Disa hits ground running to save rain forest

Smart ran the challenging 22km half marathon cross country through the Takayna old growth rain forest in under three hours.

Describing her run, Smart said: "The first seven kilometres were tough going as the forest was thick, the trail very narrow and I had to climb over many giant trees that had fallen across the path. In another section I ran in shin deep water down a creek bed for a few kilometres. The last 12 km or so were all uphill!"

"I loved seeing the magical rain forest first hand in all its diversity. Many trees were several hundred years' old. It was damp with moss, tree ferns and brightly coloured fungi. I was also thrilled to be met by Bob Brown at the end of the race in Waratah, as a lifelong environmentalist he is my hero."

Mr Brown campaigned successfully to save the Franklin River in 1980s. He was founding leader of the Greens political party in Australia and served as a federal senator for 17 years. Now his foundation is striving to save the last wild places in Tasmania and Antarctica. At the age of 79 he stood for five hours in the sun and welcomed every Takayna trail runner as they came over the line.

Smart said she was ecstatic about the success of the race.

"I raised $3,245 thanks to my generous sponsors, mostly from my home town of Armidale. The 186 runners across three races of 22km, 37km and 62km raised over $350,000 for the Bob Brown Foundation (BBF) campaign to protect the forest."

The 495,000 hectares of takayna is Australia's largest temperate rainforest and the second largest of its kind in the world. Much of the takayna forest is still threatened by logging, mining, roads and related infrastructure. The Liberal government has just announced a policy to open 40,000 more hectares of native forest to logging statewide.

"The day after the race we took a guided walk into the rainforest to see the site of the Chinese owned MMG mine's proposed toxic tailings dam," Smart said.

"The mine wants to build a concrete lake the size of 200 football fields with a 48 metre high wall. It is shocking that the Australian environment minister may approve destruction of this pristine ancient forest for mining waste."

The BBF seeks World Heritage listing for takayna to preserve giant trees such as groves of iconic Huon pines up to 2500 years old.

Smart said she wouldn't hesitate to do the run again.

"Next time I want to do the 22 km run with my dad. Later I will definitely do the 37 km run and after that I will tackle the 62 km run!"