Glow with the flow.
The most serious trail run on the planet. Not. A point-to-point chase of the fading light along the Surf Coast Walk, from Point Addis to the Torquay foreshore: fluro, 80s and 90s bad taste glow fashion encouraged, headtorch compulsory, and a dance floor waiting under the finish arch. Caution: trail running rainbow unicorns can get frisky.
My race
Pick your distance to see your own timeline, bib and bus.
Event schedule
Everything happens at Event HQ, the finish line opposite the Salty Dog Café on Fishermans Beach, Torquay, unless it says otherwise.
| Time | What's on | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Friday 4 December | ||
| 5pm – 7.30pm | Early bib pick-up NEW | The Running Company Torquay, 3/1 Haystacks Dr |
| Saturday 5 December | ||
| 12pm – 8pm | Registration and bib pick-up OPENS EARLIER | Event HQ |
| 2.45pm | Day Glow 5km briefing | Fishermans Beach |
| 3pm | Day Glow 5km start START | Fishermans Beach boat ramp |
| 6.15pm | Bus departs, 21km Wave 1 BUS | Event HQ |
| 6.45pm | 21km Wave 1 start (relaxed pace) START | Point Addis car park, far end |
| 7.15pm | Bus departs, 21km Wave 2 BUS | Event HQ |
| 7.45pm | 21km Wave 2 start (gazelles) START | Point Addis car park, far end |
| 8pm | Bus departs, all 13km runners BUS | Event HQ |
| 8pm | Night Glow 5km start START | Fishermans Beach boat ramp |
| 8.30pm | 13km start START WAS 8.20PM | Southside car park, Jarosite Rd |
| 8.33pm | Sunset. Last light 9.05pm. | Headtorches on |
| 9pm on | First finishers arrive | Finish arch |
| 10.30pm | Course cut-off. Not past the boat ramp aid station by now? We'll send you straight to the finish. | Fishermans Beach boat ramp |
| 10.30pm | Presentations | Finish line stage |
| 11pm | Bar and event close | Event HQ |
Buses and getting there
Point-to-point means we take you to the start. The buses are included in your entry and they are mandatory.
The rules
- Your bus and wave were allocated at registration and are shown by your bib design. You can't swap buses or waves.
- Being on the right bus matters. Start in the wrong wave and your time will be wrong and we'll record a DNS.
- Southside is bus-only. No drop-offs.
- 5km runners don't need a bus. Your start is on the beach next to HQ and we'll call you to the line 15 minutes before.
Parking and toilets
- Park in the car parks north and south of the finish, off The Esplanade. Legal kerbside bays on The Esplanade work too.
- The Salty Dog car park is the event village from noon, and its through-road closes from 3pm.
- Use the toilets at the Torquay Sailing Club before you board. There are more blocks 300m either way along the foreshore.
- Point Addis has a public toilet block plus portable toilets. At Southside, the nearest toilets are at Bells Beach, about 200m along the course.
Bibs and timing chips
Collect your bib on Friday at The Running Company Torquay, or on race day at Event HQ.
Your bib tells you everything
Four bib colours show your distance and wave, and so which bus you must catch. Check yours matches your entry.
Your timing chip is on the back of the bib. Wear the bib on your outermost layer, front and visible. If you add a jacket, move the bib onto it.
Nail it for SAFV
Turn up to bib pick-up with your fingernails painted in bright, flashy colours, or get them done by our volunteer nail technicians at registration. For every runner with glowing nails, we donate $5 to the Sexual Assault & Family Violence Centre.
It's a fun way to start a conversation that matters. Read about the cause.
RUNNING
CO.
The Running Company Torquay
Collect your bib a day early on Friday 4 December, 5pm to 7.30pm, at 3/1 Haystacks Dr. Do the last-minute shoe or headtorch shop while you're there.
Mandatory gear
You start in twilight and finish in the dark. Tick things off as you pack. Your phone remembers your list.
BLACK
DIAMOND
Light the trail with Black Diamond
The headtorch is the one thing you can't start without. Save 20% on your next adventure at blackdiamondequipment.com.au.
