Compiled and fact-checked by Tommo, Verus founder · Last verified August 2026 · Spot an error?
Running · Ultra Marathons
Six Foot Track Marathon 2027
- Race day
- Saturday, 13 March 2027
- Location
- Katoomba to Jenolan, New South Wales
- Distance
- 27.96 mi / 45.0 km
Six Foot Track Marathon: 13 March 2027. 45km across the Blue Mountains, a 7-hour cut-off and a qualifying time to enter. Course, climbs and entry.
Six Foot Track Marathon Race Timeline
184 days to go
More than 126 days out — a good window to build a consistent base before ultra-specific training ramps up.
Six Foot Track Marathon 2027: quick answers
When is Six Foot Track Marathon 2027?
Six Foot Track Marathon 2027 takes place on Saturday, 13 March 2027.
Where does Six Foot Track Marathon start and finish?
Six Foot Track Marathon starts at The Explorers Marked Tree, Nellie's Glen Road, Katoomba — the start line itself sits 235m along, at 1,050m altitude and finishes at Binda Bush Cabins, Jenolan Caves Road.
How many miles is Six Foot Track Marathon?
Six Foot Track Marathon is 27.96 miles (45km).
How much does Six Foot Track Marathon cost to enter?
Entry requires a qualifying time. Every competitor must have achieved a comparative time at a listed event equating to a sub-7:00 Six Foot Track, and the qualification criteria were revised for 2027 — check the current list before assuming an old result still counts.
How can I track a runner at Six Foot Track Marathon?
Live results run on the event’s own site through race day.
Key Race Metrics & Overview
- Date
- Saturday, 13 March 2027
- Distance
- 27.96 miles / 45.0km
- Location
- Katoomba to Jenolan, New South Wales
- Start Point
- The Explorers Marked Tree, Nellie's Glen Road, Katoomba — the start line itself sits 235m along, at 1,050m altitude
- Finish Point
- Binda Bush Cabins, Jenolan Caves Road
- Surface
- Narrow rocky track, meadow, sandy gravel, dirt fire trail and several river crossings — 100% off-road
- Cut-off time
- Seven hours, and it means something here. Finish inside it and you get a medal and the finish counts towards your lifetime tally; finish outside it and you are not an official finisher. Race sweepers at the back of the field may ask a runner to withdraw at an aid station if they judge the cut-off unreachable, so the volunteer stations can be packed down on time.
- Tracking app
- Live results run on the event’s own site through race day.
Not published by the organiser at the time of writing: start time, age requirement. Verus records these as unconfirmed rather than estimating them — check the official race website closer to race day.
Direct Entry Summary
Entry requires a qualifying time. Every competitor must have achieved a comparative time at a listed event equating to a sub-7:00 Six Foot Track, and the qualification criteria were revised for 2027 — check the current list before assuming an old result still counts.
Ballot Policy
Not a ballot but not open either: this is one of very few Australian races with a genuine qualifying standard. The 2027 criteria are new, and the organiser publishes a step-by-step entry guide because the process is not a simple checkout.
Six Foot Track Marathon Race Day Weather
A real forecast appears here once one exists for race day — usually about a week to ten days out. Nothing is shown until then, because a made-up forecast is worse than none.
Six Foot Track Marathon Route Map & Elevation Profile
Starting at The Explorers Marked Tree, Nellie's Glen Road, Katoomba — the start line itself sits 235m along, at 1,050m altitude and finishing at Binda Bush Cabins, Jenolan Caves Road. Total elevation gain is not published for this event, and Verus does not estimate one.
Is Six Foot Track Marathon flat?
No — and the profile is unusual even by trail standards, because it is essentially one enormous descent followed by one enormous climb. The course loses 780m in the first 15.5km, from 1,050m at the start to 270m at the Coxs River, and then regains almost all of it: 740m at Mini Mini Saddle, a drop back to 550m at halfway, and then a sustained climb to 990m at the Pluviometer and 1,195m at Black Range. The Pluviometer climb, from 22.5km to 26km, is where the race is decided. The organiser does not publish a total gain figure and neither does Verus.
Six Foot Track Marathon Course Profile
Elevation change not published for this event.
Tap a point on the course for details.
The Explorers Marked Tree, Nellie's Glen Road, Katoomba — the start line itself sits 235m along, at 1,050m altitude
Start line.
Mini Mini Saddle
+1542ft (470m) — From the Coxs River at 270m to the top of the saddle at 740m, between 15.5km and 20km.
