A NEAR naked Novocastrian has taken out the first ever Red Bull Dune Dusters soft sand race.
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Stu Adams, 46, from Newcastle, won the inaugural Stockton sand dune race held on Sunday in 32 minutes and 48 seconds, wearing nothing but a pair of shorts, a visor and sunglasses.
"I was determined to be the first winner," Adams said.
"I've run these dunes since I was a young kid, and I'm always on the sand.
"Red Bull Dune Dusters was an amazing challenge.
"I was pushing for a first record time and now I'll have to come back and defend my title."
Adams' feat comes just weeks after recovering from breaking his ribs while mountain biking and a few days after cutting the tendons in his hand while at work.
Competitors from as near as Newcastle and as far as the Gold Coast travelled to compete in the seven kilometre race, which forced participants to run, walk and crawl up some of Australia's largest sand dunes, with the final hurdle a dune on a 50-degree incline.
Ali Najem from Cronulla came second while two-time Olympic Triathlete and professional Ironman Courtney Atkinson, from the Gold Coast, finished third.
The first woman across the line was Mel Campbell from Cronulla.
The mother of three finished the course in a time of 40 minutes and 14 seconds.
She only entered the race last Friday.
"I was sitting at home feeding my eight-month-old baby on Friday morning when I saw Courtney on the TV talking about the race so I jumped straight online and entered," she said.
"About two kilometres in I was wondering what I'd gotten myself into."
Holly Caraffa from Lake Macquarie and Siobhan Larkin from Pindimar came second and third respectively behind Campbell.