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Qualification criteria for 2023 Race

To enter the 2023 race the following criteria and rules apply to all potential entrants, 

1 - Minimum age of 18 years on race day

AND

2 - Run faster than the qualifying time at one of our qualifying races between 13th March 2021 and Sunday 27th November 2022

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)

  • 2021 Six Foot Track Marathon under 7:00

  • 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.

 

  • Any Ironman distance triathlon run leg (42.2km) under 5:00

 

  • An ITRA ranking greater than 407 : Must include an ITRA defined race distance of 30km or greater with a rank of more than 407 and run within the time period of 13th March 2021 to 27th November 2022, more details on ITRA below.

 

  • NSW

    • April 2021

      • Mount Solitary Ultra 45km under 9:00 [website]

      • Jabulani Challenge 45km under 7:45 [​website]

    • May 2021

      • UTA  events [website]​

        • 50km under 9:00​

        • 100km under 21:00

    • June 2021

      • The Glow Worm Tunnel Marathon 42.2km under 6:00 [website]

    • November 2021

      • Great North Walk events [website]

        • 50km under 9:00​

        • 50 mile under 18:00

        • 100km under 22:00

        • 100 mile under 36:00

      • Beach to Brother Marathon 42.2km under 6:15 [website]​

    • December 2021​

      • Coastal Classic 30km under 4:20 [website]​

      • Narrabeen All Nighter events (team/relay results not accepted) [website]

        • 42km under 4:20

        • 50km under 5:15​

        • 100km under 11:00

    • March 2022

      • Washpool Heritage Trail 50km under 7:35 [website]

    • June 2022

      • The Glow Worm Tunnel Marathon 42.2km under 7:00 [website]

    • July 2022​​

      • Westlink M7 Marathon 42.2km under 4:20 [website]

    • August 2022

      • Jabulani Challenge 45km under 7:45 [​website]

      • Lithgow Ridgy-Didge [website]

        • 30km under 5:00​

        • 42km under 7:00

      • Glenbrook Trail events [website]

        • 34km under 4:15​

        • 42km under 5:15

    • September 2022

      • Coastal Classic 28km under 3:50 [website]​

      • Great North Walk events [website]

        • 50km under 9:00​

        • 50 mile under 18:00

        • 100km under 22:00

        • 100 mile under 36:00

      • ​Sydney Marathon 42.2km under 4:20 [website]

    • October 2022

      • Beach to Brother Marathon 42.2km under 6:15 [website]​

      • UTA  events [website]​

        • 50km under 8:35

        • 100km under 19:00

    • November 2022

      • Carcoar Cup Marathon 42.2km under 5:00 [website]​

  • ACT

    • April 2021

      • Canberra Marathon Festival events [website]

        • 42.2km under 4:20

        • 50km under 5:15

    • June 2021

      • Kowen Trail Run Marathon 42.2km under 6:30 [website]

    • March 2022​

      • Stromlo Running Festival events [website]

        • 30km under 3:50​

        • 50km under 6:30

    • April 2022

      • Canberra Marathon 42.2km under 4:20 [website]

    • June 2022

      • Kowen Trail Run Marathon 42.2km under 6:30 [website]

    • November 2022​

      • Stromlo Running Festival events [website]

        • 30km under 3:50​

        • 50km under 6:30

  • Queensland

    • April 2021

      • Wildhorse Criterium events [website]

        • 33km under 4:00​

        • 55km under 7:00

      • D'Aguilar Two 'Ups' Marathon 42.2km under 8:00 [website]

    • June 2021

      • Brisbane Marathon 42.2km under 4:20 [website]

      • Wildhorse at Night 50km under 7:00 [website]​

    • September 2021

      • Coastal High 50km under 9:00 [website]

    • October 2021

      • Blackall 100 events [website]

        • 50km under 8:00​

        • 100km under 21:00

    • December 2021

    • April 2022

      • Wildhorse events [website]

        • 30km under 4:00​

        • 50km under 7:00

      • D'Aguilar Two 'Ups' Marathon 42.2km under 8:00 [website]

    • June 2022

      • Brisbane Marathon 42.2km under 4:20 [website]

    • July 2022​

      • Gold Coast Marathon 42.2km under 4:20 [website]​

    • August 2022

      • Rainbow Beach Trail Run 43km under 5:45 [website]

    • September 2022

      • Coastal High 50km under 9:00 [website]

    • October 2022

      • Blackall 100 events [website]

        • 50km under 8:00​

        • 100km under 21:00

  • South Australia

    • May 2021

      • Barossa Marathon 42.2km under 4:20 [website]

    • August 2021

      • Adelaide Marathon 42.2km under 4:20 [website]

    • September 2021

      • Yurrebilla Trail 56km under 9:00 [website]

    • May 2022​

      • Barossa Marathon 42.2km under 4:20 [website]

    • August 2022

      • Adelaide Marathon 42.2km under 4:20 [website]​

    • September 2022

      • Yurrebilla Trail 56km under 9:00 [website]

  • Victoria

    • January 2021

      • Two Bays Trail events [website]

        • 28km under 3:25​

        • 56km under 7:30

    • April 2021

      • Buffalo Stampede 42km under 9:20 [website]

    • November 2021

      • Rollercoaster Run 46km under 6:30 [website]

    • December 2021

      • Melbourne Marathon 42.2km under 4:20 [website]

    • January 2022

      • Two Bays Trail events [website]

        • 28km under 3:25​

        • 56km under 7:30

    • April 2022

      • Buffalo Stampede 42km under 9:20 [website]

    • August 2022 

      • Wonderland 36km under 5:20 [website]

    • October 2022

      • Melbourne Marathon 42.2km under 4:20 [website]

      • Rollercoaster Run 46km under 6:30 [website]

  • Tasmania

    • April 2021

      • Easter Marathon 42.2km under 4:20 [website]​

    • January 2022

      • Hobart Marathon 42.2km under 4:20 [website]

  • Western Australia

    • October 2021

      • Perth Marathon 42.2km under 4:20 (relay results not accepted) [website]

    • December 2021

      • Six Inch Trail 46km under 6:00 [website]

    • October 2022

      • Perth Marathon 42.2km under 4:20 (relay results not accepted) [website]

  • Overseas 

    •  January 2022

      • Kepler Challenge (60km) under 10:30 [website]

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.

We will not accept any results from any events not covered by the above criteria without prior approval.

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

We have two key requirements for any potential future qualifying event
 

  1. 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
     

  2. 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.

ITRA details - Please read through this in detail as last year a number of entrants used an incorrect ITRA rank

  • 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.

  • To see your ITRA rank/s you need to do the following steps

    • As a runner you can login (or register first) and access your profile from the ITRA Home Page

    • 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

    • To view your rank for each individual event you need to select the results option from your profile page

    • 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

  • To qualify for Six Foot entry using ITRA you must have:

    • Completed an ITRA listed event with a distance of 30km or longer during the period 13th March 2021 to 27th November 2022, AND

    • Achieved an athlete rank greater than 407 for that specific event

    • 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.

 

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.

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.

  • 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.

  • As a guide the approximate wave cut off times for 2021 were as below. These could change for 2023 depending upon the qualifying times entrants use but are a good guideline

    • Wave 1 - 4:18

    • Wave 2 - 5:10

    • Wave 3 - 5:42

    • Wave 4 - 6:10

 

Additional notes
  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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. 

  • 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.

  • 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. 

  • 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.

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