Wollongong's twin peaks, Mount Keira and Mount Kembla, are set to star in a new physical challenge, with Greenacres Disability Services requesting permission to hold a fun run between the two next August.
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The disability organisation has lodged plans with Wollongong City Council to hold an event called the Mountain to Mountain Challenge in August next year.
According to documents submitted to the council, the charity event, which would raise money for Greenacres through registration fees and corporate sponsorship, would be ‘‘Wollongong’s most challenging event for professional and amateur runners and walkers’’.
The gruelling 12.5 kilometre course would take participants from Edmund Rice College, up Mount Keira, and along Clive Bissell and Harry Graham drives before finishing at Kembla Heights.
It would coincide with the Mount Kembla Mining Heritage Festival and, if permitted, would be held for three years from 2015.
‘‘The event will not only raise money for Greenacres, but will help promote the city’s natural beauty as well as the history of the Mount Kembla Village, particularly the 1902 Mount Kembla Mine Disaster,’’ the documents said.
The race would begin at 8.30am, with road closures to be in place from 7am until 3.30pm in some areas.
According to the plans, Greenacres consulted with a number of government and Illawarra stakeholders, including police, fire and ambulance services, national parks, Roads and Maritime Services, the Mount Kembla heritage committee and running group Kembla Joggers.
Edmund Rice principal Peter McGovern has also pledged his support.
‘‘The idea of the day is a wonderful means to celebrate the crucially important work of [Greenacres],’’ he wrote in a letter to chief executive Chris Christodoulou.
‘‘I understand that funding has become a far more difficult exercise for organisations such as yourself over the last few years and I would hope that projects like this one will not only raise much needed funds but will elicit further support from the Illawarra community.’’
If approved, the first Mountain to Mountain Challenge will be held on August 2 next year.
Plans are exhibited on the council’s website until October 1.