START GROUPS - 100KM
WHY CHOOSE A REALISTIC START GROUP?
At the 4.7km mark of the 100km course, the route goes into single trail and remains on narrow single trail for the following 5.5km. There is also a congestion point at Tarros Ladders at the 21km mark. The idea of the start groups is to seed everyone into a start group that suits their running speed and ability with the fastest runners going first and the slowest going last. This will give the best chance to spread the field out as quickly as possible. So it is essential to choose a realistic start group that suits your trail running ability and speed. There will be far less congestion on the single trail of the first leg of the race if everyone starts in a suitable group.
HOW TO CHOOSE A REALISTIC START GROUP
In the online entry you will be asked to list one previous individual running result with event name, distance, the year of the event, your overall placing (irrespective of age or gender divisions) and your finish time. You will then need to request to start in one of seven start groups. Base your choice of requested start group on your listed result.
THE START GROUP APPROVAL PROCESS
Race organisers will check your listed result, scrutinise your start group request based upon this previous result and will either approve your requested start group or re-allocate you to a lower start group. The scrutinising process will take into account your percentage position in the overall field, your percentage time behind the winner and the speed of the winner. It is hoped that changes don't need to be made to your requested start group when scrutinising however any changes that are made will be final. Please understand that the only way this system can work successfully is by basing start groups on past results. At the end of the day you could still start in group 6 and finish in under 14 hours if you really are that fast. The scrutinising process is as automated as possible so if you do have a past result from the 'Event Name' menu (see information below), the scrutinising system will not place you any higher than your 'Ideal Start Group' as indicated by your best result within the Results Spreadsheet.
YOU WANT TO BE IN THE SAME START GROUP AS YOUR FRIENDS
If you wish to start in the same start group as your friends, you should all request the same start group which suits the slowest friend’s previous result otherwise you may end up being placed into different start groups.
LISTING PAST RESULTS
There will be two options for listing your past result in your online entry:
CREATE TABLE BELOW
Start Group, Start Time, Expected Race Time, Expected Position in Field, Number of runners in start group (based on 1300 starters).
Start Group 1 6:20am 9hrs15min to 13hrs30min Top 15% 195
Start Group 2 6:25am 13hrs30min to 15hrs10min 15% to 30% 195
Start Group 3 6:33am 15hrs10min to 16hrs40min 30% to 42% 156
Start Group 4 6:41am 16hrs40min to 17hrs55min 42% to 54% 156
Start Group 5 6:49am 54% to 66% 156
Start Group 6 6:57am 17hrs55min to 19hrs35min 66% to 83% 221
Start Group 7 7:05am 19hrs35min to 28hrs 83% to 100% 221
YOU HAVE NO PAST RESULTS
If you have never completed any relevant running event before, you should choose to start in the last start group. From the ‘Event Name’ menu you should choose ‘I am choosing the last start group as I do not have any relevant results’. Then select Start Group 7 as your 'Start Group Request'. If you are planing on running in a relevant event prior to April 5 you should choose ‘I have not run any relevant events yet but planning to prior to 5 April’. Then, at a later date and prior to 5 April, return to your entry via the ‘User Profile’ button to input your result and request a suitable start group.
AMENDING YOUR PAST RESULT AND START GROUP REQUEST ONLINE
You may amend your start group request and past result online by logging back into your entry via the ‘User Profile’ button at any time up until 11:59pm 4th April 2016. You will not be able to amend your start group request or past result after this date. The approval process will be worked upon from early April and will be completed by 21st April.
START GROUPS ON RACE DAY
YOU MUST START IN YOUR APPROVED START GROUP ON RACE DAY AS SHOWN ON YOUR RACE NUMBER. Your race time will be calculated based upon your approved start group. The timing system will automatically disqualify anyone not starting in their correct group. This will only be adjusted if you are late to your start. The disqualification will not be adjusted if you start in an earlier start group than your approved one.
Your final allocated start group will be shown after 21st April in the Runner List.
WHY CHOOSE A REALISTIC START GROUP?
At the 4.7km mark of the 100km course, the route goes into single trail and remains on narrow single trail for the following 5.5km. There is also a congestion point at Tarros Ladders at the 21km mark. The idea of the start groups is to seed everyone into a start group that suits their running speed and ability with the fastest runners going first and the slowest going last. This will give the best chance to spread the field out as quickly as possible. So it is essential to choose a realistic start group that suits your trail running ability and speed. There will be far less congestion on the single trail of the first leg of the race if everyone starts in a suitable group.
HOW TO CHOOSE A REALISTIC START GROUP
In the online entry you will be asked to list one previous individual running result with event name, distance, the year of the event, your overall placing (irrespective of age or gender divisions) and your finish time. You will then need to request to start in one of seven start groups. Base your choice of requested start group on your listed result.
