The Six Foot Track Marathon is a 45 km annual foot race along the Six Foot Track, a historical trail between Katoomba and the Jenolan Caves[1] and is described as "the toughest marathon in Australia".[2] The ultramarathon was founded in 1984 to mark the centenary of the track, and raises funds for the Rural Fire Service & Six Foot Track Heritage Trust.[3] The women's race record of 3:34:50 is held by Hanny Allston and the men's record of 3:14:14 is held by Stuart Gibson.[4] [5] [6]
It is held in March and runners must be prepared to tackle temperatures of over 30 degrees, river crossings and extreme changes in elevation in addition to the normal challenges of a marathon.
The Six Foot Track descends from Nellies Glen into Megalong Valley before crossing Coxs River and ascending Black Ridge. It continues along the range for ~15 km before sharply descending to Jenolan. It gains 1528m over the course of the race with a maximum elevation of 1200m at Black Range and minimum of 400m at the Coxs River crossing.[7]