The Lorne Pier to Pub and Mountain to Surf return to the Great Ocean Road on 8 and 9 January 2027.
Lorne’s pub gets a 1.2km queue in January, when the Powercor Lorne Pier to Pub and Mountain to Surf return.
The Powercor Lorne Pier to Pub and Mountain to Surf, Lorne’s annual swim-and-run weekend, hit their 47th year on 8 and 9 January. Organisers at the Lorne Surf Life Saving Club expect more than 7,500 entrants and 20,000 visitors, and every dollar raised goes to the club’s water safety work on the Surf Coast. Runners go first, with about 2,500 of them starting the eight-kilometre Mountain to Surf at 8.30am on 8 January.
Powercor Lorne Pier to Pub and Mountain to Surf 2027
- What: Powercor Lorne Pier to Pub and Mountain to Surf
- When: 8 January (Mountain to Surf, 8.30am) and 9 January 2027 (Pier to Pub, 11am)
- Where: Lorne Surf Life Saving Club, Mountjoy Parade, Lorne
- Pier to Pub entry: $80 early bird, $90 after 1 December
- Mountain to Surf entry: $65 early bird ($55 juniors), $75 ($65 juniors) after 1 December
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The Mountain to Surf takes a detour
A day later, more than 5,000 swimmers set off from Lorne Pier at 11am for the 1.2km Pier to Pub, Australia’s largest open-water swim. The finish is the beach at the surf club, with the pub just behind it. It’s also the first Pier to Pub for new club president Kate Eriksson.
Lani Pallister won her seventh straight women’s title in January 2026, hitting the sand in 12min 50sec. Fellow Olympian Sam Short took the men’s race in 11min 52sec, knocking off defending champion Nick Sloman. Seven in a row is the longest run on the club’s honour board, a list that includes Kieren Perkins in 1992 and Daniel Kowalski twice. Both 2016 race records still stand, with Sam Sheppard on 10min 2sec and Harriet Brown on 10min 51sec.
Flood damage on parts of the St George River track means the 2027 Mountain to Surf runs on a slightly altered course. Normally the route climbs out of town into the Otways along the river, then drops back to the coast past Lorne Pier and finishes at the surf club via the cliff track. Walkers are welcome. Every 10 finishes earns a Mountain Goat medal, and swimmers collect a Shark Bait medal for every 10 Pier to Pubs.
Before you sign up
Swimmers start in waves split by age and gender, then by estimated swim time. A non-binary category slots into one of the existing waves closer to race day, and the club has added another Same Time Swim wave so mixed groups of friends and family can go together. The club saves the Superfish elite waves for last so the whole beach can watch them. Everyone has to finish inside 40 minutes. The average swimmer takes about 22.
Entries opened on 2 November at prices unchanged since 2024, and the 2025 swim sold out. When entries close, usually in late December or early January, a waitlist opens on Race Roster. Anyone who misses out or can’t make it to Lorne can enter the virtual version, swimming 1.2km in a local pool or the ocean within a two-week window. That still counts toward Shark Bait, and the event T-shirt arrives by post in late January or early February.
For more information, head here.