CODE: TBC 2026Brooks, stocked at The Running Company Torquay
Built for rocks, mud, roots and gravel. Try on Brooks trail shoes at The Running Company Torquay, 3/1 Haystacks Dr, Torquay VIC 3228.
CODE: TBC 2026Feet
Torquay Sports Medicine Centre
Get your legs, feet, body tuned and sorted for the day (or after it).
CODE: TBC 2026The courses
All three follow the Surf Coast Walk into Torquay. Download the maps to AllTrails and follow along on the trail.
You start at the far end of the Point Addis car park, run 300m up the road, then turn right onto the Koorie Nature Trail and climb to the top of the Addiscot Beach cliffs for one last view in the fading twilight. A steady climb takes you into the Ironbark forest, where a saxophonist lures you to the top of the hill with killer 80s sax anthems.
At the sax point, turn right onto a ridgeline that stays pancake flat for a while before dropping to Southside headland and on to Bells Beach. Run the sand north to the far end, about 300m, and take the stairs. Follow the path uphill and left until you pop out at the top of the Bells Beach car park. Turn right. This is your golden laneway all the way to Torquay.
Past Bells the course swings briefly inland through heath, back to the cliffs at Jan Juc, down and up again at Boobs, then onto Eagle Rock, the Spring Creek boardwalk and past the Torquay SLSC into town. The promenade at Point Danger is your catwalk; the nightlife is watching. Down the boat ramp to the best aid station in aid station history, a short beach run that feels long, then double back to the arch and the DJ.
It's the first half of the Surf Coast Trail Marathon, run in reverse. Non-technical, well signed, and friendly to road runners who want to get a little dirty.
Aid stations
- 5.6kmJarosite Rd track junction
- 10.5kmBoobs surf beach car park. Medical and timing point.
- 16.7kmFishermans Beach boat ramp. Cut-off 10.30pm.
- 21.1kmFinish, with food and drinks
WIND
Electrolytes & Nutrition
Every aid station has water and an electrolyte mix TBC
CODE: TBC 2026Run the full length of Bells Beach on the sand, about 300m, and climb the long stairs at the far end. Turn left a little after the top (keep straight on and you'll end up at Winki), then right onto the Surf Coast Walk when you hit the car park.
From there you share the 21km route home: inland heath, the Jan Juc cliffs and Boobs, Eagle Rock, the Spring Creek boardwalk, the Point Danger promenade, the boat ramp aid station, the beach out-and-back and the finish arch.
Aid stations
- 3kmBoobs surf beach car park
- 8.5kmFishermans Beach, Torquay
- 13kmFinish
Water and Electrolytes at every station. No cups.
Mini-Day Glow and Mini-Night Glow start at the Fishermans Beach boat ramp, run south-west towards the cliff at the Torquay end, then loop back and head north-east along the beach. Run straight for about 2.5km until a marshal and lights point you left up a sandy path to the gravel Surf Coast Walk.
Turn left onto the sealed path back towards Torquay and follow it all the way to the Salty Dog Café and the finish arch. You'll mostly have the course to yourself, bar the fastest 21km runners. Medals for everyone, whatever your speed.
Don't worry about the profile. It's all relative. It's basically flat.
Aid station
- 5kmAt the finish: water, Electrolytes and munchies
Course notes
No "kilometres to go" markers. That just ain't trail running. Know your route; it's the runner's job to have an idea of where they're going.
No cups, anywhere. Afterglow is a Waste Wise event in line with Surf Coast Shire's move away from single-use plastics. Carry your own and refill.
Rising tide on the sand. High tide is 9.50pm, so the beach sections get softer and narrower as the night goes on. Stick to the marked line.
Leave nothing behind. There are bins at every aid station. Gel wrappers go in your pocket until you reach one.
Signage and markings
Follow the event markings. The permanent Surf Coast Walk signs point the same way.
Marshals stand at most major intersections. Coloured tape runs between the signs to show you're on track.
