Qualification criteria for 2022 Race
There are a number of one time changes to the criteria just for entry to the 2022 race due to the cancellation of the 2020 race and also a number of other qualifying races through 2021 due to COVID-19.
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To enter the 2022 race the following criteria and rules apply to all potential entrants,
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1 - Minimum age of 18 years on race day
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2 - Run faster than the qualifying time at one of our qualifying races between 1 July 2018 and Monday December 13
Qualifying races with times are any of the following below (with the inclusion of ITRA ranking option your qualifying performance must come from the list below):
(* note that these times may be varied if the course changes)
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2021 or 2019 Six Foot Track Marathon under 7:00
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Any standard 42.2km marathon under 4:20. We have listed some of the key Australian Marathons for easy reference and so the list below of these is not exhaustive as there are lots to choose from! There are some specific events listed below with a different time but other than these specific events we do not differentiate re harder or easier courses or road vs trail, the qualifying time is 4:20 and it is up to the entrant to choose a suitable event to use to post a qualifier.
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Any Ironman distance triathlon run leg (42.2km) under 5:00
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An ITRA ranking greater than 407 : Must include an ITRA defined race distance of 3okm or greater with a rank of more than 407 and run within the time period of 1 July 2018 to 6 December 2021, more details on ITRA below.
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NSW
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July 2018
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August 2018
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September 2018
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October 2018
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Washpool Heritage Trail 50km under 7:35 [website]
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November 2018
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Carcoar Cup Marathon 42.2km under 5:00 [website]
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January 2019
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April 2019​​
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May 2019
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UTA events [website]​
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50km under 9:00​
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100km under 21:00
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June 2019
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The Glow Worm Tunnel Marathon 42.2km under 6:00 [website]​
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July 2019
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August 2019
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September 2019
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October 2019
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November 2019
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Carcoar Cup Marathon 42.2km under 5:00 [website]
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January 2020
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Narrabeen All Nighter events (team/relay results not accepted) [website]
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42km under 4:20
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50km under 5:15​
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100km under 11:00
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December 2020
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March 2021
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​Washpool Heritage Trail 50km under 7:35 [website]
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April 2021
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May 2021
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UTA events [website]​
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50km under 9:00​
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100km under 21:00
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June 2021
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The Glow Worm Tunnel Marathon 42.2km under 6:00 [website]
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November 2021
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December 2021​
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Coastal Classic 30km under 4:20 [website]​
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ACT
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November 2018
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Stromlo Running Festival 54km under 6:30 or 32km under 4:00 [website]
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December 2018
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Deep Space Marathon 42.2km under 5:30 [website]
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April 2019
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Canberra Marathon Festival events [website]
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42.2km under 4:20
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50km under 5:15​
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June 2019
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Kowen Trail Run Marathon 42.2km under 6:30 [website]​
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November 2019
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Stromlo Running Festival events [website]
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30km under 3:50​
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50km under 6:30
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Deep Space Marathon 42km under 6:30 [website​]​​
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June 2020
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Kowen Trail Run Marathon 42.2km under 6:30 [website]
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November 2020​​
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Stromlo Running Festival events [website]
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30km under 3:50​
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50km under 6:30
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April 2021
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Canberra Marathon Festival events [website]
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42.2km under 4:20
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50km under 5:15
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June 2021
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Kowen Trail Run Marathon 42.2km under 6:30 [website]
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Queensland
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July 2018
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Gold Coast Marathon 42.2km under 4:20 [website]
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August 2018
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September 2018
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Coastal High 50 49km under 9:00 [website]
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October 2018
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December 2018
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Kurrawa to Duranbah 50km under 5:15 [website]
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April 2019
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June 2019
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Gold Coast 100 events [website]
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50km under 5:15​
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100km under 11:00
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July 2019
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Gold Coast Marathon 42.2km under 4:20 [website]
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August 2019
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October 2019
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December 2019
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Kurrawa to Duranbah 50km under 5:15 [website]
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July 2020​
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August 2020
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Wildhorse Criterium events [website]
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33km under 4:00​
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55km under 7:00
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October 2020
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Blackall 100 events [website]
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50km under 8:00​
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100km under 21:00
