Event: Gold Coast Kokoda Challenge
Event Information
Summary
The Gold Coast Kokoda Challenge is a team endurance event over 30 km, 48 km or 96 km through the Gold Coast Hinterland, featuring huge elevation gain and up to 39 hours on course, inspired by the WWII Kokoda campaign.
Sold out for 2026? Entries change hands right up to race day — teams lose members to injury during training and on-sell through official transfers and the event’s Facebook groups. Start your training block now and keep watch: spots turn up. Late to this one? The Sydney Kokoda Challenge (19–20 September 2026) is still open.
Course & Elevation
The Gold Coast Kokoda Challenge is Australia's best-known team endurance event, run by the Kokoda Youth Foundation since 2005 through the Gold Coast Hinterland. The 2026 edition runs Saturday 18 to Sunday 19 July, with teams of two to five tackling 30km, 48km or the full 96km — and it sold out well before race day. The 96km climbs more than 4,000m with a 39-hour limit, finishing at Nerang Velodrome where every finisher receives a dog tag.
The 96km course is famous for the "Big 5" mountains — a relentless sequence of steep climbs and descents on hinterland fire trails and forest tracks, broken up by icy creek crossings and a full night on the move. It's as much a test of teamwork as fitness: teams must stay together, manage each other through the dark hours, and work with a support crew at four checkpoints. The event honours the soldiers of the 1942 Kokoda campaign, and every entry fundraises for youth programs.
Few events punish under-preparation like a 96km hinterland crossing with a night in the middle. The demands are specific: long back-to-back days on feet, big cumulative climbing, night navigation on tired legs, and fuelling hour after hour. A structured, event-specific training block builds each of those deliberately — so the team crosses the line together rather than surviving it.
Select Support Module
Training Plan Only
- check_circle Personalised weekly training plan
- check_circle Running / hiking / gym / strength / endurance programming
- check_circle Event-specific planning
- check_circle Progressive weekly structure
- check_circle Progress tracking
- check_circle 4-week program updates
- check_circle Video demonstrations
- check_circle Email support
Guided Coaching
- check_circle Everything in Training Plan Only, plus:
- check_circle Weekly plan reviews
- check_circle Ongoing adjustments
- check_circle Direct comms + workout feedback
- check_circle Accountability + goal setting
- check_circle Event planning
- check_circle Basic nutrition guidance
- check_circle Injury + fatigue management
- check_circle Race-day advice
Premium Coaching
- check_circle Everything in Guided Coaching, plus:
- check_circle Priority access
- check_circle Detailed weekly analysis
- check_circle Advanced program review
- check_circle Individualised strength program
- check_circle Nutrition coaching
- check_circle Recovery planning + body composition
- check_circle Event pacing plans + race strategy
- check_circle Taper planning
- check_circle Monthly coaching call