THREE local triathletes including Bo Morley earned podium finishes at the 2025 Hell of the West in Goondiwindi. The iconic annual race is a 2km swim in the McIntyre River, an 80km bike ride and a 20km run.
Morley placed second in her age group and fellow locals Marius Borz and Zac Cunningham came third in their age groups.
Local triathletes shine out west
BEAUDESERT triathletes made their presence known at Goondiwindi’s 2025 Hell of the West, recording three stunning podium finishes.
Bo Morley, Marius Borz and Zac Cunningham each recorded lightning-fast times to finish in the top three for their age groups on March 23.
Each triathlete individually completed a 2km swim in the McIntyre River, an 80km bike ride and a 20km run.
End of an era
Morley, who has been competing in triathlons since 1989, came second in the 55 to 59 female race with a time of five hours 23 minutes.
The well-loved Innisplain resident was raised in Goondiwindi.
Morley has competed in about five Hell of the Wests, and her family has a long history of hosting triathletes in their home for the annual event, including many who have travelled from Beaudesert over the years.
“It’s a great sport and I think Hell of the West is one of the best triathlons you could do, for a long course,” she said.
Morley decided the 2025 Hell of the West would be her last triathlon and she is now retiring from the sport after decades of events from Busselton to Cairns and even in New Zealand.
Dream realised
Hell of the West fanatic Cunningham achieved his long-held goal of podiuming at his favourite race.
The McAuley College teacher came third in the 35-39 male race in four hours 17 minutes.
Cunningham worked hard toward his podium dreams, fitting in several training sessions a day around full-time work and family commitments.
“This was my seventh Hell of the West and I have always wanted to podium at Hell of the West – it’s the only race I care about,” he said.
“We’re very lucky to have the people we train with locally all year round – friends who are passionate about sport, training in such a beautiful location.”
Inspiration
Kerry beekeeper Borz, who started swimming competitively as a child in Romania, came third in the 30 to 34 male race with a time of four hours 20 minutes.
He spoke about the importance of keeping sports alive for future generations in Beaudesert and called for increased access to facilities for training.
Pam’s Pack
Underpinning the success of the three podiuming local triathletes was a strong sense of community found in the support crew affectionately called ‘Pam’s Pack’.
Aaron Collis, Janette Borz, Susie Cunningham and toddler Rosie also travelled to Goondiwindi for the race weekend and stayed in the home of Morley’s mum, Pam, alongside the triathletes.
Collis, who has previously raced at Hell of the West, diligently time kept, photographed, videoed and cheered the triathletes every step of the way.
Borz and Cunningham cheered for their triathlete husbands and also took part in ‘Super Saturday’ fun run events as part of the weekend, with Borz running 10km and Cunningham walking the 5km course.
Little Rosie contributed her big toddler energy, sporting ‘GO MUM’ and ‘GO DAD’ shirts as she sipped babycinos and cheered for her parents.
