PORTLAND’S 3 Bays Running Festival has seen a new course record for its ultra-marathon event on Saturday, with Warrnambool runner Tom Hynes taking out first place with a blistering time of 4hrs55mins32secs.

Hynes, 26, said the wind factor was a big influence over the race, but he was very pleased to have come in with such a strong time.

As a committed long-distance runner in the past he had taken some time off over the past couple of years due to some ongoing injuries but a friend was competing in the event which had led him to want to come down and compete himself.

Meanwhile, the women’s event winner was Melbourne-based runner Nicole Paton with a time of 6hrs8mins57secs, also a course record.

Paton is a veteran of the ultra-marathon scene, although this was her first time competing in the 3 Bays competition.

“It was a great course, very beautiful but also technical at times to get through,” Paton said.

“(The wind) certainly made for tough running, but the sand along the beach was firm so we had that to be thankful for.”

Paton said while she is a very experienced long-distance runner, she was far from certain of taking out the win.

“There was another runner alongside me who was very competitive, so I had my work cut out for me,” she said.

“My husband and I came down from Melbourne to take part, it was initially only going to be him entering as I did an event only last weekend, but I’m glad I made the last-minute decision to go ahead with it.”

Local takes out women’s Hybrid Fool

Local woman Kay Antony has taken out the women’s Hybrid Fool event, which combines times from Saturday’s ultra-marathon and Sunday’s marathon events to create an overall time.

Antony finished up the two events with a combined time of 10hrs46mins0secs, and said she was very pleased with the times she was able to produce.

“I wanted to take about two hours off my ultra-marathon time from last year and I was able to do that, so that was one my main goals achieved,” she said.

“Everything went well, aside from the fact that I started cramping on the Saturday… I’d never suffered from it before, but I certainly know all bout it now.”

As many runners have mentioned, the wind was an ongoing factor for Antony across both days, and she said it was pretty hard going at times.

“Those winds must have been upwards of 40-50kmh, especially coming along the beach,” she said.

“It makes it really hard to continue, I was almost ready to burst into tears at one point wondering how I was going to finish.

“The sense of accomplishment at the end of it all is well and truly worth it, plus the volunteers and all the people along the way do a great job of pushing you to be better.”

Antony is no stranger to the event, having completed it every year since its inception, saying it is important to keep supporting a local event.

“The volunteers spend hours ensuring we can have this day go ahead, its an amazing course and as locals we need to keep supporting it,” Antony said.

“I never ever dreamed I’d be up on the podium with a guy like Benny Wallis (male Hybrid Fool winner), and I even got to pick out a free pair of shoes from Active Feet which I’m sure to get plenty of use out of.”

Wallis, who himself is a long-time supporter of the event, came through with an overall time of 8hrs21mins54secs.

“The conditions were quite testing, the wind on Saturday was probably the worst as we were mostly on open exposed coastal trails,” he said.

“Running the 4 km section of beach probably zapped the most energy out of everyone I spoke to.

“On the Sunday it was a wind tunnel all the way down Cashmore Road and Garden Street.”

Wallis has run every 60 km event since the event began, and said much credit has to go to Portland Running Club for the efforts they put in year-round.

“(They’re) one of the best running clubs I’ve had the pleasure of being around, they are like my second family, and I’ll always get back for this event and the Winter Solstice events.

“I’m in Warrnambool, and it’s just an hour down the road and there is no other event that I know of like this without travelling for hours or days.

“I’m no spring chicken, I just turned 47, but I’ll always be grateful for what my body allows me to do for however long I can.

“Winning the Hybrid Fool is pretty special to me and a great honour to be on the big anchor again… I love the fact that all the trophies are made locally and especially the Hybrid Fool trophy… very thoughtful.

“I’ll be back every year doing the Fool as long as I can… I just might get a little bit slower s I edge towards 50 years old.”