SUNSHINE COAST 30KM

INTRO

ABOUT US

The Kokoda Youth Foundation is a registered charity and non-profit organisation that runs Australia’s toughest team endurance event ‘The Kokoda Challenge’. The Kokoda Challenge raises funds for Aussie kids who participate in our experiential programs that engage and inspire them to reach their full potential. Not only will this event change your life, it will also change the lives of Australian youth!

Learn more about how your participation changes lives by clicking HERE

KEEPING THE KOKODA SPIRIT ALIVE

We aim to spread awareness of the heroic defense of Australia against imminent invasion and the spirit of our young soldiers by instilling the Kokoda values of Courage, Endurance, Mateship and Sacrifice into the community of today. These timeless Kokoda values still have a profound impact on individuals and are the basis of a healthy community.

EVENT OVERVIEW

DATE

Saturday 20th of April 2024

TIME LIMIT

12 hours

CUT OFF DATE

FUNDRAISING: Fundraising is due 1 week before the event

TEAM CHANGES: Teams must be finalised 4 weeks before the event

MINIMUM AGE

Turning 10 the year of the event

START TIME AND LOCATION

30km teams will start at 9:00am.
The start/finish line will be held at Kenilworth State Community College locacted at 3717 Maleny Kenilworth Rd, Kenilworth.

TEAM SIZE

Teams can consist of 2, 3, or 4 people 

FUNDRAISING MINIMUM

2 person - $300 per team

3 person - $450 per team

4 person - $600 per team

COURSE DETAILS

The Sunshine Coast Kokoda Challenge course will be winding through Imbil State Forest, a working forest in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland. A working forest is one that is managed for timber production, where trees are continuously planted and harvested to produce timber products such as floorboards, furniture, picture frames, skirting boards and musical instruments. This means that there are often active worksites and heavy machinery within the forest, and access may be restricted to the public to allow operations to take place. We have acquired special permission to hold our event, but as training in the area is strictly prohibited, we will only be releasing the course map closer to the event date.

WHAT TO EXPECT AT OUR START/FINISH LINE

START LINE

We recommend that you arrive at the start line a minimum of 30 minutes before your start time, or an hour if you haven't picked up your event pack from pre-registration. This will allow you enough time to park, take some photos, take part in the ANZAC memorial service and hear from Vietnam Veteran and Founder of the Kokoda Youth Foundation Doug Henderson.

FINISH LINE

YOU DID IT! You've just spent hours walking or running through the Imbil State Forest, you see bright lights up ahead and the Kokoda Challenge archway that marks the end of your journey! An announcer will call out your teams name and each team member will be presented with dog tags.

There is hot food and drinks available for purchase, so you will finally be able to kick back, relax and reflect on the journey that was the Kokoda Challenge.

RULES AND REGULATIONS

As this is Australia's toughest team endurance event, we do have to implement some rules and regulations to ensure everyone's safety and security. We also need to make sure our event can run smoothly, and this can only be achieved with your help! Please familiarise yourself with the following points:

TEAM SIZE

All 30km teams MUST start with 2, 3, or 4 people. 

DROP-OUTS

If a team member needs to drop out at any time, this must be done at a checkpoint (if safe to do so). If a member cannot make it to a checkpoint, please call the emergency number on your race bib for a safe extraction from the track. All team members must wait for the removed member to be extracted safely before continuing the challenge. Teams can continue one man down to a team of two. In the event that there is only one member left, they must either join another team or withdraw from the event.

FUNDRAISING

The minimum fundraising amount must be met by the cutoff date, or your team will not be able to participate in The Kokoda Challenge. The reason our events exist is to raise funds for our Kokoda Youth Programs, we would not be able to operate without the donations raised from this event. 

WAIVER FORMS AND PERSONAL DETAILS

Every team member must complete their online registration and waiver to be able to compete in The Kokoda Challenge. 

PORTABLE SPEAKERS 

We ask that teams please be mindful of others when walking with a portable speaker. While some people may enjoy listening to music, others may prefer taking in the sounds of nature during the trek. 

