Diverge is a brand new event on the Tassie race calendar and I couldn’t resist getting amongst it for the first iteration. I jumped in deep signing up for the 50k with little knowledge of what I was in for. I’d never ran any of the trails and went in completely blind. I had been assured that the terrain would be technical and gnarly and the event delivered on all fronts. In the end I had a tough but fun day out on the course. This event has left it’s mark on me and I keep thinking about how to do it better. I guess this means I’ll be going for round two! Stick around and I will recount my running the Mt Lyell Skyrun 50k. There will be a video to follow, but I am returning to my good old long blog post for this event, it deserves it!
The Stats
| Event | Diverge Mt Lyell Skyrun |
| Date | 2 May 2026 |
| Dist | 51.77km |
| Elevation | 3003m |
| Total Time | 7:26:51 |
| Strava | Strava Activity |
🗺️The Course
I heard whispers of a new race on the West Coast early last year. It was obvious that Lincoln was cooking something up from the random activities on his Strava in Queenstown every couple of weeks. Ziggy has worked on the west coast and done a lot of running in the area and when I told him there was going to be a 50k around Queenstown he didn’t believe me. He said ‘there’s not enough trails to do a 50k course out there’. He was kind of right in a way, but Lincoln created the trails he needed to link up both Mt Owen, Mt Lyell and a whole heap of other iconic locations to create a brutal 50k course.
The full course encapsulates the two prominent mountains in the area, first climbing Mt Owen then heading over to Mt Lyell. I will discuss further the intricacies of the course in my race report but lets just say a lot of it is not ‘on track’. Much of the course is delineated by little pink flags, without these flags there would be no sign of a trail. The largest portion of newly reformed track is the Lyell comstock rail line. A rail cutting created over 100 years ago but never used that had been reclaimed by nature. Lincoln hired a team of locals who spent 9 weeks clearing the track which allowed the course to head around the back of Mt Lyell to then get to climb the seismic line track, which is a 44% grade climb up the back of Mt Lyell.
The top of Lyell is untracked, exposed and epic. So is the descent. After this monster the course reverts mostly to walking tracks and mountain bike trails. It is an epic course!! Credit to Lincoln and his team of scouts for pulling together such a wild route.
Race Prep
After Buffalo Stampede I had an easy week and recovered surprisingly well. No physical issues whatsoever and my energy levels bounced back rapidly. I am forever impressed at what my body is capable of but also knew to be cautious and not overdo it before Diverge. I started heading along to Tuesday speed sessions again and got out for a few good weekend long runs. This allowed me to log some decent training weeks. I thought I was feeling slugglish and lazy compared to usual training levels but I did a final speedwork sessions and almost clocked a 10k PB (2nd fastest 10k ever). A good reminder that I still had some solid fitness.
Travelling to Queenie
The ‘boys’ were called to arms for a big weekend in Queenie. I think we deserve the carpooling award for our valiant efforts. Ziggy, Juzzy, Josh, Mingma and I all managed to squeeze ourselves and all our gear into a single car. We had accommodation courtesy of the Henty Gold Mine, Mingma’s old workplace, his old house was still sitting vacant for us to use. So we had a wonderful house to stay in except there was no furniture besides 4 dining seats. Despite the lack of furniture it is probably the nicest house in Queenstown and free, so there were no complaints about our lodgings.
We had a swift journey to Queenstown with Juzzy at the wheel of the Subaru Forrester, I suspect we may have set an FKT for the drive from Hobart to Queeny including two rather long stops along the way. The weather was summery and glorious on the west coast for our arrival. We made ourselves at home in our squatters den and headed out just in time to see the train depart for the Lynchford 5k run. I kind of regretted not booking myself a ticket on the train.
It was a relaxed and social afternoon in Queenstown seeing so many friends and runners swarming the town. At 4pm we departed on the Queenie Rogaine. A compulsory mini-rogiane that everyone had to do before they could get their race bibs. I was initially kind of against being forced to do a Rogaine, but once I got going Juzzy and I teamed up and cleared the whole course. It was a fun way to see a lot of Queenstown in a short period.
