Run Forrest has run since 2013 and returns on Saturday 12 June 2027 for its 14th edition. A June trail race in the Otway Ranges tells you most of what you need to know about the conditions: cold, wet underfoot, fern-green in every direction. Three distances, all starting and finishing at the race village on the Barwon River at Forrest.
The 21km (11am) is the real one, a circuit with 750 to 800 metres of climbing that follows the Barwon out along the Red Carpet, a mountain-bike trail of tight off-camber turns and fast fern-lined descents, to Lake Elizabeth and back. The 10km (11.15am) covers the same opening kilometres but turns at the top of the Red Carpet. The 6km (11.30am) runs the Barwon to the Fernery Trail and across the top of the West Barwon Dam, with a kids' race over the same course.
Registration opens at 9am and the 10.40am race briefing is compulsory. Water stations sit at 5.5km, 8km and 16km, and none of them supply cups, so carry a bottle or a pack. Runners in the 6km and the kids' race get no water stations at all. There is no parking at the race village, so you park in the township and walk in.
Entering on the day, if it has not sold out, means bringing cash. Reception in Forrest is patchy enough that EFTPOS often fails. There is no fuel in town either, so fill up in Colac or Apollo Bay before you arrive. Forrest sits about an hour from Geelong and two hours from Melbourne, with Apollo Bay and the Great Ocean Road 40 minutes away. The event is run by Southern Exposure.
Entries and 2027 pricing had not been published as at 3 September 2026.
What a run! I never expect to beat my PB at Run Forrest it’s about enjoying the fern gullies, muddy trails and towering trees. At times, it feels like being a kid again, running through Jurassic Park. Finishing among the fire pits, pizza, coffee and everyone sharing stories from the trails, is always a highlight
Archie, Course Marshal