Safety and weather
Medical crews rove the course and are based at the finish from 6pm to 11pm.
In an emergency, call 000
Then tell a marshal or the nearest aid station. Green Emergency Marker signs along the course give 000 your exact location. Read out the code on the nearest one.
GON002GON001GON003BEL100BEL101BEL102BSI001Pulling out? Make your way to the nearest checkpoint and tell the marshal. We'll get you back to Torquay and let timing know.
Race HQ, text only: 0430 376 621. Send an SMS and we'll get back to you. For emergencies, always call 000 first.
If the weather turns
Afterglow runs in rain and cold. That's trail running. We'll only cancel or stop for real danger: nearby fire, a lightning storm, gale-force winds or a storm tide warning.
If we have to postpone, the back-up date is Saturday 12 December 2026. We'll tell you by email, SMS and on our Facebook page, and update this page first.
If we stop the race mid-way, marshals will hold you at the nearest checkpoint and we'll SMS every runner with what to do next.
Finish line party
Get your glow on under the arch.
Entertainment
- Sax on the hill. Shannon plays your favourite 80s sax anthems about 4km into the 21km, as you pop out of the Ironbark forest.
- Fire twirlers on the beach near the finish.
- Beats on the Beach. Jacqui and her Wild Moves dimer crew will be pulling their wild beats on Fisho's
- DJ Disco Pete with Sidekick Nath. Yep - Pete and Nath our MCs are pulling double duty with the loosest most luscious set of 80s tunes.
- Live band Bliss for the 5km finishers.
Prizes, sort of
We appreciate winners. We're also hippies. So there are trophies of a kind and a bit of kit for the first three men and women overall, and spot prizes for the Best Glow Dressed funksters.
Presentations at 10.30pm.
Merch
A limited number of Afterglow trucker caps and rainbow tees at registration and the finish.
Trails and ales with Bells Beach Brewing
Locally brewed ales at the finish bar, plus food from the Salty Dog Café, open all evening. Canned drinks from Flowstate Craft Brewers.
Timing, results and photos
Timing by Tomato Timing
It's a gun start with no start mat, so if you're racing, get to the front. Wave 2 is where the fast runners start, so the first person under the arch probably isn't the winner.
Results go up on the night.
COURSE RECORDS:
21km (Full Glow)
Men: 1:18:28 – Craig Mottram (2014)
Women: 1:31:22 – Simone Brick (2021)
13km
Men: 50:29 – Erik Ueda (2018)
Women: 59:17 – Megan Dickson (2018)
5km
Men: 15:41 – Otis Jones (2022) Women: 18:18 – Sahara Lowdon (2025)Photos by Bossfotos
Photographers will be out capturing the epic-ness. After your run, find your shots by face or bib number recognition.
For your supporters
Send this section to your crew. 21km leaders reach the finish around 8.35pm (Wave 1) and 9.15pm (Wave 2).
Go the distance. Defy the dark.
Afterglow runs during the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, 25 November to 10 December.
Safety for women is not a given in any community, including the trail running community. We're using our brightly lit stage to shine a headtorch on gender-based, sexual and family violence, and raising money for the Sexual Assault & Family Violence Centre (SAFV Centre) in Geelong.
Funds go to frontline intervention and prevention programs that help make life safer for women across the Barwon, Wimmera and South West regions.
Fundraise with your run
- Go to mycause.com.au/events/afterglownighttrailrun.
- Set up your own page. It links straight to the SAFV Centre.
- Ask friends, family and colleagues to give a set amount, or so much per kilometre.
Learn more at safvcentre.org.au and Respect Victoria.
What's changed
Every update to this page is logged here, newest first.
- Course cut-off set: 10.30pm at the Fishermans Beach boat ramp aid station. Day Glow 5km runners don't need a headtorch.
- Night Glow 5km start confirmed for 8pm.
- Race Hub published with the 2026 schedule.
- Early bib pick-up added on Friday at The Running Company Torquay. 13km start moved to 8.30pm (was 8.20pm). Presentations at 10.30pm.