Changes to the course since 2021

Due to the closure of the main road to Jenolan Caves (5 Mile) for the foreseeable future due to landslips the race committee has made 2 changes to the course described below and the maps of the changes are on the maps page

• The official finish with be at the Jenolan Caves Cottages which the course goes past. This essentially removes the last 4km of the course previously used

• With the goal of retaining the same distance the committee has identified a 4km additional section to be added to the course. The start of this segment is at the end of Black Range where runners will now turn right and run a 4km section which is on existing runnable fire trails with a gradual descent and then climb before returning to the course at the Black Range Camp Ground

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The course

The Six Foot Track Marathon follows the exact same path as the walking track from The Explorer's Tree, Katoomba to Jenolan Caves. It is 45.0km. This is basically the same route as been followed since the days of the first European explorers to the area.

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The course varies from narrow, rocky track near the start in Nellies Glen, to meadows, sandy gravel track, and dirt fire-trail road - of course with a number of hills (big and small) and rivers (big and small). 

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The exact route of the race was accurately measured on 12 January 2003 as near as possible to the official race certification standards using mountain bike, GPSx2, Jones Counter, Altimeter, and map. The course measurer was Stephen Jackson, an official course measurer who has measured amongst other races, The 2000 Sydney Olympic Marathon and Triathlon.

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The course history

Over the years the route of the race has altered. The original course was measured by wheel, by Chris Stephenson and Helen Charters in one of the early years of the race. It measured 46.5km. In the second running of the event in 1985 the race was run in reverse, starting in Jenolan Caves and finishing at the explorers tree.

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There were minor amendments to the course in the years following in the Megalong Valley as land changed ownership as well as some of the latter sections due to changes in access along the logging roads.

There were two changes in 1989. The race start was moved from the traditional explorers tree, to the gate at the top of Nellies Glen and the route through Megalong Valley was changed to follow the fence line, which cut off some distance.

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The most significant course change occurred for the 2001 event when the 5km section from the end of the Black Range to the turn off at 5 mile ‘Binda Cabins', was removed to take advantage of the new section of firetrail (Deviation) that had opened some years previously. In doing so, it made the run 100% off-road and a lot safer for runners. This reduced the course distance to 45km however added 3-4 short, sharp uphills. The course records were left unchanged because it was estimated that the degree of difficulty / total time was similar.