DID anyone spot Wonder Woman, Spongebob and Spider-Man cruising the Esplanade early yesterday?

The super-human trio were among 500 eager athletes – some fit and some not so fit – who took part in the inaugural The Cairns Post Run For Cairns on a perfect winter’s morning in the Far North.

The more serious, including The Cairns Post’s general manager, Nick Trompf, who blew the horn to start the race, bustled for position at the front of the pack while the light-hearted were happy to bring up the tail.

“I had a few Weet-Bix before the run and I think that slowed me down a bit,” Mr Trompf joked. “But I still managed to beat a few of the younger guys from the office and they are already making excuses.”

For the record, this journalist was negotiating the traffic in the early stages and if given a clean start would have kept Mr Trompf honest.

And, unfortunately, the inspirational tunes of John Farnham’s Keep the Pressure Down pumping from the headphones of The Cairns Post’s editor, Andrew Holman, did not help him keep pace, as he drifted back towards the middle of the pack.

Carol Hautot, the leader of the superhero pack, claimed they were robbed of first place, though.

“The strategy was to use our super powers to do the first three cycles in about five seconds and then go slow for the fourth lap,” she said. “I guess they didn’t notice us going through the first time, we were that fast.”

Brisbane man David Sweeney covered the 5km distance fastest, while Emily Donker, also from Brisbane, added another victory to her Coral Coast Triathlon glory last weekend.

The charity run raised money for the Far North Queensland Hospital Foundation and Royal Flying Doctor Service.

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