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Qualification criteria for 2025 Race

To enter the 2025 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 1st July 2023 and Sunday 24th November 2024

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)

  • 2024 Six Foot Track Marathon under 7:00

  • Any standard 42.2km marathon under 4:20. Here are some of the key Australian Marathons for easy reference. The list below 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 or UTMB race rank greater than 407 : Must be an ITRA or UTMB ranked race with a race distance of 30km or greater with a race rank of more than 407 and run within the time period of 1st July 2023 to 17th November 2024, more details on ITRA/UTMB below.

 

  • NSW​​​​​​​

    • July 2023​​

      • Raffertys Coastal Run 36km under 4:55 [website]

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

    • August 2023

      • Rumble in the Jungle [website]

        • 30km under 3:35​

        • 50km under 7:55

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

      • Lithgow Ridgy-Didge [website]

        • 30km under 4:50​

        • 42km under 7:10

        • 50km under 8:50

      • Glenbrook Trail events [website]

        • 34km under 4:15​

        • 42km under 5:15

    • September 2023

      • Coastal Classic 30km under 3:50 [website]​

      • Great North Walk events [website]

        • 30km under 4:10

        • 50km under 9:00​

        • 50 mile under 15:35

        • 100km under 21:00

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

    • October 2023

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

      • Lonely Mountain Ultra events [website]

        • ​32km under 4:35

        • 50km under 7:55

        • 50 mile under 14:30

        • 104km under 19:25

      • Bondi to Manly 80km under 12:20 [website]

    • December 2023

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

        • 42km under 4:20

        • 50km under 5:15​

        • 100km under 11:00

    • February 2024

      • Raffertys Coastal Run 36km under 4:55 [website]

    • March 2024

      • Washpool Heritage Trail 50km under 7:40 [website]

      • Lithgow Ridgy-Didge [website]

        • 30km under 5:10

        • 42km under 7:10

        • 50km under 8:50

    • May 2024

      • UTA  events [website]​

        • 50km under 8:45

        • 100km under 19:50

    • June 2024

      • Glow Worm Tunnel [website]

        • 30km under 5:10

        • 42km under 7:40

    • July 202​4​

      • Raffertys Coastal Run 36km under 4:55 [website]

    • August 2024

      • Rumble in the Jungle [website]

        • 30km under 3:35​

        • 50km under 7:55

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

      • Glenbrook Trail events [website]

        • 34km under 4:15​

        • 42km under 5:15

    • September 2024

      • Coastal Classic 30km under 3:50 [website]​

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

      • Great North Walk events [website]

        • 30km under 4:10

        • 50km under 9:00​

    • October 2024

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

      • Lonely Mountain Ultra events [website]

        • ​32km under 4:35

        • 50km under 7:55

        • 50 mile under 14:30

        • 104km under 19:25

      • Bondi to Manly 80km under 12:20 [website]

    • November 2024

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

  • ACT​​​​

    • November 2023​

      • Stromlo Running Festival events [website]

        • 30km under 3:50​

        • 50km under 6:50

    • April 2024

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

    • June 2024

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

    • November 2024

      • Stromlo Running Festival events [website]

        • 30km under 3:50​

        • 42.2km under 6:35

  • Queensland​​​

    • July 2023

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

      • The Guzzler [website]

        • The Glass Half Full 50km under 9:00​

        • The Guzzler Ultra 100km under 21:00

    • August 2023

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

    • September 2023

      • Coastal High 50km under 8:40 [website]

    • October 2023

      • Blackall 100 events [website]

        • 50km under 8:20​

        • 100km under 18:40

    • December 2023

    • April 2024

      • Wildhorse events [website]

        • 32km under 4:00​

        • 53km under 7:00

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

    • June 2024

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

    • July 2024

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

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

      • The Guzzler [website]

        • The Glass Half Full 50km under 9:00​

        • The Guzzler Ultra 100km under 21:00

    • September 2024

      • Coastal High 50km under 8:40 [website]

    • October 2024

      • Blackall 100 events [website]

        • 50km under 8:20​

        • 100km under 18:40

  • South Australia

    • August 2023

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

    • September 2023

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

    • May 2024

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

    • August 2024

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

    • September 2024

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

  • Victoria​​

    • August 2023 

      • Wonderland 36km under 5:20 [website]

    • October 2023

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

      • Rollercoaster Run 46km under 7:20 [website]

    • January 2024

      • Two Bays Trail events [website]

        • 28km under 3:25​

        • 56km under 7:30

    • April 2024

      • Buffalo Stampede 42km under 7:05 [website]

    • August 2024 

      • Wonderland 36km under 5:20 [website]

    • October 2024

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

      • Rollercoaster Run 46km under 7:20 [website]

  • Tasmania​​

    • January 2024

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

  • Western Australia​​

    • October 2023

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

    • December 2023

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

    • October 2024

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

  • Overseas 

    • December 2023

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

    • June 2024

      • Comrades (90km) within cutoff (12 hours) [website]

Other qualifying events?

The above list (especially if you consider that any standard marathon from around the world and any ITRA or UTMB rated 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, i.e. contact us via email before entries open for special review and 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 and UTMB rank - Please read through this in detail if you plan to use either of these rank options to qualify. 

The International Trail Running Association (ITRA) and UTMB both have an extensive list of evaluated races both within Australia and around the world. They 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 runner's performance is then given a ranking based upon their time and the race points calculation.

To qualify for the Six Foot Track Marathon entry using ITRA or UTMB you must have:

Completed an ITRA/UTMB listed event with a distance of 30km or longer during the period 1st July 2023 to 17th November 2024, 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.

To view your rank, follow the respective steps below for each organisation.

ITRA Website - https://itra.run/

To see your ITRA rank you need to do the following steps:

  • You must be an ITRA member to view the details below (cost of 8 euro/year = roughly $13)

  • 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. We do not use this summary/average

  • 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 each event registered with ITRA which you can use to identify a valid qualifier run with the required race rank score.

 

UTMB Website - https://utmb.world/

 

To see your UTMB rank you need to do the following steps:

  • Login (or register first) and access your profile from the UTMB Home Page

  • Select the My Dashboard option once logged in

  • Then select To My Public Profile Link

  • This will then display all the races registered to you and you can see the UTMB score for each race in the last column.

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 can 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 races.

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 2024 were as below. These could change for 2025 depending upon the qualifying times entrants use but are a good guideline

    • Wave 1 - 4:38

    • Wave 2 - 5:24

    • Wave 3 - 5:47

    • Wave 4 - 6:07

    • Wave 5 - 6:26

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. 

  • As stated above, the entry criteria applies to all runners and 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 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 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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