Josh “JB” Bowers went to Wycheproof hoping his body would hold together long enough to finish one of the Mallee’s toughest races.
He came home King of the Mountain.
JB took out the 2026 Wycheproof King of the Mountain, completing the gruelling one-kilometre climb up Mount Wycheproof while carrying a 60kg bag of wheat in a time of just 5 minutes 34 seconds.
It was an impressive result for the New Zealander who now has strong connections to Sunraysia through his partner Holly and her family at Wentworth.
But despite eventually taking the crown, JB admits there were plenty of doubts running through his head before the start.
“I actually had a lot of nerves turning up to the event,” JB told Out & About Sunraysia.
A back injury had flared badly just three days before the race, while an ongoing knee problem wasn't helping his confidence.
“I just wanted to finish. I wasn’t too confident going into it, but deep down I really wanted to do well.”
It all started with a suggestion from Tony
Until Holly's father Tony mentioned the King of the Mountain to him, JB hadn't even heard of the unusual Wycheproof event.
“I was looking for something different to do and when Tony told me about this it didn’t take me much convincing!”
JB signed up at the beginning of the year.
At the time he was already doing plenty of distance running and weight training, but about 10 weeks out from the event his preparation became much more specific.
His boss even managed to get hold of something fairly important for his training — a 60kg bag of wheat.
JB began running with it daily, on top of his other weightlifting workouts.
While he'd never competed in anything quite as short and intense as King of the Mountain, carrying weight over difficult ground wasn't completely foreign to him.
“I did a lot of pack work and climbing in the military,” he said.
“Keep going, you’re halfway”
Once the race started, there wasn't much opportunity to settle into it.
“It’s a very intense race from the get-go and the last 90 metres is a killer,” JB said.
And apparently Tony wasn't particularly helpful when JB was already feeling the effects.
“The hardest part was when Tony said, ‘Keep going, you’re halfway now,’ and at that point I was already exhausted,” JB joked.
Despite the back, knee and plenty of doubts running through his head, JB kept going.
Waiting for him were some pretty good reasons not to give up.
His family back in New Zealand were watching, while Holly, their son — who had just turned one — and Holly's family had made the effort to travel to Wycheproof to support him.
“They made the big effort of coming and supporting, so deep down I wanted to do my best,” JB said.
“But I had all the excuses running through my head. That’s the battle.”
Five minutes and 34 seconds after starting, the battle was over.
JB was the 2026 Wycheproof King of the Mountain.
Now he wants King Jim's record
There were understandably a few sore muscles afterwards.
JB said his calves and hamstrings were definitely feeling it immediately after the race, although overall his recovery was good.
But rather than ticking King of the Mountain off the list, he's already thinking about another trip to Wycheproof.
And this time the target isn't simply winning.
“I will be back next year to chase after King Jim’s record.”
The “King Jim” JB is talking about is Jim Russell, one of the great names from the original era of the Wycheproof King of the Mountain.
Russell won the final four King of the Mountain titles before the original race disappeared from the calendar, with his 5 minute 2 second run in 1986 remaining the benchmark.
Jim Russell: 5:02
JB Bowers: 5:34
Difference: 32 seconds
That gives JB a pretty clear target.
His winning time this year was just 32 seconds outside Russell's record.
Considering JB arrived in Wycheproof carrying a troublesome knee, a back that had flared only three days earlier and plenty of doubts about whether he'd even make it to the finish, that 32-second gap has now given him something to chase.
This year JB went to Wycheproof wanting to finish and came home with the crown.
Next year, he's going after King Jim.