After the Rogaine we went to get our bibs from the Paragon theatre and the place was bursting at the seams. Vibes were high but lines were long. It took us probably 40 minutes to get our bibs. It was cool to see Rob giving out Moor gel flasks and filling them from essentially a beer keg of energy gel. They got creative at this event and rather than giving out individually packaged gels at aid stations everyone was given a reusable gel flask that could be filled from a Moor Ultra.
There were so many more cool things going on in the theatre with an Arc’teryx repair shop doing free repairs and the bloke from Terra Rosa gear doing free gear mods. Screenprinting too, you could get any old shirt turned into event merch. So many cool things happening, I was impressed. I wish I’d known about it, I’d have brought heaps of stuff from home like Piotr did. It seemed like he had a whole bucket of clothing there to be repaired.
Back at home I found Ziggy on the floor talking on the phone to his doctor. After a hellish week he finally had closure, a parasite in his gut, most likely from eating snake meat in the Philippines. Not the kind of news you want to hear the night before a 50k race. Did he let this stop him? No way, the man loves adversity.
Race Day
Race morning was uncharacteristically warm. It was somehow warmer outside the house than inside. It was supposedly 18 degrees at 6am in Queenstown. The high temperatures were slightly concerning and I probably should have adapted my hydration plans accordingly, instead I would have to learn the hard way that I needed more water. We sauntered into town, deposited our drop bags then followed the sound of bagpipes to the startline on the main street of Queenstown.
Climbing Mt Owen
Mingma put on a startline display to make Ziggy proud. He sprinted out ahead and was the first runner past the IGA, this burst of energy was shortlived and he later told Ziggy it took him a long time for his heart rate to recover from the outburst.
The road running didn’t last long and onto the trails we went. Single file head torch running through forested trails. It was humid and warm and I looked forward to getting up high and into a cooling breeze. I found myself running behind Emma Cook-Clarke, the Canadian elite who’d travelled down for the race. We chatted as we ran and the vibes were so high!! She was brimming with uplifting energy, I guess I was too. These early days were good times. This was the beginning of long day of running together through the many highs and lows.
We caught up to Alice McGushin and formed a little pack, chatting and climbing the meandering mountain bike tracks up Mt Owen. It was my first time meeting Alice but I knew her name from her podium performance at Buffalo. The sunrise was vibrantly red and glorious. I said ‘red sky in the morning, shepherds warning’, Emma replied ‘lucky we’re not those’. I enjoyed these early days conversations getting to know Emma and Alice and having good company.
The flowy mountain bike track climbing went on much longer than I anticipated. We’d run over 7km and it was still easy. Then we abruptly went off the groomed trail and into the scrub. All of a sudden things got steep. So steep that there was fixed ropes to help get up the slippery inclines. Even with the ropes it was tough with our feet sliding out at every opportunity. We started to encounter signs saying ‘it’s about to get real’ and the signs kept getting more and more foreboding.
The scrubby climbing gave away to boulder fields of conglomerate. It was scramble time. Emma took off. Alistair and Sam Shea (a queenie local) were my new companions with Alice still leading the charge. Then she took a wrong turn. We back tracked a little and I ended up in front. I didn’t see much more of Alice for the rest of the day (probably because she broke her toe 10km in but still somehow finished 3rd).
The terrain was other worldly, like a mutant south west Tassie mountain. White rocks with little vegetation. I presume the hill was once covered in trees but it’s hard to know how pristine this alpine environment truly is given the history of the area. Despite the possible environmental devastation from the past it is still an awe inspiring mountain and I can appreciate the moonscape for it’s novelty.