COURSE MAP AND ELEVATION

Your maps are now ready and can be viewed and downloaded through AllTrails via the link below:

30KM MAP

 We'd also like to remind teams that Imbil State Forest is a working forest and there is strictly no training in the forest prior to the event.

You can train in surrounding forests such as the Blackall Ranges, get ideas for training routes in our blog here.

CHECKPOINT INFORMATION

CP1 - TOP OF PULLEN LANE

Checkpoint 1 already! We do not suggest stopping here for long unless you need to use the bathroom or fill your water bottles, as this checkpoint gets a high amount of foot traffic. Onwards and upwards! 

 Water refill station

 Toilets

 Timing mat

 Support crew

CP3 - COONOONGIBBER CREEK RoaD

(HALF WAY!)

We recommend you take a second here and enjoy the beautiful scenery. You often spend a lot of time looking at your feet while walking, so be sure to check out your surroundings and see how far you and your team have come. 

 Water refill station

 Medical

 Toilets

 Timing mat

 Support crew

CP4 - PULLEN LANE

Wowee! That was a bit of a hike! Take a second here to stretch out the legs and prepare for the next part of the journey! Your next stop will be The Kokoda Challenge finish line! 

 Water refill station

 Medical

 Toilets

 Timing mat

 Support crew

SUPPORT CREW

30km teams do NOT have support crews.

Family and friends are encouraged to come and cheer on their teams at the start and finish lines! 

OUR ECO POLICY

LEAVE ONLY FOOTPRINTS, TAKE ONLY PHOTOS

We are all so incredibly lucky to be living in such a naturally beautiful country; let's keep it beautiful! Much of The Kokoda Challenge course will wind through national parks or state forests where it's very important to respect the the flora and fauna by being considerate of the following:

LITTERING

Yep, even your banana peels and mandarin skins count as littering, don't be a tosser! These food scraps only decompose unless composted properly and can also negatively impact the native wildlife and plants, take ALL rubbish with you. 

If you don't want to carry around rubbish with you then consider unwrapping your muesli or protein bars before you get to the event and store these instead in reusable containers.

REUSABLE CONTAINERS

Our food and drink vendors will be offering discounts for those who BYO keep cups, tell your support crew to bring theirs and yours as well to help reduce the impact on the environment and your wallet!

CONTAINERS FOR CHANGE

You can help us reduce our carbon footprint by putting all 10 cent containers in the bins marked CONTAINER FOR CHANGE. Not only will this stop all your recyclables from going into landfill, but all the money from your bottles will be donated to the Kokoda Youth Foundation to help us help more young people. 

FUNDRAISING

WHERE DO DONATIONS GO?

Every dollar raised goes towards our life-changing youth programs that mentor local kids in the community to reach their pull potential. You can learn more about out our youth programs here.

HOW DO I FUNDRAISE?

Here is a list of fundraising ideas to get you started:

• Share your fundraising page to social media
• Fundraising boxes; try these unique sock boxes from Jolly Soles!
• Bunnings sausage sizzle
• Ask your workplace to match donations dollar for dollar (donations over $1 are tax-deductible!)
• Auction your bosses car parking space for a week
• Dress up day at work/school
• Donation tin in local coffee shop
• Raffle (ask local businesses to donate prizes)
• Bake sale
• DIY paint & sip night 
• Car wash
• Bingo night
• High tea
• Containers for Change

FUNDRAISING PRIZES

Log into your dashboard to view The Kokoda Challenge merchandise your team will receive when you reach certain fundraising milestones. The team who raises the highest amount across all Kokoda Challenge events (open and school teams) will also win an unforgettable trekking adventure, kindly donated by Getaway Trekking

WIN A 10 DAY TREK

TRAINING GUIDE, TIPS AND TRICKS

YOUR 30KM TRAINING GUIDE

Don't know where to start with your training? No need to worry, we are here to help! 
Our Kokoda team has put together a training guide specifically for the 30km event. Please use this tool as a guide to help you train and prepare for the event.

Explanatory notes:

Aerobic effort: Easy, conversational pace where you can talk in almost full sentences during the session. Perceived effort 6/10

Comfortable effort: Slightly faster than aerobic, still able to speak but shorter sentences/broken sentences. Should finish these runs feeling like you worked but not completely exhausted. Perceived effort 7/10

Hard effort: Going as fast as you can for the duration of the repetition without running.

