The Scenic Route - Why I Started Bramble Bay Athletic

If you'd told me twenty years ago I'd end up founding a running shoe shop, I would have laughed; probably from the couch in front of the TV where I was spending alot of my spare time back then.

My name's Mark Hilmer, I'm the founder of Bramble Bay Athletic, and I took the scenic route to running. Like a lot of people in endurance sport, I came up through cycling and triathlon first. The bike was my original love — road riding, gravel and long hours in the trainer. Triathlon taught me to swim, bike and run, but even then, the run leg was always the one I looked forward to. The rest was just something to survive to get to the run.

The simplicity of running got under my skin. Especially that feeling you get in a group of mates, the sun coming up across the bay, the vibes are high and the KMs tick over without trying. Eventually I stopped pretending I was a triathlete who ran, and admitted I was just a runner.

I've had some results I'm proud of along the way:

• Marathon 3:18 - Gold Coast 2025
• 5km 18:27 - Sandgate Parkrun Christmas Day 2022
• 1500m 5:19 - QSAC 2026 (in a pair of Do-Win PB 3 ie not track legal)

The other part of part of this story is injuries. I've had more than my share, and there are PBs on that list that should be faster. Every runner knows the feeling: the fitness was there, the body had other plans. Those setbacks are part of why I started Bramble Bay Athletic. I've spent years obsessing over shoes, foam compounds, plate geometries and stack heights - it has become something of an obsession. The right shoe won't fix everything, but the wrong one can definitely break something. 

That's the conviction behind this business: bringing genuinely high-performance footwear to runners here in Australia who care about what's on their feet. The Chinese shoes we stock are genuinely world class shoes, at a price the western brands can't (or won't) match.  If you're chasing a PB, coming back from injury, or just love the nerdy side of running gear as much as I do, you're in the right place.

I'm still chasing my own goals, injury history and all. These days I just want to run and help other runners find the gear that lets them do the same.

Welcome to Bramble Bay Athletic. Let's go for a run.