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August 2, 2017
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King of the Mountain Festival a top day out
2017 King of the Mountain Festival Winners
ON Sunday 23 July, Pomona welcomed clear blue skies and a large crowd of people eager to enjoy the festivities and friendly atmosphere of the famous community orientated event. A project of The Cooroy & Pomona Lion’s Club, the King of the Mountain Festival continued its traditional of offering something for everyone with popular car displays, markets, animal farm, antiques fair, live entertainment and food stalls just a small part of its race day program. While some came to enjoy the diversity of attractions, for others it is all about the physical challenge of competing in one of Australia’s most gruelling events, the 4.2 km near vertical King of the Mountain Race up Mt Cooroora. With a field of over 80 runners, the title of the Bendigo Bank International Challenge King of the Mountain went to reigning champion, Mark Bourne from ACT who ran a time of 24mins:37secs. He was closely followed by Ben Duffus from Brisbane (24:50) and New Zealand competitor Daniel Jones who finished with a time of 25:22. Queen of the Mountain was awarded to Ruby Muir (27:49) who only saw the top of Mount Cooroora for the first time during her maiden race having and only arrived from Wellington, NZ the day before. Late entrant Ashild Hrige from Norway placed second in her first off-road competition in Australia with a time of 29:21 while local primary school teacher and reigning Queen Leslie Saunders placed third (32:33). Leslie’s passion for the race saw her devote much her time in its lead up to coaching and training the Prince and Princess Race entrants from local schools. The Zinc 96.1 Prince and Princess race held on Saturday 22 July saw over 50 children
compete along a 3.4km track designed to spur future champions. Aimed at children between 9-13 years of age, the honour of Prince of the Mountain went to Tyson Anthony, with the Princess title awarded to Mia Jeffries. Event organiser Heather Manders said the King of the Mountain Festival owes its ongoing success to sponsorships from the local business community and the efforts of hard working volunteers. “An event of this scale simply isn’t possible without the support and help of our local community. Our volunteers work tirelessly over many months to provide a festival that offers opportunities for people to actively participate in a multitude of event inclusions and attractions,” Ms Manders said. “We want to thank everyone who came along to the 2017 King of the Mountain festival. The success of the community focused event means the Cooroy-Pomona Lions can continue to fund school programs and provide support and assistance to many local charities.” After celebrating the success of the event and those of its participants, Lions organisers will enjoy a small break before planning and preparations get underway for next year’s King of the Mountain Festival on Sunday July 22. To review event highlights or to enquire about sponsorships or any other participation opportunities for the 2018 festival, head to the website: kingofthemountain.com.au or visit the King of the Mountain Facebook page. By Jackie Bazzo