The Karri Long Course option at Run Bibbulmun provides 3 days of incredible running though the mighty Great Southern. Each of the Karri stages are longer than the shorter Tingle options and take runners on a wilder and more varied course ranging from 33km – 40km in length. You’ll run through towering Karri trees, traverse remote beaches and run kilometer after kilometer of weaving single track along cliff tops and beaufitul wildflower hinterland. If you want a solid adventure in a magnificent part of the world then this is it.
The Name: The Karri Long Course gets its’ name from the giant Karri Trees that are synonymous with the Great Southern. Karri trees are the TALLEST tree species in WA, reaching heights of up to 90 meters, with long, straight trucks that reach to the sky. Stage 1 starts amongst these beauties at the Valley of the Giants in Walpole.
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Karri Long Course – Overview
| DAY / DATE | STAGE |
| DAY 1: Friday 14th November | STAGE 1: 35km – Valley of the Giants to Peaceful Bay |
| DAY 2: Saturday 15th November | STAGE 2: 33km – Nullaki to Cosy Corner |
| DAY 3: Sunday 16th November | STAGE 3: 39km – Prawn Rock Dog Beach Footbridge to central Denmark |
| 107km total |
Overview Course Map
Karri Long Course – Stage Descriptions
Day 1 – 35km
Start location: Valley of the Giants Treetop Walk. Access along Valley of the Giants Road.
Finish location: Peaceful Bay Playground, opposite the corner of Peaceful Bay Rd and Rame Head Rd.
Length & elevation up / down: 34.5km. 665m up / 830m down
Race start time: 7:30am
Water points:
- WP1: 17km pt at Conspicuous Cliffs car park
- WP2: 28km pt at the end of Gap Tk on the beach
Karri long course runners start at the Valley of the Giants tourist attraction amongst the giant Karri and Tingle trees. The race commences with a circuit of the Ancient Empire Track and then it’s onto the elevated treetop walkways that provide an amazing perspective on the forest around you.
After exiting the treetop walk, runners follow the Bibbulmun Track as it weaves its way through the tall timber forests on a downhill run heading for the coast. The track exits the forest and continues through the coastal hinterland to arrive at water point 1 at the picturesque Conspicuous Cliffs Beach carpark and the 18km pt (this is where the Tingle Short Course runners start).
After the waterpoint, runners head onto the awe inspiring beach surrounded by steep dunes and cliffs, and then continue along the Bibbulmun Track as it climbs up and away from the beach and across the cliff tops providing views in all directions. The course soon diverts off the Bibbulmun Track for a spectacular adventure run along the wild and un-touched coastline, along the beaches and spectacular rocky headlands below the dunes to Rame Head before turning north for the calm waters of Peaceful Bay and the Day 1 finish line, passing water point 2 at the 28km point in the process. This is a wild and spectacular run.
NOTE: we’ve made a few changes compared to 2024 so that there is a little less sand running, and fewer deviations from the Bibbulmun Track – meaning the self navigation and route finding will be way easier 🙂
Day 2 – 33km
Start location: Gilge Rd. Adjacent the driveway to 110 Gilge Rd, Lowlands. NOTE. Gilge Rd is a narrow, dead end dirt road with minimal parking at the start line.
Finish location: Cosy Corner. At the end of Cosy Corner Rd
Length & elevation up / down: 33.2km. 740m up / 740m down
Race start time: 7:30am
Water points:
- WP1: 9km pt at the Lowlands Beach Road crossing
- WP2: 26km pt at the Shelly Beach Road crossing
Day 2 starts off with a short, sharp and sandy climb to access the Bibbulmun Track on the Nullaki Peninsula. Once on the Bib Track, the course weaves its way through the beautiful coastal heathland with views inland to the Porongurup Ranges and along the coast to West Cape Howe in the distance. After 10km of undulating trail you arrive at the waterpoint at Lowlands Beach to fuel up and keep going. This is where the short course starts.
