The 26th Pub-to-Pub Classic Went Off With A Bang (08-Sep-08)

Perisher Blue, September 8, 2008 - The 26th annual Pub-to-Pub Classic was a spectacular event

The 26th annual Pub-to-Pub Classic was a spectacular event! Over 500 hundred cross-country skiing revellers turned up dressed in an impressive range of fancy dress attire. There were all sorts of costumes from the wild and wacky to the truly original. Ninjas & nuns, pirates and Sesame Street characters each balancing on a pair of skinny skis lined up to race for the win.

The journey began at Smiggin Holes with contestants taking in five pubs in five kilometres with the race finishing at Smiggins Hotel. There was a great mix of serious racers and dressed up cruisers just having fun.

The more serious competitors set a cracking pace with Ben Sim taking victory for the second year in a row with an incredible time of 21.40. Not far behind was Esther Bottomley who snared the win for the girls with a time of 26.00. Geoffery Thompson put in a stellar performance taking out the top spot in the Over 80's male division with a time of 1.56.00.

The theme this year was all about originality and letting the creative juices flow...and boy-O-boy did they flow! The Best Costume went to the Sesame Street characters with Burt and Ernie and Oscar too! They were followed closely by the Popcorn contestants looking very rotund and oh so tasty. The Beijing Binger Ninjas came in third with, Snow White and Inspector Gadget also rating a mention for their creativity.

According to Alan 'Barney' Davis, event founder and the only person to have completed all 26 races to date, "This year's event was a great success. Everyone who entered had a great time and on-lookers really enjoyed watching all the contestants ski through the Resort. There were hundreds of brilliant costumes this year with some very creative ideas and designs."

The 26th Pub-to-Pub winners:

Male
1. Ben Sim
2. Geoffrey Pais
3. Andrew Mock
40+ Danny McFarlane
50+ Peter Ward
60+ Ron Giles
70+ John Fletcher
80+ Geoffrey Thompson

Female:
1. Esther Bottomley
2. Carla Evans
3. Michelle McFarlane
40+ Michelle McFarlane
70 + Judith Renford

Fancy Dress Winners:
1. Sesame Street
2. Popcorn
3. Beijing Binger Ninjas
4. Snow White
5. Inspector Gadget

Highly Commended:
1. Star Wars
2. Osama
3. Kitchen Appliances