Another week, another run, or so our saying goes. Plagued by bad weather and some injuries here and there, hitting the trails became a bit of a bigger challenge in the last few months. However, slowly things are heading the right way, and we’re getting back on track (no pun intended).
Bennets Ridge Loop
This week’s track was Bennetts Ridge Loop, a gentle 14 km track located in the most eastern parts of the Blue Mountains. This track is close to Glenbrook, which makes it a comfortable ride. We wrote about Bennetts Ridge Loop before, but it’s over 2 years since that run, so it’s time for an update. Glenbrook is the eastern gateway to Blue Mountains National Park, a small town with a population of around 5000 people. As such, it’s a great hub for accessing one of the many tracks the Blue Mountains provide.
Bennetts Ridge Loop is a loop split into several sections. For those not faint of heart, the lightly trafficked concrete road will give the calves a proper workout. There’s a steep incline and decline at the start of the track, crossing a small river. Beware: this river is subject to flooding, so please check the National Parks website to see if the park is open!
After the concrete part has been conquered, the route goes into a small side track. A part of this track has now been marked as off-limits for walkers due to the mountain bikers using this track. Since we’re technically not walkers, it’s still good to take the sign into account. Make sure you treat the other users of the tracks with proper respect and prevent any unfortunate accidents.
Euroka campground and Nioka Campsite
After this initial combined track, the track becomes a walking track again. The trail eventually transforms into an unsealed firetrail, without any significant obstacles. The track is surrounded by trees, without any notable views, and leads to the Euroka campground and Nioka Campsite. The campground was, despite the long weekend and great weather, completely empty when we ran past! We stopped here for a moment to enjoy the Kookaburra flying around, plus Gareth insisted on a small photoshoot.
After the camp ground, the final (and best!) part of the track begins. A moderately technical single track with some light elevation and stairs brings you to the beginning of the trail. This part of the track is 2.5km long, and it’s great to either run (or walk) this part. While we’re not fast runners at all (call it steady..), the single track nature of this part of the track gives the feeling of a small bit of speed. For us, this makes the run even more pleasant.
Conclusion
This track, while only moderately technical in some parts of the run, still took us close to 2 hours to fully complete. My Garmin Fenix recorded a time of 1 hours and 53 minutes, for a total running distance of 14km. Fair enough, we did take a few moments during the run for a bit of a Kodak moment. This may have added a few minutes during the run, but we hope you appreciate the effort we took to give some insights into the trail.
For us, the trail ended at Kickaboom cafe, one of the lovely cafes Glenbrook has to offer. Here we enjoyed a good coffee and some well deserved carbs and protein to help start the recovery! See you next time!