Weekday run/walk: We suggest that competitors walk or run at least the recommended amount of hours listed per week. Weekday walks/ runs can be completed alone or with your team mates

Weekend hike: This is the distance you and you team should aim to hike each weekend together. It is important to complete the training hikes as a team.

Extra training exercise: To ensure you are building the correct muscle groups, we suggest including some additional exercises into your weekly training if your schedule permits. We suggest focusing on the areas outlined in the sections.

Additional weight: This refers to adding additional weight to your usual body weight exercises. This helps grow and form stronger muscle groups.

Recovery weeks: Are programmed at regular intervals to allow the body to absorb training load applied to it. This is a good time to get extra sleep or a massage/physio appointment.

HOW TO PREPARE

The 30km Kokoda Challenge is no walk in the park (pun intended!). To complete the challenge, you need to make sure you are training at least once a week, fueling your body with the correct foods and nutrients, understanding the importance of hydration, know the ins and outs of strapping and stretching and most importantly you need to know how to effectively walk with your team! Check out some of our amazing resources below to help you prepare to take on the challenge.

 Nutrition guide

 Tiff's fundraising tips

 Getting the right gear

 Training advice 

 Steve's top tips

 Steves top tricks

 Tips from an ultra runner

COMPULSORY GEAR

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

The 30km course treks across many different types of landscapes. Being based in Queensland, the weather can also change at the blink of an eye, so you need to make sure you are prepared for all possible changes in weather or personal circumstance. The items on the compulsory list are to be always carried. Those on the recommended list are to be carried at your own choice.

Please ensure you are prepared with ALL of the following compulsory gear: 

• Head torch and spare batteries  
• Ability to carry at least 2 litres of water at all times - either a water bladder or water bottles (Please arrive with full water containers!) 
• Mobile phone 
• All competitors MUST download the Emergency Plus app 
• Race bib 
• Day backpack 
• Reflective safety vest that MUST be worn at night and when crossing roads 
• Hat and sunscreen 
• Pealess whistle in case of emergencies 
• Snacks 
• Water shoes (or waterproof hiking boots) for safely crossing flowing creeks 
• Roll of toilet paper and a shovel (in case you're stuck between checkpoint toilets) (one per team) 
• Personal first aid kit (yes, everyone needs their own! Be sure this carries all essential needs in case you are to get separated from your team at any time) 

The following items are not compulsory, but are HIGHLY recommended: 

• Walking poles 
• Gloves, beanie and thermals (it can drop as low as ZERO degrees on the track, plus wind chill!) 
• Waterproof/windproof jacket 
• Portable phone charger 
• Back up head torch 
• Spare pair of socks 
• Small lightweight microfiber towel to dry your feet after creek crossings or before re-strapping 
• Blister packs 
• Instant heat pads 
• Chapstick 
• Sunglasses 

DISCOUNTED GEAR AT ANACONDA STORES

We're excited to have Anaconda on board as our equipment partner again in 2024! To celebrate, Anaconda are offering all Kokoda Challenge teams exclusive discounts on the best outdoor equipment. Download your discount flyer below and redeem at your local Anaconda store to ensure you have all the right gear to get you to the Kokoda Challenge finish line! 

ANACONDA EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNTS

EVENT PACK COLLECTION

Before you can take on The Kokoda Challenge, you will need to collect your team's event pack. This pack contains your race bibs (you can't start without these!), your official event t-shirts, plus some goodies from our partners! 

You can either collect your event pack at pre-registration the day before the event or you can collect the morning of the event. We highly recommend collecting your event packs the day before the event to avoid rushing around on event day. You can have someone collect your event packs on your behalf, all they will need to do is let the volunteers know at pre-registration when they arrive that they are collecting on your behalf. For all the details regarding pre-registration and collecting your event pack on the day of the event, please book below: 

KOKODA CHALLENGE PARTNERS

THANK YOU TO OUR GOLD SPONSORS:

          

And to our other valued partners:

TLC RECOVERY

Freshen up before your Kokoda adventure at TLC Recovery. You will receive a voucher in your competitor pack to redeem 15% off and help your body recover after Kokoda at TLC Recovery Sunshine Coast!

