Rix finished in second place last year but was able to go one better when he recorded a time of 1:30:43 for the 21.1km half marathon.

He posted a slower time than last year but described the conditions as more difficult.

“It was a bit tougher this year, we had a bit of a headwind coming in the whole way,” he said.

The 38-year-old Cloncurry police officer held off good mate Adam Chapman (second) and Stewart Corner (third).

Rix went out in front early with Chapman but proved too strong for his running pal before  the pair completed the Lake Moondarra road section of the race.

“I really enjoyed the race,” Rix said.

“I was hoping Adam would stick on so we could try and push the pace a bit but he dropped off.

“It’s always good racing with Adam, there’s always a bit of banter and we have a bit of fun.”

Rix admitted his training sessions for the race included plenty of solitary running in Cloncurry. 

“It’s a bit lonely, I do most of my training on my own, unfortunately the Isa Rats aren’t up there,” he said. 

“It gets a bit boring training on my own, we did start a mini Cloncurry triathlon group and we had a few people starting to do it and a few of them are now going to do the Julia Creek Dirt n Dust next year.”

AKIKO Nishi made it back-to-back victories in the ladies division of the Outback to the Stack yesterday morning.

The Mount Isa Rats athlete sat third for the majority of the race but powered home to win in a time of 1:38:02 for the 21.1km event. The time was quicker than Nishi’s 1:38: 24 win last year, despite admitting her preparation was not as solid.

“I wasn’t expecting to win to be honest,” she said.

“My preparation wasn’t as good and I was just happy to finish it.”

“But it’s a pretty good feeling to win it again. I was very happy to see the crowd as I got close to the oval.”

Nishi’s fast finish into Tony White Oval held off former local Stacey Loccisano (second spot) with Mount Isa’s Carla Lloyd in third spot.

Early ladies’ leader Shaye MacLeod was forced to pull out at the 17km mark with a knee injury, paving the way for new runners to take up front spot.