Narrabri mates conquer gruelling Finke Desert Race

Two adventurous Narrabri boys recently made the journey to the Northern Territory to take on the ride of a lifetime as they competed in the legendary Finke Desert Race.

Josiah Barnes and Damon Marshall had been planning the trip for more than 18 months and it finally arrived when the two great mates departed Narrabri on Friday, May 30.

After a 26-hour journey completed across three days, the duo and their support crew arrived in Alice Springs on Sunday, June 1. Then, following a few days of preparation, the two Narrabri motocross riders were ready to race.

The Finke Desert Race is a prestigious off-road, multi-terrain, two-day race for motorbikes, cars, buggies and quad bikes through desert country from Alice Springs to the remote community of Aputula (called Finke until the 1980s) in the Northern Territory.

The race is usually held each year on the King’s Birthday long weekend in June.

‘Finke’ as it is commonly known, is one of the biggest annual sporting events in the Northern Territory and has the reputation of being one of the most difficult offroad courses in one of the most remote places in the world.

Racers have to qualify to take part in the two-day event.

It certainly lived up to the hype for the Narrabri boys as they described it as one of the hardest challenges they have ever faced after they raced 230 kilometres on one day and then raced back another 230 kilometres the opposite way on the same track the next day after a well-earned sleep.

They both raced about six hours each across those two days as they pushed their bodies and their minds to new limits.

Marshall and Barnes both told The Courier it was an experience they would forever cherish.

“It’s a massive, world-renowned event, and it was something we’ve been talking about doing for a while, so we thought it was time to go do it this year,” Marshall said.

“Being part of an event like that was always going to be worth it. I’m really proud that we did it. I know a lot of guys in their 50s and 60s that wanted to do it and never have, so it’s nice to tick it off the bucket list.

“It was a tough race. Very rough and dusty and so brutal on the body. It was a lot on your lower back and a lot on your legs too. It was almost like doing a three-hour deadlift.

“It is a long time to concentrate too, especially when your body is really sore. It’s very mentally draining.

“I don’t think anyone could prepare for that race correctly because there’s nothing quite like it. It’s not like going and doing an hour training ride with your mates; it’s three hours of hanging on the side of a cliff and you get to get up again and do it the next day.”

Many more hours went into preparing for the event, and the number of kilometres that they travelled in total was almost the distance from Narrabri to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.

“It was just shy of being a 6000-kilometre-round trip,” Barnes said.

“All up to get there and back we did 26 fuel stops.

“We built our own trailer so we could lock everything up and everything was safe on the journey. There was a lot of logistics to it and a lot of money went into getting there. The trailer itself took about eight weeks to build.

“The race was so tough. I’ve done some pretty brutal swimming training sessions before, but they only last an hour and you get breaks, but this was just pretty much three hours of non-stop pain.

“Getting to the finish line both days was just relief. We were very sore. We both just wanted to finish. We didn’t care where we placed. And to finish unhurt, that was the goal.”

Barnes and Marshall both thanked their support crew, who they said they could not have completed the journey without. That included Damon’s wife Gabby Marshall, Josiah’s father Max and Max’s wife Raquel Crawford, and the duo’s good friends Will Cain and Emy Farr.

Josiah’s wife Courtney Barnes was unable to travel on the trip, but was also an important part of the crew as she remained home in Narrabri to care for their newborn daughter Ayla.