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November 2020​
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Coastal High 50 49km under 9:00 [website]​​​
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December 2020​
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GC50 50km under 5:15 [website]
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April 2021
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Wildhorse Criterium events [website]
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33km under 4:00​
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55km under 7:00
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July 2021
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August 2021
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Wildhorse Criterium events [website]
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33km under 4:00​
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55km under 7:00
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September 20201
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Coastal High 50km under 9:00 [website]
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October 2021
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Blackall 100 events [website]
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50km under 8:00​
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100km under 21:00
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South Australia​
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September 2018
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Yurrebilla Trail 56km under 9:00 [website]
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May 2019
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Adelaide Marathon 42.2km under 4:20 [website]​
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August 2019
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Barossa Marathon 42.2km under 4:20 [website]​
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September 2019
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Yurrebilla Trail 56km under 9:00 [website]
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September 2020
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Adelaide Marathon 42.2km under 4:20 [website]
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May 2021​
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Barossa Marathon 42.2km under 4:20 [website]​
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August 2021
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Adelaide Marathon 42.2km under 4:20 [website]​
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September 2021
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Yurrebilla Trail 56km under 9:00 [website]
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Victoria
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August 2018
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Wonderland 36km under 5:20 [website]
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October 2018
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Melbourne Marathon 42.2km under 4:20 [website]
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January 2019
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February 2019
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Rollercoaster Run 43km under 6:20 [website]
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April 2019
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Buffalo Stampede 42km under 9:20 [website]
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August 2019
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Wonderland 36km under 5:20 [website]
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October 2019
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Melbourne Marathon 42.2km under 4:20 [website]
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January 2020​
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Two Bays Trail events [website]
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28km under 3:25​
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56km under 7:30
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January 2021​
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Two Bays Trail events [website]
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28km under 3:25​
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56km under 7:30
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April 2021
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Buffalo Stampede 42km under 9:20 [website]
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December 2021
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Melbourne Marathon 42.2km under 4:20 [website]
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Tasmania
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Western Australia
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December 2018
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Six Inch Trail 46km under 6:00 [website]
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June 2019
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Perth Marathon 42.2km under 4:20 (relay results not accepted) [website]
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December 2019
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Six Inch Trail 46km under 6:00 [website]
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September 2020
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Perth Marathon 42.2km under 4:20 (relay results not accepted) [website]
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December 2020
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Six Inch Trail 46km under 6:00 [website]
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October 2021
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Perth Marathon 42.2km under 4:20 (relay results not accepted) [website]
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Overseas
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Other qualifying events?
The above list (especially if you take into account that any standard marathon from around the world and any ITRA race of 30km or longer is also eligible) provides an extensive list of options for potential entrants to plan and choose from well ahead of the entry dates.
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Virtual qualifying option for 2022 only
Due to the extensive cancellation of eligible races in 2021 for those potential entrants who have not done any races from our revamped list from July 2018 we are now offering a “virtual” option with the rules/approach as below
One component of qualifying we are not stepping back from is the requirement for a qualifier from a run that is 30km or longer based upon the following points:
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You must join the private group set up in Strava before you attempt a virtual qualifier so the qualifying review team can easily view not just the qualifying run details when you do it but also confirm that it aligns with a history of training runs with appropriate distance and pace.
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There is no need to run a specific route or on a specific day, any route will do, as long as it complies with one of the following 2 options
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​Standard 42.2 km in under 4:20 elapsed time, no minimum elevation requirement
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30km run with a minimum elevation gain of 800m in under 4:00 elapsed time
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Plan and choose your run/course carefully, we will not include any provision for the technical nature of the course used or on the day weather conditions or GPS/technical malfunctions
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The time accepted will be elapsed time from start to finish which will include water/toilet stops etc, it is not just a running time with pauses along the way.
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The virtual option is only available to those who register as below before October 31 and complete their run and have it verified before entries open on December 13th.
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Achieving a virtual qualifier does not ensure a preferred entry. The normal requirements still apply for a preferred entry and if you do not satisfy one of these you will use your virtual qualifier to participate in the general entry lottery
If you would like to take advantage of this option please email admin@sixfoot.com to confirm your details and we will provide you with the details of the private Strava group, which must be done before October 31st. You then have up to Dec 13 for us to review both your preparations and then the actual qualifying run . We require this to avoid anyone having someone else simply take their device for a run to qualify or to “cut and paste” a gpx track into their profile.
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We will not accept any results from any events not covered by the above criteria without prior approval.
