Bailey Centre Great Ocean Run

The Bailey Centre Great Ocean Run is not organised by Coffs Trail Runners Inc. and is organised by Steel Beveridge.

Please direct any questions to steellyn@gmail.com

When?

The Bailey Centre Great Ocean Run will not be proceeding as an ‘event’ on for 2023 due to the organisers ill health.

However, a group of locals are running the route as an unofficial, self-supported run on Sunday 28th May 2023starting at 6:00am.

We are looking at ways to bring this run back as an event for 2024.

The Bailey Centre Great Ocean Run is an iconic 45km beach run with a deep history. Runners will traverse 5 creek crossings and go over 10 headlands on their journey from Red Rock to the picturesque Coffs Jetty.

The course follows for the most part the marked Solitary Islands Coastal Walk from Red Rock to Coffs Harbour and includes an individual or a teams option.

For more information and updates on the Bailey Centre Great Ocean Run please see the Facebook Group.

General Information

Distance is 45km with a total ascent / descent of 400m

Drink stations will be located at 9.8km (Arrawarra Headland), 16.4km (Woolgoolga), 23km (Sandy Beach), 32km (Moonee Beach) and 42.2km (Diggers Beach)

We recommend carrying a minimum of 1L of water and a fully charged phone.

Toilets are often located just off course at multiple locations with a public toilet located ~150m from the start at Red Rock Beach carpark.

Route is here or here. GPX file is here

In general, this run is mostly flat sand running with intermittent headlands for 30km, followed by a creek crossing, soft beaches, steeper headlands and footpaths for the last 15km.

Race Overview

Red Rock Beach to Arrawarra

From the start to 9.8km.

This is the flattest and longest continuous section of the race all being along Red Rock / Corindi Beach to Arrawarra Bay.

The first 5km along the beach from Red Rock to Corindi is challenging being slightly sloping and often soft sand.

The next 5km from Corindi to Arrawarra Headland is usually compact sand with a small ankle high crossing of Arrawarra Creek at 9.5km.

Public toilets, a drink station and a large car park is located at Arrawarra Headland at 9.8km.

Red Rock Beach

Arrawarra Bay

Woolgoolga to Moonee Beach

From 16.4km to 32km

This section is a fairly fast part of the course with some longer stretches of beach with mostly harder sand.

From the southern end of Woolgoolga Beach the course passes Woolgoolga SLSC then goes up and around Woolgoolga Headland and down the stairs to Woolgoolga Back Beach carpark and beach access.

Woolgoolga Back Beach is 5km long and will take you past Flat Top to Sandy Beach at 23km. This beach is mostly hard compact sand with a possible ankle high crossing at Hearnes Lake at 19.4km.

Public toilets, a drink station and a large car park is located at Sandy Beach at 23km.

After Sandy Beach, the course cuts across a short soft sand track that connects to Fiddamans Beach. This beach is split into two sections with Diggers Point being in the middle.

The beach is usually hard sand and will take you 2km to Emerald Beach with a possible ankle high crossing of Fiddamans Creek at 24km.

At the end of Emerald Beach, the race follows the Solitary Islands Coastal Walk around Dammerel Headland Track (not up Fiddaman Rd and the steep grass area) and passed Look at Me Now Headland down onto Moonee Beach.

Moonee Beach is 4.5km long and is usually a bit softer sand running than the previous beaches.

Once at the end of the beach, runners will need to contend with the crossing of Moonee Creek at 32km.

The crossing could be shin or knee high or could be chest high depending on the tide / weather.

Public toilets, a drink station and a large car park is located at Moonee Creek Day Use Area at 32km.

Woolgoolga Back Beach

Emerald Beach

Arrawarra to Woolgoolga

From 9.8km to 16.4km

From the drink station at Arrawarra Headland, you will down the stairs and along Ocean View (Mullawarra) Beach. Once you reach the end of Mullawarra Beach, stairs will take you up and then around Ocean View Headland. Runners then go down the stairs to Mullaway Beach which is a beautiful, quiet beach and great for running on. You’ll then run around Mullaway Headland and along a boardwalk through some beautiful littoral rainforest.

Continuing on, you will run along Cabins Beach and follow the footpath around Darkum Headland before connecting onto Woolgoolga Beach. Woolgoolga Beach is 3km long and has two small creek crossing with Darkum Creek at ankle high and Woolgoolga Lake usually ankle or knee deep.

Mullaway Headland

Woolgoolga Beach

Moonee Beach to Coffs Harbour

From 32km to 45km

This is the most difficult part of the course and runners will have to contend with steep tracks after 32km of flat beach running, soft sand.

After the drink station at Moonee Beach after crossing Moonee Creek, runners will take the boardwalk and that leads onto Sapphire Beach. Sapphire Beach is 2km long and is often soft sand.

At the end of Sapphire Beach, runners go left up a steep grassed hill until it ends at Headland Rd at 35km. Runners do not go out to White Bluff. Runners then follow the Solitary Islands Coastal Walk signs down Eloura Drive and then down an access track to the short and sloping Campbells Beach.

Runners then take a beach exit (not over the rocks) and climb up to Emerald Avenue and back down connecting onto the southern side of Campbells Beach adjacent to the tennis court at ~34.5km. Once back on Campbells Beach, runners follow the Solitary Islands Coastal Walk to Hills Beach which us a pebbly, sloping, soft sand beach for 800m before navigating a rock platform and following Korora Beach for 500m. These beaches are the hardest beaches of the course to run but also the last of the soft sand. At the end of Korora Beach, runners will then go up a steep set of stairs onto the Five Islands Boardwalk. At the end of Five Islands Boardwalk, runners turn left onto Charlesworth Bay. Runners then take the path from the Charlesworth Bay carpark that goes up Diggers Headland then follow the Solitary Islands Coastal Walk across onto the more compact Diggers Beach.

Public toilets, a drink station and a large car park is located at Diggers Beach at 42.2km.

At the end of Diggers Beach, runners take the stairs up, and follow the path around, Macauleys Headland onto Park Beach. You will then be able to see the final stretch to the finish! Park Beach ~2.5km long with an ankle to knee high crossing of Coffs Creek. Once at the end of Park Beach at ~42km, runners go up the ramp at North Wall carpark, cross the road at the pedestrian crossing, through the Yacht Club carpark, along Jetty Beach for and finishing under the iconic Coffs Jetty.