Running on top of the World
Alistair lead the way as extreme wind gusts tried to take our hats. There was a juncture to the first of many out and backs. It was the first opportunity to see where we stood in the field. First I saw Andrew Gaskell, then Alex Hunt. Angus Tolson was so fast he’d already been and gone. Near the turn around point I saw Bryce and Jooho a Korean Arc’teryx athlete. This was my first time encountering them but they became recurring characters throughout my long day.
At each out and back we had to get our phones out and take a selfie with a little corflute frame to prove we’d been there. This was the events novel way to ensure everyone did the out and backs given not all were marshalled. I was stoked to find Matt Pearce sitting at the first turn around point clearly absolutely frothing on seeing everyone getting amongst it on the course he had meticulously marked for us. It must be so fulfilling to see all the hard work come to fruition.
On the way back I saw Ziggy and Mingma. I usually despise out and backs, but these little ones are a nice touch that allow you to check in with with friends and competition. It makes the run feel a bit more social. On this particular day I didn’t have to worry about being lonely, I had plenty of runners around to chat to. The traverse across the top of Mt Owen was so much fun. Super fast runnable sections interspersed with technical scrambles and multiple caves. I kept thinking, ‘this feels like proper skyrunning’.
There was an awesome cave that we entered the back of and out the front was a perfectly framed view of Queenstown where we were earlier that morning. Then there was a little more scampering before the descent to the first aid station. The first 10.7km took me 1:45 and I only carried 1 litre of water. I am a 1l per hour kind of guy in general and this was a particularly warm day. I was still feeling good but definitely already falling into a hydration deficit.
Sending it Down
Mt Owen aid station was a quick affair. I arrived with Bryce but he was quicker through than I and Alistair was hot on my heels. I headed out and soon made up ground on Bryce on the downhills. When I caught him we got to chatting. He’d come all the way from Western Australia. A long way to travel for an event on terrain that would have been so foreign to him. He was wearing the Tarkine Bandicoots, the third pair I had already spotted on course. I received my pair on the Thursday before but wasn’t game enough to try a new shoe on race day.
We dipped off the gravel roads onto mountain bike trails. The views over Lake Burbury were expansive and impressive. The flowy trails were a dream. I got ahead of Bryce and he followed but I was much faster on the downs. I caught sight of Emma ahead. Abruptly the course dipped off the flowly mountain bike trails and went straight down towards the Linda Valley. The new route was direct, steep and shaley. I threw myself at the downhill; it wasn’t pretty but I got down quick. Emma was so good at technical downs too but I caught her and we both headed into the Chamouni Aid station together. Emma commented that it would be good to tackle the next sections together, I agreed. We were officially teamed up for the long haul.
Mt Lyell Monster
At the aid station I was swarmed with friendly faces. I had Naomi, Maggie Lennox and many volunteers jump to my aid. I was quick to get myself sorted. I filled up three flasks for the section ahead. This was a major mistake. I should have carried so much more, but in my haste and with my lack of course knowledge I thought I’d be fine. Emma and I left together, crossed the Linda creek and embarked on the Lyell comstock together.
Having company for this section was great. We chatted and I think this kept us both pacing sensibly. The old rail cutting was awesome to see. There was sections in dense forest which highlighted how much work must have been done to clear it then it would occasionally open up to views of Lake Burbury out to the right. Emma and I discussed life and all sorts of things in a way that you tend to do with strangers you’ve just met in a running race. She was already feeling waves of emotion. I said I get similar feelings during long races too. But I was slightly concerned about how early in the race she was feeling like this. Despite this she powered on and when I stopped to fill a flask in a creek she charged on ahead.
One of my favourite sections of the comstock track is when it opens up and there is a sheer rock face on the left, a pathway ahead then a sheer drop off to the right with expansive views of the lake. So much work must have gone into building this track only for it to never be used. I wondered how the workers from 100 years ago would feel about it being put to use for a trail running event. I suspect they wouldn’t understand but may feel grateful knowing the track is having a little renaissance period.