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For future years if race directors for other events are interested in being included in the above list of official qualifiers please feel free to contact the Race Committee via email at info@sixfoot.com
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We have two key requirements for any potential future qualifying event
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The potential qualifier is conducted over a standard set course and distance (30km or more) year on year with electronic timing results published on the web
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The potential qualifier has a suitable quantity of results from previous entrants that have also run Six Foot Track Marathon to be able to determine an accurate Six Foot Track Marathon scaling attribute and cut off time.
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ITRA details - Please read through this in detail as last year a number of entrants used an incorrect ITRA rank
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The International Trail Running Association (ITRA) has an extensive list of evaluated races both within Australia and around the world. ITRA evaluate these races when requested by organisers and apply a points scale for each respective race. This points allocation is based upon the race distance and elevation/climb. When results are submitted from an event each runners performance is then given a ranking based upon their time and the race points calculation.
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To see your ITRA rank/s you need to do the following steps
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As a runner you can login (or register first) and access your profile from the ITRA Home Page
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On your main ITRA profile ​page you can see your summary rankings. It is important to note that these are an average based upon your best 5 performances in the last 36 months
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To view your rank for each individual event you need to select the results option from your profile page
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If you then click on the Ranking option it will show your ITRA rank for all events registered with ITRA which you can use to validate your qualifier as per below
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To qualify for Six Foot entry using ITRA you must have:
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Completed an ITRA listed event with a distance of 30km or longer during the period 1 July 2018 and 6 December 2021, AND
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Achieved an athlete rank greater than 407 for that specific event
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We do not accept or use the blended/average ranks that you see against your profile, it must be a score from a specific event.
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18 official finishes
There is one exception to the entry criteria and this is for anyone that has officially finished 18 Six Foot Track Marathon track races or more. We respect their knowledge and capability in achieving this feat and they more than anyone know what is required to get to the finish line. Often these runners now only prepare and run Six Foot Track Marathon each year as their major event for the year. For entrants with 18 or more official finishes, they are able to specifically use an official Six Foot Track Marathon race finish from the three previous events to qualify. However, the standard qualification criteria will reapply to these runners if they have not successfully finished in under 7:00 hours during the past three years.
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Wave allocation information
The onus is on you to list an event with the results on the race website and provide a link so we can check.
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If you have multiple qualifying events, just pick your best effort and one that clearly makes the above criteria. You can use our special calculator here to determine your best qualifying event for the best possible wave allocation.
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As a guide the approximate wave cut off times for 2021 were as below. These could change for 2022 depending upon the qualifying times entrants use but are a good guideline
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Wave 1 - 4:18
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Wave 2 - 5:10
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Wave 3 - 5:42
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Wave 4 - 6:10
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Additional notes
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The entry form will ask you to list one qualifying event, the date of the event, its distance, the time you finished and for a link to the online listing for your result. This information will be used to seed and place you in a starting wave.
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Some of the above events include a team or relay option. A qualifying run must be done as a single continuous run, participation as a relay runner does not meet the entry criteria.
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We require all entrants to have already secured a qualifying event and time at the time of entry. We will reject entries for those who have not qualified at the date of entry. If you believe you would have qualified but also believe that you will not have or be able to use a suitable qualifier from these changes in eligible dates and events due to COVID please contact us at admin@sixfoot.com to discuss your circumstances.
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As stated above, the entry criteria applies to all runners but following are some further details that apply to prospective entrants. We use the entry criteria, not just to establish a minimum standard that all entrants are capable of, but also to use in establishing starting wave allocations, given the unusual nature of the start and early stage of the race, down Nellies Glen.
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First time runners
We are not trying to make the race "elite". The race is actually longer (at 45km) and hillier than a standard marathon, and it's often hot on race day, so is not suitable for a person's first ever marathon. It is roughly the equivalent of a 60km road race. We want to discourage runners with no proven race history that might get into difficulties - we have had no fatalities in the history of the event, and would prefer to keep it that way.
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Previous runners – You may ask "Why, if I have already run this race and proven my ability, do I have to qualify again?" Firstly, as above it does help us to determine wave allocations, but it also removes the temptation for previous finishers to try to enter and run "on memory" rather than actually doing the required training and build up. A distressed runner on course is a challenge for our support team, regardless of how many times they have finished before.