The Balmoral Burn is an annual foot race in Sydney, Australia.
Created by former Wallaby captain Phil Kearns, the first Burn was run in 2001, and now an annual event run in May/June each year.[1] Kearns started the race after his son's treatment at Royal North Shore Hospital, it has become a fundraising event for children's health services in Australia and East Timor.
The race is run up Awaba Street, Mosman, Sydney, Australia. Awaba Street is one of Sydney’s steepest streets. The course stretches for 420m (1,380feet) from the Balmoral Beach up to Moruben Road in Mosman.
At its steepest the gradient is nearly 30%,[2] and over its length it rises about 70m (230feet).[3]
According to the Sunday Telegraph, the street has a slope of 20º.[4]
The Balmoral Burn is fun family day out with races for elite runners, school children, corporate teams, disabled athletes, parents with prams, pets and their owners, and others.
In excess of 1,000 people participate in the Burn each year.
| Year[5] | Male Winner | Country | Time | Female Winner | Country | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Lachlan Raper | 1' 25" | Bethany Halmy | 1' 40" | |||
| 2021 | Event not held due to COVID-19 restrictions | ||||||
| 2020 | |||||||
| 2019 | Mason Cohen | 1' 21" | Bethany Halmy | 1' 36" (=record) | |||
| 2018 | Mason Cohen | 1' 21" | Bethany Halmy | 1' 42" | |||
| 2017 | James Gurr | 1' 18" (record) | Anneliese Rubie | 1' 38" | |||
| 2016 | Mason Cohen | 1' 24" | Suzy Walsham | 1' 41" | |||
| 2015 | James Gurr | 1' 19" | Alicia Keir | 1' 42" | |||
| 2014 | Mason Cohen | 1' 19" | Anneliese Rubie | 1' 36" (record) | |||
| 2013 | 1' 26" | Suzy Walsham | 1' 45" | ||||
| 2012 | James Gurr | 1' 23" | Frances Schmiede | 1' 45" | |||
| 2011 | James Gurr | 1' 21" | Frances Schmiede | 1' 50" | |||
| 2010 | Lachlan Renshaw | 1' 22" | Anneleise Rubie | 1' 44" | |||
| 2009 | Lachlan Renshaw | 1' 21" | Lara Nicod | 1' 46" | |||
| 2008 | Lachlan Renshaw | 1' 23" | Sianne Toemoe | 1' 46" | |||
| 2007 | Lachlan Renshaw | 1' 22" | Alicia Watkins | 1' 45" | |||
| 2006 | Lachlan Renshaw | 1' 20" | Suzy Walsham | 1' 39" | |||
In the 2012 edition Paralympic champion Kurt Fearnley[6] came first in the Para Burn with a time of five minutes and 26 seconds.[7]
The event has become an annual fundraising event for the Humpty Dumpty Foundation, a charity providing children’s health services, which buys essential medical equipment for Neonatal Units and Paediatric Wards in hospitals and health service centres across Australia and East Timor.
The money was initially used for basic equipment such as stethoscopes and infant beds, but the program has expanded to buy ambulances and more specialized equipment. Over A$3 million was raised from the Burn in 2012 alone.