Matt Pearce had emphasised in pre-race conversations the steepness of the climb up Mt Lyell but it has to be seen to be believed. When we reached the base of the ‘seismic line’ I was so ready for a change from runnable to a climb. But the track was immensely steep. It’s a perfectly straight line of cleared track in the trees with a 44% gradient as far as the eye could see. There’s no easy way to get up such a rude angle. I was just thankful the track was dry, the thing would turn into a slippery dip in the wet. Emma was out ahead and she hoofed up the hill. I struggled to keep up. Then I spotted Byrce down at the base of the climb, we called out to say hello then got back to work. The conversation devolved into huffs and puffs predominantly.
Emma was getting ahead and Bryce catching me from behind. I was clearly the weakest climber. Bryce’s climbing impressed me since earlier he’d told me the biggest hill he has at home is 300m high. This made me question my climbing abilities, I’d always considered myself a good climber but maybe I have room to improve in this department. Thankfully, with such steep climbing altitude is gained rapidly and we soon reached the saddle where I saw the marshals who I’d met the night before at the pizza shop. They handed me a lolly snake and we headed out on the first Mt Lyell out and back.
Emma, Bryce and I were now bunched up. We rock hopped together picking our way across the terrain as best we could. This section is pretty much choose your own adventure in the general direction of the pink flags. We passed Alex Hunt heading back, moving well but looking like he was feeling it. Lyell felt more remote, rugged and wild than Mt Owen. It was giving me proper Tassie South West vibes. This is where I had the though ‘this is probably the closest thing we will ever get to a Western Arthurs trail race’.
There were enormous slabs of conglomerate that we were hopping across. This was the stage of the race when I started realised how epic this event truly is. I was also starting to realise how much of a battle it was going to be to get it done. On one hand I was suffering and wanting it to be over but also loving it and frothing on the adventure, pretty much the dichotomy of ultrarunning really.
At the out and back we all took our photos and Alistair appeared as well. Now we were essentially a motley crew of four about to traverse Mt Lyell. With the first out and back ticked off we had to run across the top of Mt Lyell to the other end, take another photo and get back down before reaching the next aid station. I was already rationing my water supplies. Not something I should be doing but I had no choice, I was on top of a dry mountain.
Mingma was telling us on the drive into Queenie that ‘the top of Mt Lyell is flat, you should be able to do 4 minute kms up there’. I’d been joking with Emma about this on the way up. Mingma was absolutely dreaming. We were lucky if we clocked a 10 minute km up there. Every now and then there was a little section of flat quartzite gravel but then it turned technical and scrambly again. There was more caves to get through including the worst of all. Bryce went through first and I worried that he wouldn’t fit. We had to get down on our stomachs and shimmy through a tight hole. This does not feel good with 35km of mountains in the legs.
I postulated that this section would be the crux of the race and it was proving to be so. Bryce also mentioned that he was rationing water. I am certain that most runners fell into a similar predicament. We all moved well despite our hardships. Eventually reaching the other end of the mountain where there was a marshal sitting in a hammock reading a book. I was jealous. It was such a nice day to spend on top of a mountain. I shudder to think of what the marshals will go through in future events if the west coast turns the weather on.
We snapped our photos and then began the big Mt Lyell descent. I would have loved this section if I weren’t so rinsed. I’d visualised sending it down but now I was actually here I was feeling the dehydration and struggling. Alistair sent it down the the descent and didn’t look back. He had been vibing the whole day, I was jealous but also happy for him running down how I’d hoped I would.
I was so wobbly that I took a bad fall and scraped my hand badly. This shocked me back into focus mode. Divine providence revealed a small trickle of a creek. I didn’t hesitate in filling a flask. Bryce wasn’t game, he said he wasn’t used to drinking from streams at all, they don’t do it where he’s from in WA. With my little bit of water I decided to make a break for it and picked up the pace. Bryce had already mentioned how impressed he was with the downhill running of everyone else on course, he was struggling. He thought it must have been a Tasmanian thing, he might be right, lots of us love a technical down.
