North-west slopes and plains. Same madness. New hunting ground.
The Tamworth 500 is a rural NSW take on the 500 Over 10 formula, featuring punishing climbs, technical descents and narrow trails beneath the iconic lookout, with magnificent views across the Peel River Valley to the Duri Hills in the distance.
The Tamworth 500 winds through the mountains that Committee Member Duns spent countless hours exploring as a teenager. He first attempted the course during a trip to Tamworth, shortly after the 2025 Bilgola 500 Pursuit. The original route was actually a mistake — but the data stacked up. After a few minor tweaks, and a lengthy essay convincing 500 Over 10 Founding Fathers George and Warren that it was indeed a continuous loop with no crossovers, the Tamworth 500 was born.
The Tamworth 500 Pursuit is waiting to be discovered by the local running community. With an already strong trail running community in the north-west, the Tamworth 500 Pursuit will hopefully become an awesome addition to the 500 Over 10 Pursuit Event Calendar.
Rising to around 835 metres above sea level, Flagstaff Mountain looms over Tamworth and delivers some of the course’s toughest climbing and most technical descending. The mountain is reached via the Kamilaroi Walking Track, which connects Oxley Scenic Lookout with Flagstaff Mountain Lookout through the bushland above East Tamworth.
Perched above Tamworth at the top of White Street, Oxley Scenic Lookout offers sweeping views across the city, the Peel River Valley and the Duri Hills beyond. The course cuts beneath the lookout car park, hugging the mountainside as the canopy clears and the valley opens below.
It also passes beneath the Tamworth Regional Skywalk, which was under construction when the Tamworth 500 was created. Should the Skywalk interfere with the route, the Committee will consider this a hostile act.
At the foot of the mountain, the course passes through leafy ANZAC Park and directly by the Tamworth Sandakan Memorial. Unveiled in 1994, the memorial commemorates Allied prisoners of war who died at Sandakan and during the death marches to Ranau in North Borneo — a sobering landmark on an otherwise frantic journey through the park.
Depending on the direction of travel, runners either grind for roughly two kilometres up Brisbane Street and Endeavour Drive or fly back down towards ANZAC and Treloar parks. Pacing through this section can make or break an overall time.
Along the way, the calls of peacocks and other birds from Tamworth Marsupial Park echo across the gully as runners climb deeper into the course — or charge downhill towards the finish.