Kokoda Challenge: Gold Coast

The Kokoda Challenge: Gold Coast is a winter team endurance trek from Mudgeeraba to Nerang in Queensland’s Gold Coast Hinterland. The full distance is 96 km, matching the length of the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea, with shorter 48 km and 30 km options for teams seeking a demanding day rather than an overnight effort. This is trail terrain, not road running: teams move through bushland, fire trails, creek crossings, and steep climbs, and they must stay together instead of spreading out like a typical race field. The route starts at Mudgeeraba Bowls Club, about 20 minutes west of Surfers Paradise, and finishes at Nerang Velodrome. Along the way it passes through areas such as Austinville, Springbrook, Numinbah Valley, Beechmont, Clagiraba, and Nerang State Forest, with the longer course taking on the Big 5 mountains and over 4,000 metres of climbing. The 96 km event has a 39-hour limit in tribute to the 39th Battalion, and the whole event honours the Second World War Kokoda Campaign through its focus on teamwork, endurance, mateship, and sacrifice. Fundraising is compulsory, with money going to Kokoda Youth Foundation youth programs, so the field is made up of trained endurance teams, charity teams, support crews, and fitter newcomers stepping up through the shorter distances.