Paddy Stow and Laura Gillard win 2023 Nail Can Hill Run

Stow struggled for grip throughout the 11.3-kilometre run, but recorded an impressive time of 38.45 to finish more than a minute clear of the field and become just the third male to win the event three times in a row.

"It's always exciting to get the win. It's my favourite race and it's the biggest race around here, so to get three in a row is pretty awesome." he said.

"As I ran around into the finish, I remembered the names that have won three in a row and especially those that have won it multiple times and it felt awesome. I'm pretty stoked with it.

"It was a little bit tricky on course because the areas that they'd cut back were just clay pretty much, so it was quite slippery.

"I was wearing my normal racing flats and they're a road shoe and have no grip whatsoever, so the puddles and especially the steep downhills, you just have nothing, so you're sliding every second or third step.

"There's probably a minute to 90 seconds lost in those sort of conditions, but at the end of the day, I was able to just take it relatively easy, as easy as you can when you're still trying to run hard, into the finish. It doesn't make it any easier that's for sure."

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Stow's nearest rival was 14-year-old Alec Franzke, who crossed the line second in a time of 39.48, while Ashley Hoffmann rounded out the podium with a 39.55.

Laura Gillard won the women's race for the first time in her career, crossing the line in 44.35.

Kelli Hoffmann made it a successful day for the Hoffmann family in second in 47.51, while Rachel Waters was third with a 49.49.

"It's pretty cool. It was really exciting," Gillard said.

"Last year I did the Ironman, which is on the bike beforehand, but this year I just did the run.

"I was really happy. I wasn't sure where I'd be at in terms of time, but I was really happy with how it went .

"It was a little slower because of the rain and the back section was a bit slippery, but it was still pretty fast.

"I just went for it. I do a lot of triathlons, but also do a lot of running, so it's pretty cool to win this because I've been working on my running."

Almost 500 people contested the event across two distances.

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