The Pluviometer
+1444ft (440m) — From the creek crossing at 550m at halfway to 990m at 26km. This is the climb the race is known for.
Black Range
+673ft (205m) — The last sustained pull, to 1,195m at the Black Range Campground by 34.7km.
Where Six Foot Track Marathon starts and finishes
Six Foot Track Marathon starts at The Explorers Marked Tree, Nellie's Glen Road, Katoomba — the start line itself sits 235m along, at 1,050m altitude and finishes at Binda Bush Cabins, Jenolan Caves Road. We haven't been able to place those on a map accurately enough to show one — a pin in the wrong place is worse than no pin.
These are the start and finish points, not the route. Verus doesn't hold course files for this race, and drawing a line between two pins would be a guess you might end up training on. The official course map is the one to use: view it on the organiser's site .
Full Six Foot Track Marathon Route Breakdown
Forty-five kilometres along the whole of the Six Foot Track, from the Explorers Marked Tree near Katoomba to Jenolan, following a route first cut in the days of the earliest European explorers of the area. The surface changes constantly: narrow rocky track down through Nellies Glen at the start, then meadow and sandy gravel through the Megalong Valley, then dirt fire trail, with several river crossings including the Coxs River at 15.5km. The organiser publishes the altitude at every measured point, which tells the story better than any total would — 1,050m at the start, down to 725m at the bottom of Nellies Glen by 1.7km, 570m at the Megalong Valley cattle grid, 270m at the Coxs River, back up to 740m on Mini Mini Saddle at 20km, down to 550m at the creek crossing at halfway, then the long haul to the Pluviometer at 990m by 26km and on to 1,195m at Black Range Campground by 34.7km.
Six Foot Track Marathon Pace Calculator & Splits
Six Foot Track Marathon Pace Calculator
Enter a target finish time to see your pace and projected splits.
Average pace / mile
8:35
Average pace / km
5:20
Six Foot Track Marathon Pace Chart
Split markers calculated for standard checkpoints — no official pacers are confirmed for this event.
| Target | Pace /mi | Pace /km | 5K | 10K | Half Marathon | 30K | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3:00 | 6:26 | 4:00 | 20:00 | 40:00 | 1:24:24 | 2:00:00 | 3:00:00 |
| 3:15 | 6:58 | 4:20 | 21:40 | 43:20 | 1:31:26 | 2:10:00 | 3:15:00 |
| 3:30 | 7:31 | 4:40 | 23:20 | 46:40 | 1:38:28 | 2:20:01 | 3:30:00 |
| 3:45 | 8:03 | 5:00 | 25:00 | 50:00 | 1:45:30 | 2:30:01 | 3:45:00 |
| 4:00 | 8:35 | 5:20 | 26:40 | 53:20 | 1:52:32 | 2:40:01 | 4:00:00 |
| 4:15 | 9:07 | 5:40 | 28:20 | 56:40 | 1:59:34 | 2:50:01 | 4:15:00 |
| 4:30 | 9:39 | 6:00 | 30:00 | 1:00:00 | 2:06:36 | 3:00:01 | 4:30:00 |
| 4:45 | 10:12 | 6:20 | 31:40 | 1:03:20 | 2:13:38 | 3:10:01 | 4:45:00 |
| 5:00 | 10:44 | 6:40 | 33:20 | 1:06:40 | 2:20:40 | 3:20:01 | 5:00:00 |
| 5:30 | 11:48 | 7:20 | 36:40 | 1:13:20 | 2:34:43 | 3:40:01 | 5:30:00 |
| 6:00 | 12:53 | 8:00 | 40:00 | 1:20:00 | 2:48:47 | 4:00:01 | 6:00:00 |
| 6:30 | 13:57 | 8:40 | 43:20 | 1:26:40 | 3:02:51 | 4:20:01 | 6:30:00 |
| 7:00 | 15:01 | 9:20 | 46:40 | 1:33:20 | 3:16:55 | 4:40:01 | 7:00:00 |
Six Foot Track Marathon Finish Time Estimator
Enter a recent 5K, 10K or Half Marathon time to estimate your Six Foot Track Marathon finish time.
Your 5K time
Estimated Six Foot Track Marathon finish
4:16:41
An estimate only, based on Pete Riegel's race-time prediction formula. Real marathon performance depends on endurance, training specificity, pacing and race-day conditions — not just your speed over a shorter distance.
Training for a different distance? Try the full pace calculator, race time predictor or pace chart.
