Nearly 700 runners from near and far converged on Port Douglas on Saturday morning, some even running here from Cairns in one of the most challenging Ultra Marathon's ever undertaken in the region.

The Great Barrier Reef Marathon Festival attracted double the number of participants as initially expected including Australian running legend, Steve Moneghetti, who was the hot favourite to take out the half marathon event carrying his name.

The Port Douglas Esplanade was a hive of athletic activity. Overcast conditions early in the morning gave some reprieve to the hundreds of people gathered in readiness for their chosen event, while the ultra runners were already on their way north along the mountain range.

Around 300 runners took up the challenge to Moneghetti in the 21km event, but the champ lived up to his reputation as an elite long distance runner by taking out the event in 1 hr 15mins 40 secs.

WATCH THE VIDEO OF PLACE GETTERS STEVE MONEGHETTI, PHIL BRADSHAW, NICK CARLING AND MORE...

Cairns based elite athlete, Mike Le Roux, stormed home in the 74km ultra marathon event 6hrs 45mins 18secs, looking as fresh as if he'd just run the Fundy 5000.

Winners in each event received a five night accommodation package from event partners, Sheraton Mirage, Ramada Resort, Rendezvous, and Rydges Sabaya.

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Festival organiser, Bruno Bennett from Port Douglas Event Management (PDEM), was pleased, and a little relieved, after the running of the successful event.

"It's definitely nice to have the first one (Great Barrier Reef Marathon Festival) under our belt. It was a mammoth effort to get things ready, and it was a huge effort for the runners considering the hot conditions."

SEE MORE PHOTOS FROM THE DAY HERE

Mr Bennett praised the efforts of the volunteers who ensured participants were well looked after.

"Everyone involved should be proud of their achievements. If there are no marshals, drink station attendees, recovery tent volunteers, and people who put their hand up to help in a number of other ways, there is simply no event.

"We're extremely grateful, and they've done a great job for Port Douglas and the future of major events in the region," he said.

The Festival is seen as a warm up to the Solar Eclipse Marathon on 2012 in which up to 3000 athletes are expected to compete.

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