From Lowlands Beach the trail enters some of the more remote sections of the course as you run through the rugged, but wildly beautiful West Cape Howe National Park. Following the Bibbulmun Track the whole way, you’ll soon pass the Cape itself and embrace spectacular views to Shelly Beach, Mutton Bird Island and the Torndirrup Peninsula in the distance. After a fast flowing descent, you soon arrive at picturesque Cosy Corner and the finish of Day 2. Well done.
Day 3 – 39km
Start location: Prawn Rock Channel, on Ocean Beach Rd.
Finish location: The Footy Ground at MacLean Park, Brazier St – in Denmark.
Length & elevation up / down: 39.3km. 850m up / 832m down
Race start time: 7:30am
Water points:
- WP1: 10km pt at the Lights Beach car park
- WP2: 19km pt at Greens Pool
- WP3: 24km pt at Lights Beach car park (again)
- WP4: 32km Ocean Beach Road crossing
The final day commences on Wilson Inlet Estuary near Ocean Beach and heads west along the Wilderness Ocean Walk (WOW walk) below the Denmark windmills, providing expansive views to Parry Beach and beyond. Passing through Lights Beach water point for the first time at the 10km pt, runners continue west on the Bibbulmun Track as it heads over Tower Hill and onto the beach at the world renowned Greens Pool. This is where the short course starts.
Here the course turns east, passing Elephant Rocks, Madfish Bay and back through the Lights Beach water-point at the 23km pt. After Lights Beach, the Bib Track changes character and heads inland, climbing up through dense Karri forests and over the course’s highest point at Mt Hallowell (294m!). From the summit it is downhill (nearly) the whole way as the course descends the mount, and weaves through a few streets and hidden pathways beside Wilson Inlet and into the finish line in central Denmark. Well done – you’ve just finished the Run Bibbulmun Track Stage Run!
Following the trail
The course will NOT BE MARKED. Competitors must navigate their own way along the course by following the GPS route downloaded to their phones whilst racing (GPS route and clear instructions how to use it will be provided).
Having said that, the vast majority of the course is along the Bibbulmun Track which is very well marked, and where the race course deviates away from the Bib track it will be easy to follow using your phone and some common sense.
It is the runner’s responsibility to ensure you follow the designated race route. This is the way we’ve conducted the event for the last 3 years and no one has had major issues having found the self navigation quite straight forward.
Trail textures and terrain
The course provides a remarkable variety of terrain from start to finish, from sandy trails winding through the dunes to rock hopping around the coastline – and everything in between.
Nearly the entire course is ALL SINGLE TRACK. If you are not running on single track then you are on firm sandy beaches or, on occasion, 4WD tracks with just the a very small amount of asphalt across the 3 days.
There is a moderate amount of sand on the course but on the whole the sand is A LOT FIRMER than the sand you may have run on if you have done the Margaret River Ultra Marathon course. There are some sections of soft sand on beaches, but the sand on the single track is very runnable and provides for good going.
Waterpoints and On-Course Support
Waterpoints will be established at varying points along each day’s course, but may be up to 10-15km apart due to the inaccessibility of the terrain.
Waterpoints will provide basic foods for runners like fruit cake, lollies, fruit and plenty of Skratch Nutrition drinks, chews and bars.
Support crews can provide physical assistance and support at the designated waterpoints (only). No other assistance (other than verbal encouragement!) can be provided between checkpoints.
There will be very few, if any, marshals mid-way along each leg so runners must be self-sufficient and able to run independently between each waterpoint. We will, however, be supervising all sections of the course. We will have sweep runners to ensure runner safety.
The Bibbulmun Track
The Run Bibbulmun Track Stage Run follows large sections of the Bibbulmun Track between Walpole and Cosy Corner. The Bibbulmun Track as a whole is one of the world’s great long distance walk trails, stretching 1000km from Kalamunda in the Perth Hills all the way through to Albany, winding through the heart of the scenic South West of Western Australia.
The course does not follow the track exclusively, as we deviate off the official route on a number of occasions where we think there is a more scenic option.
We are proud to be Bronze Level sponsors of the Bibbulmun Track Foundation. We strongly encourage entrants to also make a donation to help preserve the track and it’s surroundings.
Points of interest on the Bibbulmun Track