Got your target time? Save it to your profile.
Tag Six Foot Track Marathon, set your goal pace, and let Verus track your countdown, training and fundraising in one place.
Start Your Verus JourneySix Foot Track Marathon Race Day Checklist
Tap items to mark off your race-day readiness.
- A qualifying time achieved at a listed event, checked against the revised 2027 criteria rather than an old list
- Shoes you are happy to soak — the Coxs River is crossed, not bridged
- A pacing plan that treats the first 15km of descent as the trap it is, because the climbing all comes afterwards
- Enough between aid stations for the Pluviometer climb, which is long and exposed
- Transport arranged: this is point to point, and the finish is a long way from the start
- A realistic view of the 7:00 cut-off, since the sweepers will withdraw you at an aid station if you cannot make it
Training Strategy for Six Foot Track Marathon
20-24 weeks is the realistic window for a first 27.96-mile ultra, assuming you already have a marathon's worth of base behind you. The block that matters is back-to-back long weekends — a long run on Saturday followed by a second, slower one on Sunday — which builds time on feet and teaches you to run on tired legs without the recovery cost of one enormous day. Practise your race-day nutrition on every one of them; at this distance the stomach fails before the legs do.
This course has real climbs — mini mini saddle around mile 12.4, the pluviometer around mile 16.2, black range around mile 21.6 — so include some hill-repeat sessions midweek rather than relying only on flat long runs.
Drop volume hard across the final three to four weeks — further out and steeper than a marathon taper, because a 30-mile training day costs weeks of recovery, not days. Keep some easy running and a little terrain-specific work in, but the goal is to reach The Explorers Marked Tree, Nellie's Glen Road, Katoomba — the start line itself sits 235m along, at 1,050m altitude with fresh feet and a rested gut rather than one more long run in the bank.
Lock in your target pace using the interactive splits calculator below — no official pacers are confirmed for this event, so a pace band on your watch is the more reliable option.
Test your race-day fuel and hydration plan on your long training runs, not for the first time on race day — check the Race Day Checklist below for what's actually on this course.
27.96-Mile Ultra Nutrition & Fueling Plan
A deliberate increase in carbohydrate over the two to three days before the race is the sensible approach at this distance.
Eat a carbohydrate-focused breakfast two to three hours before the start, and stick to something you've already tested in training rather than trying anything new.
Aid stations are crewed by Rural Fire Service volunteers and their positions are published. Plan around the long gap through the Pluviometer climb rather than assuming a station will appear.
An hour or so is the rough window for carbohydrate and protein to do the most for recovery.
Six Foot Track Marathon Charity Places 2027
No charity-place scheme — the whole event is the charity. It is run not-for-profit and every dollar of profit goes to the Blue Mountains Rural Fire Service.
Lead with your personal story — explain why the charity matters to you. Personal connection generates 3x more support than a generic link broadcast.
Share key training milestones on Instagram (first 10-miler, peak week, race week) with your fundraising link in bio. Publicly thanking donors prompts secondary gifts!
Running Six Foot Track Marathon for charity?
Link your JustGiving page to Verus and show up right here alongside other Six Foot Track Marathon fundraisers — goal, progress and story, all in one place.
Add Your Fundraiser to VerusWhere to Stay for Six Foot Track Marathon
Katoomba
Walk to the start, on the train line from Sydney, and everything a visitor needs.
You finish an hour away by road, so the return has to be planned.
Blackheath and Leura
Quieter, cheaper, still on the train line and only minutes from Katoomba.
An extra journey at the start of a very early morning.
Travel & Logistics
Katoomba is about two hours from Sydney Central on the Blue Mountains line, and the start is a short distance from the town. The finish at Jenolan has no rail at all.
The event runs shuttle buses and publishes its own parking arrangements — essential on a point-to-point course where the two ends are an hour apart by road.
The course is entirely off-road, but access to Jenolan is restricted and the Jenolan Caves Road remains closed by landslips, which is why the finish moved.
Spectator & Cheer Guide
The start at Nellies Glen and the finish at Binda Bush. The middle of the course is inside the Blue Mountains national park and largely unreachable.
Practically, spectators pick one end. The event publishes its own spectator information because getting between the two is not straightforward.
Live results run on the event’s own site through race day.
Six Foot Track Marathon Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know for race weekend.
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Race details independently compiled and fact-checked by Tommo against the official Six Foot Track Marathon site , last verified August 2026. Always confirm official timings and policies directly prior to race day.