Two Bays 56: Racing the Mornington Peninsula Coastal Ultra
Her Trails Race Profile
Two Bays 56Two Bays 56, Mornington Peninsula Trail Ultra
Cape Schanck out and back, over Arthurs Seat and through Bushrangers Bay.
Recommended Her Trails Program
Her Trails Two Bays 56km (14 Weeks)
A 14-week program built for a runnable coastal ultra in the heat: repeated short, steep climbs and frequent undulations rather than one sustained ascent, pacing discipline, resilience across Arthurs Seat, and the strength and confidence to meet cutoffs and finish strong at Cape Schanck.
This is genuinely runnable terrain, which means the biggest risk isn't the climbing, it's going out too hard on legs that need to hold pace for eight hours in the heat.
View the programThe Course
Both start and finish are at Cape Schanck, with the 56km route running out toward Dromana and back through Bushrangers Bay, national park and forest singletrack. Expect a mostly undulating profile rather than sustained climbing.
The signature climb is Arthurs Seat, around 1,000ft of ascent that rewards you with wide views across Port Phillip Bay back toward Melbourne. Bushrangers Bay is the scenic highlight, coastal cliffs and heath that locals compare to the Twelve Apostles. Expect some soft, sandy sections near the Cape Schanck finish that load the legs differently after 50km.
The course is signed with blue wren trail markers along the route, on a mix of Parks Victoria managed tracks.
Map & Route
- Official course description: twobaystrailrun.com — The Trail.
- Entrant info, aid stations & cutoffs: twobaystrailrun.com — Entrant Info.
- Reference route (third-party, verify against official course): Trailforks — Two Bays 56km.
Getting There & Running It Beforehand
Very doable from Melbourne. Cape Schanck is roughly 90km / around 1.5 hours south of the city, making the whole Mornington Peninsula section an easy day-trip or weekend recce base.
Nine aid stations are spread along the route, roughly every 5 to 6km, with published cutoffs at Dromana (~28km, 3h45), Hyslops Rd (~40km, 5h45), Boneo Rd (~50km, 7h15), and the finish at Cape Schanck (8h00). Knowing these cutoffs and your own realistic split times matters more here than on a race with generous time limits.
The tracks between Cape Schanck, Arthurs Seat and Bushrangers Bay are public Parks Victoria trails, so a Specific-block weekend spent running the Arthurs Seat climb and the sandy Cape Schanck finish stretch will pay off, both are distinct enough from typical training terrain to be worth rehearsing.
Race-Smart Notes
Pace for the heat, not just the terrain. Mid-January on the Peninsula is typically warm with high UV and limited shade on the coastal heath sections. Electrolyte strategy matters as much as pacing strategy here.
Respect the cutoffs. With checkpoints at roughly 28km, 40km and 50km on tightening time limits, know your splits going in rather than discovering you're behind schedule mid-race.
Train the sandy finish. The soft sand sections near Cape Schanck load the legs differently to firm trail, and they arrive after 50km when form typically breaks down. A little sand-specific training goes a long way.
Confirm the current-year race date, exact aid station locations and cutoff times on the official site before booking or race week, cutoffs and station placement can shift year to year.
