The Great NOSH Footrace is Australia’s oldest, continuously held, trail-running footrace. It was first held in 1975, and has been held every year since (with an enforced break in 2020 due to the global pandemic). It celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2025, and is now in its 51st year. The race is traditionally a trail run of 16kms from Killara Oval to Seaforth Oval.
The race was founded in 1975 by the Northside Orienteers and Social Harriers (NOSH), from whom its name derives.
In 1988, Northside Orienteers and Social Harriers merged with Bennelong Occasional Orienteers (Australia’s first formally constituted orienteering club, founded in 1971), to form Bennelong Northside Orienteers (BNO). BNO took on organisation of the Great NOSH Footrace in subsequent years.
In 2017, Barbara Hill and Bold Horizons took on organisation of The Great NOSH Footrace, assisted by volunteers from BNO and ONSW’s other member clubs. During these years, Barbara expanded the NOSH to multiple distances, and 2025 saw the biggest turnout with over 500 runners participating.
In 2026, Barbara decided to step back from organising the NOSH, and ceded control back to BNO. Barbara and Bold Horizons continue to organise orienteering events, including the popular Saturday Orienteering Series (SOS). You can find information about the events on the Bold Horizons website. Like all good orienteering events, entry for SOS is via Eventor. We thank Barbara and Bold Horizons for the amazing job they have done over the last 10 years.
To celebrate 2026, we have an all new course with a very small amount of map reading, taking the event back to its orienteering roots.
Remember, the Great NOSH Footrace is a volunteer run event, so please smile and thank our generous vollies!