THE START GROUP APPROVAL PROCESS
Race organisers will check your listed result, scrutinise your start group request based upon this previous result and will either approve your requested start group or re-allocate you to a lower start group. The scrutinising process will take into account your percentage position in the overall field, your percentage time behind the winner and the speed of the winner. It is hoped that changes don't need to be made to your requested start group when scrutinising however any changes that are made will be final. Please understand that the only way this system can work successfully is by basing start groups on past results. At the end of the day you could still start in group 6 and finish in under 14 hours if you really are that fast. The scrutinising process is as automated as possible so if you do have a past result from the 'Event Name' menu (see information below), the scrutinising system will not place you any higher than your 'Ideal Start Group' as indicated by your best result within the Results Spreadsheet.
YOU WANT TO BE IN THE SAME START GROUP AS YOUR FRIENDS
If you wish to start in the same start group as your friends, you should all request the same start group which suits the slowest friend’s previous result otherwise you may end up being placed into different start groups.
LISTING PAST RESULTS
There will be two options for listing your past result in your online entry:
- You have completed at least one of the events listed on the ‘Event Name’ menu in the online entry form. This list includes many Australian trail ultra marathons including The North Face 100 and 50 / Ultra-Trail Australia. The list also includes any Ultra-Trail World Tour event results. If you have completed more than one of the listed events, choose only your best result -assuming you still have the same fitness level. Work out your best result by using the Results Spreadsheet. This spreadsheet will allow you to confirm any result from the past three years in any of the listed events and based upon your result, will indicate your ‘Ideal Start Group’ in Ultra-Trail Australia 100. Use the provided ‘Ideal Start Group’ for your ‘Start Group Request’ in the online entry form. You must use results from the past two years if you have them. You may only use results prior to 2014 if you have nothing more recent. Note that results prior to 2014 may not be taken into consideration in the start group approval process.
- You have not completed any of the events listed on the ‘Event Name’ menu in the online entry form but have completed other relevant events preferably within the last two years. You should choose ‘other’ from the ‘Event Name’ menu in the online entry form and then list one result from a relevant event such as a hilly, individual trail run, preferably over 25km with a field of at least 150 solo competitors. Note you must provide a working URL which links directly to your result for this result to be taken into account for the start group approval process. You may list a standard on road marathon or Ironman Triathlon marathon run leg but you should only list those if you have completed no suitable trail running events. For road marathons and Ironman run legs you should refer to the ‘Results Spreadsheet’ with your race time as it will indicate your ideal Start Group in Ultra-Trail Australia 100. Also note the following types of events should not be listed: Relay events, team trailwalker type events, multi-day stage races, fixed time events (ie 6 hour, 12 hour or 24 hour events), triathlons, adventure races, obstacle races. To help you decide how your ‘other’ result might approximately relate to a start group in Ultra-Trail Australia 100, refer to the table below. Note that factors such as race distance, your percentage time behind the winner and the speed of the winner in that event compared to the speed of the winner in the North Face 100 / Ultra-Trail Australia are taken into account in the scrutinising process. Please note that this is a hard run on many steep, uneven walking trails with around 4200m of elevation gain and a course record of 8hrs50min. It is almost impossible to estimate a possible finish time if you are not used to running in the type of terrain found in the Blue Mountains. If prior to April 5, you don’t have a relevant result, you may be moved to Start Group 7.
CREATE TABLE BELOW
Start Group, Start Time, Expected Race Time, Expected Position in Field, Number of runners in start group (based on 1300 starters).
Start Group 1 6:20am 9hrs15min to 13hrs30min Top 15% 195
Start Group 2 6:25am 13hrs30min to 15hrs10min 15% to 30% 195
Start Group 3 6:33am 15hrs10min to 16hrs40min 30% to 42% 156
Start Group 4 6:41am 16hrs40min to 17hrs55min 42% to 54% 156
Start Group 5 6:49am 54% to 66% 156
Start Group 6 6:57am 17hrs55min to 19hrs35min 66% to 83% 221
Start Group 7 7:05am 19hrs35min to 28hrs 83% to 100% 221
YOU HAVE NO PAST RESULTS
If you have never completed any relevant running event before, you should choose to start in the last start group. From the ‘Event Name’ menu you should choose ‘I am choosing the last start group as I do not have any relevant results’. Then select Start Group 7 as your 'Start Group Request'. If you are planing on running in a relevant event prior to April 5 you should choose ‘I have not run any relevant events yet but planning to prior to 5 April’. Then, at a later date and prior to 5 April, return to your entry via the ‘User Profile’ button to input your result and request a suitable start group.
AMENDING YOUR PAST RESULT AND START GROUP REQUEST ONLINE
You may amend your start group request and past result online by logging back into your entry via the ‘User Profile’ button at any time up until 11:59pm 4th April 2016. You will not be able to amend your start group request or past result after this date. The approval process will be worked upon from early April and will be completed by 21st April.
START GROUPS ON RACE DAY
YOU MUST START IN YOUR APPROVED START GROUP ON RACE DAY AS SHOWN ON YOUR RACE NUMBER. Your race time will be calculated based upon your approved start group. The timing system will automatically disqualify anyone not starting in their correct group. This will only be adjusted if you are late to your start. The disqualification will not be adjusted if you start in an earlier start group than your approved one.
Your final allocated start group will be shown after 21st April in the Runner List.