As I approached Emma I could hear her talking, she was on the phone to someone. When I got closer I realised she was crying almost hysterically to the person on the phone and holding her hip. She had already expressed apprehension about a hip niggle. I was worried that she was going to hobble down to the aid station and pull the pin. As I passed I asked if she was ok and she nodded. I kept going and kind of felt bad about leaving her but I knew Bryce was not far behind and taking the hill a lot slower.
The Final Push
When I rolled into Chamouni aid station for a second time I was a shell of the man I formerly was. An abundance of friends and helpful volunteers pounced on me, I was overwhelmed. Coke, water, sunscreen, vegemite sangas and gels from my drop bags. With all of the help I didn’t get much opportunity to rest. As I headed out Emma and Bryce arrived. Emma still crying I gave her a high five and a ‘you’ve got this’ and headed off, I was worried she may not make it back out.
This is where the struggle really began. I knew I was teetering on the edge of a mega-dehydration bonk, the worst kind and so hard to come back from. Nausea was creeping in but I was not going to let it ruin my run. I drank and drank and still ate on schedule. It’s hard but you cannot let mild nausea stop the fluids and carbs going in.
In the streets of Gormanston I heard voices, it was Emma and Bryce. I was stoked to see Emma soldiering on. They soon caught me then got ahead. I commented ‘I think I am falling off the train’, Emma responded ‘no you’re not Joe, you’re coming along for the ride’. So I knuckled down and held on as best I could. The climb out of Gormanston was ridiculous, it felt like climbing a hill in a desert, the landscape was so barren and steep.
Our salvation was a flowy mountain bike track down to horsetail falls lookout where we took our next selfie. We saw Andrew Gaskell and it got me confused, then I realise there is a massive out and back to the Iron Blow, he was a long way ahead. Which was good because he had a wedding to get to in Deloraine that evening. We were now amongst the 25k runners. The run down to memorial aid station was board walk and we went for it. At memorial aid station I stopped to fill a flask. A volunteer was doing it from a super slow reservoir and when it was finally done Emma and Bryce were gone.
This was Bryce’s decisive move. He slapped out crazy pace up the hill to the Iron Blow. I wasn’t sad about losing a place to Bryce I was proud that he could pull off such a break away. Emma was also gapping me. It was a short out and back. On the way back down I saw Johoo then Ziggy just before the aid station. I was happy to see Ziggy going well, we’d all worried about what sort of carnage the parasite might inflict, but he was going well and making up ground on me!!
I did one final refill of fluids at Memorial aid station then headed back up the boardwalk to horsetail falls. Disaster struck in the form of inner leg quad cramps. Every step on the board walk set them off. I was doing a modified step up trying to keep my legs straight. It felt ridiculous. I still had a crampfixx shot, I downed it, gagged and it did the trick almost instantly.
There is a new school of thought regarding cramps: that they are neurological. The theory is that a sensory ‘shock’ can disrupt the malfunctioning signal from the brain to the muscle. Whether or not the science is settled, it works for me, and it worked for Toby Sparkes. He got stung by a wasp during the 25k race, and the shock instantly solved his cramping issues. Personally, I find carrying a CrampFix shot a lot easier than carrying a wasp.
With the cramps at bay I still had a multitude of other bodily discomforts to contend with, but the finish line was within reach and I surrendered to the pain. It’s only pain after all. I passed a runner and he said, that’s your last climb. Ahead, I could see a massive hill with a zig zaggy mountain bike snaking up it. So many switchbacks!!
I caught back up to Emma at the base of the switchbacks and we locked into ultimate grind mode. She was so consistent and she dragged me up that hill. We didn’t walk a step of the whole climb. The switchbacks seemed endless but we kept pushing, occasionally grunting or encouraging each other. When we finally reached the top Emma said ‘go get it Joe’ and let me pass. With Queenstown in sight I ran hard, not because I was feeling particularly competitive but because I wanted to finish as soon as possible and end the battle.
