Event update and race details

We wanted to provide you with an update on progress for this week’s Ultra-Trail Australia by UTMB.

Firstly, revised courses for each distance were finalised and circulated to our stakeholders last week and we are waiting on final approval. While we have a great relationship with our stakeholders and the process is moving as fast as possible, we are not able to release the courses until we have every last tick.

In the meantime, we have taken on board all of your feedback over the weekend and wanted to provide you with some clarification and information that we hope will help you prepare for your race day.

Courses

• As previously mentioned, the courses will be different so that we can continue to prioritise safety and reduce the likely impact of runners using already delicate trails.
• Despite what you may have seen or heard, all races will be the advertised distance.
• The courses will have more road/hard surfaces as we are not able to have two-way traffic on some of the narrower single tracks, and because we have less trails available to use – this is the likely terrain percentages for each distance:
• UTA11 - 25% road, 5% single track, 70% dirt road
• UTA22 - 42% road, 58% single track
• UTA50 - 38% road, 44% single track, 18% dirt road
• UTA100 - 15% road, 23% single track, 62% dirt road

Checkpoints and support crew access

• UTA100 course will have five checkpoints (approx. 17km, 31km, 58km, 78km and 87km). Support crew will be able to assist at Checkpoint 5 (at 87km) and so runners should plan to have drop bags which will be made available at Checkpoints 3 and 4 as well as the finish line.
• UTA50 course will have three checkpoints (approx. 17km, 29km and 38km) and as always there will be no support crew access at these checkpoints. The drop bag service will still be available at the finish line.
• Support crews can run alongside their runners at any point on the course outside of the checkpoints where it is safe to do so. but as per the race rules, no aid can be provided outside of checkpoints.

Timings

• UTA11 will now start at 12pm on Thursday
• Cut-off times will be amended to match the change in courses. Our course team are still working through these details.

Gear

• Mandatory gear for all distances remains the same as per previous communication
• While the courses will feature more road/hard-packed surfaces, we would still recommend trail shoes as the tracks may be muddy

Start and finish line and event hub for all distances

• The start and finish line area has moved to the KCC Oval. This will be the event hub, with a dedicated spectator area, food trucks and more - all available at no cost.
• With the change of finish line location, Scenic World has created their own separate spectator venue, to be managed by Scenic World.

Volunteers

• We’ve asked a lot of you over the past weeks, mostly for your patience, but the fact remains that we're going to need the full support of the trail community to help fill our volunteer roles across the week and ensure the success of the event. There are many opportunities for you to get involved, and every vollie gets priority registration for UTA 2023 – you can join up here.

Finally, while we know it’s not been the ideal run into the event, you’re about to spend time in one of the most beautiful places in the world and hang out with some of the nicest people going around... in the end, those are the things that makes UTA truly special.

Look forward to seeing you all soon.
The Ultra-Trail Australia Team