The official King of the Mountain race might not have happened this year but that did not stop diehard fans and runners from keeping the tradition alive.
On Sunday, a group of runners set off up Mount Cooroora at Pomona for an unofficial version of the race, which would have been held for the 45th time this year.
The race was cancelled this year after the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service requested the running group be split into two, which organisers felt would not be feasible.
A family fun day event went ahead in Stan Topper Park minus the race, which usually draws local, state and international runners.
Andrew Flanagan, who has regularly race in the event during the past 25 years, pulled interested runners together through word of mouth to run and walk the mountain at 2.30pm.
He had done his own “race” of the mountain earlier so that he could enjoy running it with his grandchildren in the afternoon.
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“I had planned to run it with my grandson, Zach, in another three or four years,” he said.
About 20 people lined up at the starting line and another dozen or so started earlier.
Mr Flanagan shaved a minute off his time last year in his morning run, which he timed at 53 minutes 30 seconds, a fair way off his best every time of 31 minutes.
He said it was much better running the race with others.
The loss of the race this year was a sore point with Mr Flanagan, who is treasurer of Save Our Summits, a group campaign for continued public access to mountains.
“So sad for our upcoming generations that these events are being shut down and over-regulated,” he said.
He said the closures of mountains, such as Mount Warning, Uluru and Mount Arapiles, for cultural and safety reasons was dividing the country.
“We are one and we are many – many of us having ancestors that arrived in chains and were treated like slaves, he said.
“The past is the past, we must move forward.”