The descent back to town was flowy and fun. I had those weird end of ultra thoughts that I should savour these moments because it was going to end soon. But at the same time I was so keen to get to the finish. I rallied hard and flew down the trails and into town. The signs indicated how close I was 3km remaining then 2km, then crossing the road and around the iconic gravel oval. A game of footy in progress, what an awesome novelty to see. The spectators hardly gave me a glance, they were so enthralled in the game. A few looked up and said well done.
I pushed hard through the the end, the finish line was sucking me in. Crossing that finish line I felt waves of relief. In some ways I find shorter ultras harder, this day was a tough one and it was so nice to be done!! Emma finished shortly after. I sat with my legs outstretched to prevent cramps, happy, fulfilled after a big, epic day in the mountains that exceeded my expectations.
Results
I ended up finishing 6th overall. Angus Tolson got the win, Andrew Gaskell second but didn’t hang around for the presentation so he could get to the wedding, Alex Hunt rounded out the podium. Alistair put in a solid shift and almost caught Alex. I was so impressed with Bryce, he put 10 minutes on me in the end, such a powerful finish. Johoo finished shortly after Emma then Ziggy was only about 10 minutes behind me, maybe the parasite is the performance enhancing type. If the race was much longer I reckon Ziggy would have got me.
After a big summer I am happy with this result, I knew the podium would be a hard fought position with this field. I lost all competitive drive after Mt Lyell, survival mode got me through to the end. In events like this the race is secondary to the experience and this one delivered an extremely memorable experience.
Post Mortem
As usual, hydration was my greatest downfall. I felt like I had the fitness to perform but you can’t fully test fitness once nausea kicks in. My hydration deficit began from the start. I felt thirsty in the morning, should have carried more water up Mt Owen and should have filled up in the final stream before climbing Mt Lyell.
Now that I know the course I would do this event a lot differently. Increased water carrying capacity along with more refills along the way. It was so warm, it’s pretty unlikely to be that warm on the next iteration but who knows. The mountains are big and exposed, the legs are long and the terrain under foot extremely technical.
No regrets though, I had a great day out suffering in solidarity with Emma and Bryce. I spend a lot of events running solo, it was nice for once to have a solid crew. On top of those mountains it felt a lot more like a big day mission with friends than a race.
Wrapping Up and What’s Next
I have been thinking about Diverge a lot, it’s left it’s mark. The event is an instant classic!! The challenging course and high DNF rate is only going to act as a drawcard, ultrarunners are weird like that, we are attracted to the hard ones. I had my doubts about whether and event in Queenstown would work, it’s so remote, the weather generally so terrible but people came and ran and it seems to me like a raging success.
Lincoln and the big team behind him granted the Tassie trail running community a gift with this event. I will be back and I am excited to go again. All of the crew I travelled with finished their respective events and we had a great time in Queenie. The small town vibe was so nice, friends and trail runners everywhere through the streets.
Alice McGushin featured on Peak Pursuits podcast discussed the event. I get a mention in our early days climb up Mt Owen. I’ve embedded it below if you want more Diverge content.
I thought I was having a rest after this event but George has seconded me to come as support crew for his UTA 100k race next weekend. Since I am going to be in Katoomba I also volunteered to pace Piotr in his 100 miler on the Friday. Another busy race weekend coming up. Looking further forward, the Vietnam Mountain Marathon 100km is my next major goal. Nothing is booked but I have mentally locked in. It will be nice to have another big goal to work towards through the winter months to keep me getting out in the cooler weather.
Thanks for reading, if you got this far. I hope you enjoyed the classic very long race report blog post!
Photo Credits
- Cover photo credit Ryan Slater
- All other photos credited in the captions
Joseph Nunn: An avid trail runner based in Hobart, Tasmania. He loves getting out for big days on the trails with mates or racing against them.
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Great recap Joe! Congrats on your result & thanks for sharing your journey! Look forward to running this event next year! 😀
Thanks for reading! Definitely add it to the list. It’s a good one!!