Off-Road Racing
From CoolRunning Australia
Generations of Australians have developed a deep love of the bush, and many runners have followed this path too - We hope this helps!
This is restricted to events 10km or over that are 80% or more "offroad" ie must be on dirt/ grass/ sand/ gravel etc. (ie. not a sealed roadway).
The more points an event scores generally indicates the level of experience a runner would need to successfully complete the event (more points = more experience). However like most things, its an indicative guide and not able to be measured scientifically as each persons strengths and weaknesses and preferences vary.
Here's another link to races in Australia 20k+ off-road. The events listed will gradually be assimilated here.
Contents |
The Runs
| Race | Distance (Km) | State | Winners Time | No. Finishers | Date | Hardness Rating/10 | Route Rating/5 | Aid Rating/5 | Total | Comment |
| Great North Walk 100miles | 175 | NSW | 30:21 (2006) | 10 | 11 Nov 2006 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 20 | - |
| Great North Walk 100km | 100 | NSW | 14:11 (2006) | 9 | 11 Nov 2006 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 18 | - |
| Glasshouse 100 miles | 162 | QLD | 17:16 (2006) | 20 | 3 Sept 2006 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 14 | - |
| Bogong to Hotham | 64 | VIC | 7:01 (2006) | 20 | 7 Jan 2007 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 13 | See Note 2 |
| Cradle Mountain | 85 | TAS | 8:22 | 50 | February | 6 | 3 | 3 | 12 | - |
| Trailwalker Sydney | 100 | NSW | 15:17 | 358 teams | 26-27 August 2005 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 12 | See Note 4 |
| Trailwalker Melbourne | 100 | VIC | 12:39 | 407 teams | March-April 2006 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 12 | See Note 4 |
| Bogong-Hotham (first half) | 34 | VIC | 4:31 (2006) | 11 | 7 Jan 2007 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 11 | - |
| Maroondah Dam 50km | 52 | VIC | 4:20 | 32 | End February | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 | - |
| Warrumbungle Ultra | 50 | NSW | 4:19 | 13 | 31-Jul-05 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 | See Note 1 |
| Walhalla Woundup - 50k | 50 | VIC | 4:16:02 | 14 | April | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 | - |
| Maroondah Dam 30km | 31.8 | VIC | 2:32 | 66 | End February | 2 | 3 | 3 | 8 | - |
| Warrumbungle Marathon | 42 | NSW | ? | ? | 31-Jul-05 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 | See Note 1 |
| Walhalla Woundup - 37k | 37 | VIC | 2:50:12 | 7 | April | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 | - |
| Brindabella Classic | 54 | ACT | 4:19:02 | 15 | 23-Oct-05 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 | See Note 3 |
| Six Foot Track Marathon | 45 | NSW | 3:24 | 617 | 12-March-2005 2nd Sat each March | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 | - |
| Fitzroy Falls Fire Trail Marathon | 42.2 | NSW | 3:01:06 | 53 | 15-Oct-05 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | - |
| Bullshead Challenge | 26 | ACT | 1:33:58 | 22 | 23-Oct-05 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | See Note 3 |
| Walhalla Woundup - 19k | 19 | VIC | 1:24:22 | 32 | April | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | - |
| North Canberra Two Peaks | 26 | ACT | 1:45:34 | 38 | 5-Nov-05 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | - |
| Mt Wilson to Bilpin | 36 | NSW | 2:07:31 | 183 | 20 August 2005 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | - |
| Victorian Mountain Running Championships | 13 | VIC | 1:01 | 66 | May | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - |
| Woodford-Glenbrook | 25 | NSW | 1:21:24 | 118 | 26-Jun-05 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - |
| Bush Capital Bush Runs | 60; 42; 25; 16 | ACT | 4:29:58; 3:08:48; 1:37:45; 59:01 | ?170 | 30-Jul-05 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - |
| Athletics Victoria Cross Country | 4-16km | VIC | various | 400-600 per event | May-August | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - |
| Sutherland Half Marathon | 21.1 | NSW | 74:08:00 | 100 | 20-Aug-05 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - |
Notes
(1) The Warrumbungle race moved to July in 2004 from October in 2003 - assume it will stay in July in 2005.
(2) The full-length 64km Bogong to Hotham event has an incredibly tough 5hr 30min cutroff at the 34km mark, although from 2006 an early start option extends this to 6hr 45min. Even with the early start option, making the cutoff is still a tough ask.
(3) Due to bushfires, the past couple of races has not been run on the traditional downhill course from Mt Ginini to Cotter reserve. It's expected that the race will return to the original course in 2005.
(4) Trailwalker is a team event. Teams of 4 must finish together to record an official time.
(5) Where races are scored equally then the longer distance will be placed higher.
Hardness Rating
It makes sense to have a rating scale that is clearly based on length of run for the bulk of the field (fastest and slowest times are themselves not that meaningful), how hilly or not the route is, how rough it is etc. At the moment it is based on the average time for the bulk of the field to finish.
You can score an event as greater than the indication if for example there are excessive hills or its excessively rough. Ditto you might score it less if its a super-flat or otherwise easy event.
| Rating | Indication |
| 10 | The bulk of the field finishes more than 30 hours. |
| 9 | The bulk of the field finishes in 24 to 30 hours. |
| 8 | The bulk of the field finishes in 17 to 24 hours. |
| 7 | The bulk of the field finishes in 14 to 17 hours. |
| 6 | The bulk of the field finishes in 10 to 14 hours. |
| 5 | The bulk of the field finishes in 9 or 10 hours |
| 4 | The bulk of the field finishes in 7 or 8 hours. |
| 3 | The bulk of the field finishes in 5 or 6 hours. |
| 2 | The bulk of the field finishes in 3 or 4 hours. |
| 1 | The bulk of the field finishes in an hour or 2. |
Route Rating
It makes sense to have a rating of how easy it is to find the way - not all events make the same provisions !
| Rating | Indication |
| 5 | Route is not marked and/or has no marshalls and/or has no map or poor maps and its quite easy to get lost and many people do! |
| 4 | Route is not marked and/or has no marshalls and/or has no map or poor maps but its quite hard to get lost and most people don't. |
| 3 | Route is has average markings/ marshalls / map and/or can get lost but most people manage ok. |
| 2 | Route is generally hard to get lost on - either it has decent markings, marshalls or a decent map. |
| 1 | The route is easy to follow without a map or is well marked or has good numbers & positioning of marshalls. |
Aid Rating
Some people like events where everything is laid on for the runner and you need not carry anything. Other events are almost like survival treks requiring a lot more gear to be carried and better planning.
| Rating | Indication |
| 5 | No aid and/or must take own and/or difficult to supply en route eg no water, very dry or difficult to even arrange drop bags |
| 4 | No aid and/or must take own, or can get ample water or supplies en route eg BYO dropbags |
| 3 | Some aid - but need to supplement with own water, gels etc |
| 2 | Frequent aid but can supplement with own if runner has particular needs |
| 1 | Excellent & frequent aid - no need to carry any of your own |