TRAIL GAITERS AUSTRALIA

 Use code TGKOKODA10 to get 10% off all funky and functional full priced gaiters. Trail Gaiters are fun, stylish and groovy lightweight stretch lycra gaiter that covers the top of your shoes when out trail running, walking or any outdoor activity.

A SPECIAL MENTION ALSO TO:

Kokoda Spirit: who have kindly donated a free trip to our highest fundraising team

SOK Images: who you'll spot on the course & finish line photographing your adventure

Spring Waterman: who donated ALL of your water and has been doing so for over 15 years

KOKODA YOUTH PROGRAMS

The Kokoda Challenge events exist not only to provide your team with a mental and physical challenge, but also to raise funds for our life-changing youth programs that mentor kids in our local community. 

DIGITAL DETOX PROGRAM

Our Digital Detox camp is fully funded by the donations raised through The Kokoda Challenge events, meaning we can provide the experience to kids completely free of charge so any 12-14 year old can take part, no matter their background.

This is an opportunity for kids to disconnect from technology and become more conscious of their relationship with their devices. Run onsite at our outdoor education facility Kokoda Park, this 7-day camp includes a series of adventure-based activities such as the high ropes course, rock climbing wall and giant swing, combined with educational workshops that teach mindfulness, breathing, yoga, journalling and more.

Submit an application to join the program or learn more ↓

APPLY NOW

KOKODA CHALLENGE YOUTH PROGRAM

Also fully funded by the donations raised through The Kokoda Challenge, the KCYP is a 9-month journey that will see 14-16 year olds hike the 96km Kokoda Challenge, adventure to Borneo to trek the Sandakan Memorial March and give back to local organisations through community service. 

This program delivers increased social connections, a deeper understanding of the 1942 Kokoda Campaign and Australia's involvement in WWII, fostering connections in the local community and the opportunity to learn resilience and realise their full potential.

This program delivers a range of benefits, including strengthened social connections, a deeper understanding of the 1942 Kokoda Campaign and Australia's involvement in WWII, fostering connections in the local community and the chance to develop resilience and reach their full potential.

Submit an application to join the program or learn more ↓

APPLY NOW

ON THE RIGHT TRACK

This six month, regional school-based program is for students in Grades 8 and 9 who are losing interest in their ongoing education and at risk of exiting the schooling system. 

The program operates one day a week and combines three months of physical training for the 48km Kokoda Challenge, whilst challenging kids to break through their pre-set beliefs and personal limits.

This is followed by three months of community service providing students with the opportunity to make a difference in their local area through positive contributions and connections.

LEARN MORE

1942 KOKODA campaign HISTORY

The Kokoda Campaign was a significant military operation that took place during World War II in 1942, between the Japanese and Allied forces, mainly Australian and Papua New Guinean troops. The campaign aimed to secure the Kokoda Track, a vital route connecting the northern and southern coasts of Papua New Guinea, which the Japanese intended to use to invade Australia.

The campaign began in July 1942 when the Japanese landed at Buna, Gona, and Sanananda on the north coast of Papua. The Australian forces, who were vastly outnumbered, were pushed back along the Kokoda Track towards Port Moresby, suffering from disease, starvation, and exhaustion. However, they managed to hold off the Japanese advance, and after several months of intense fighting, they were able to push the Japanese back to the north coast.

The campaign was fought in some of the most challenging terrain in the world, with the troops facing dense jungle, steep mountains, and treacherous rivers. The Australian and Papua New Guinean troops showed remarkable resilience, bravery, and resourcefulness throughout the campaign, which was a turning point in the Pacific War.

The Kokoda Campaign was a significant victory for the Allied forces, as it prevented the Japanese from establishing a foothold in Papua New Guinea and ultimately thwarted their plans to invade Australia. It also highlighted the importance of the Australian and Papua New Guinean partnership and the critical role that indigenous troops played in the campaign. 

Read more about Kokoda Veterans who our school cups are named after:

LEARN MORE