEST)

Qualification — earn your bib

Submit docs during registration or anytime before 1 May 2025. The committee vets every file—trust them, they’ve DNF’d enough ultras to know bravado from readiness.

Crew, pacers & hubs — your mobile lifeline

• Crew recommended: 2 people ideal (driver + spare / pacer). Fatigue checks at hubs.
• Solo allowed: Drop-bag service to all 11 hubs.
• Pacer rules: Join after 90 km, one pacer at a time, must carry mandatory safety kit.
• Hub etiquette: No loud music, respect National-Park quiet hours, leave no trace.

*Distances are rounded to the nearest kilometre; expect ±1–2 km variance once the 2025 route is finalised.

Key take-aways for Down Under 135 crews

• Vehicle strategy: Only hubs 1, 4 & 8 are foot-access; everything else is reachable in a normal car.
• Sleep rotation: Blackwood HQ (55 km & 166 km) plus Yankee Road hubs are the best spots to grab solid rest.
• Drop-bags: Plan for temps between 3 °C (pre-dawn) and 18 °C (mid-afternoon). Pack lights, socks, spare batteries, real food.
• Pacers: Can join from Hub 5 (94 km) onwards; must carry mandatory night kit.
• Water capacity: Leave foot-only segments (Hubs 1→2 and 4→5 / 8→9) with 2+ L—those sections bite.

Down Under 135 Mandatory kit (spot-checked on course)

Miss an item in a random check → instant DQ (no appeals).

Training blueprint — nine key sessions to survive Down Under 135

1. Back-to-back 7-h hikes (Sat / Sun) — leg durability > speed.
2. Night nav fartlek — 3 h technical trail, focusing on foot placement by head-torch only.
3. 1 000-m vert repeats — find the steepest hill; five ascents equal Mt Blackwood.
4. 30-minute micro-naps — teach your brain to reboot on hub camp-chairs.
5. Fast-pack gear drill — practise stripping wet jacket, swapping batteries, refilling flasks in < 3 min.
6. Heat management — midday long run on exposed ridgeline; simulate unshaded gorge.
7. Core + posterior chain — deadlifts, single-leg RDLs, weighted step-ups.
8. Stomach training — graze on broth, cola, chips, ginger beer at walk pace.
9. Mental durables — 4 h treadmill at 15 % gradient watching nothing but blank wall.

Down Under 135 Hall of Fame — proof that finishers exist

*2017 distance 202 km for safety, but it was still hideous.

Finishers’ names are laser-etched onto the DU135 Hall-of-Fame board displayed at Border Inn all year.

Entry timeline & refund ladder

No transfers. No roll-overs. Tough love, true to DU ethos.

Volunteer & medical crew — the beating heart

• Endurance Medical Services staff every hub.
• Volunteer sweeps hike final sections collecting tape and checking stragglers.
• All volunteers receive DU buff, tee and post-race dinner with athletes. Sign up early because spots vanish faster than gels at Mt Blackwood.

FAQs in two breaths

• Can I run without crew? Yes — drop bags to every hub.
• GPS allowed? Sure, but GPX file lands in your inbox Thursday 17 May, 20:00.
• Wildlife? Kangaroos, wombats, maybe a sleepy python; no bears, no excuses.
• Are pacers mandatory? Optional but 90 % of finishers used one.
• DNF logistics? Shuttles sweep the course every four hours. You’ll ride out with UHF-radio-packing volunteers and existential reflection.

Your call to arms

The Down Under 135 isn’t about medals or Instagram reels (though the gorge sunrise is pretty ‘gram-worthy). It’s about toeing a line where failure is statistically probable yet finishing changes your DNA forever. If you crave an honest confrontation with your limits—and a community that’ll hand you broth, jokes and brutal honesty at 4 a.m.—then May’s whip-crack waits.

– Register from 2 June 2024, 16:00 AEST

– Gather a crew (or trust the drop-bag gods)

– Train like vert is life

– And on 16 May 2025 discover whether your spirit matches the Lerdy’s gorge.

Down Under 135 — “Gnarly, technical, aggressive vert, beautiful… enough said.”

Find out more here.