We’ve had a few questions about accommodation – there are plenty of options, from hostels to hotels and motels and AirBNB.

If you are relying on public transport, find your accommodation at South Bank, the City, Milton, Bardon, Ashgrove, Paddington or The Gap, anywhere along the bus line that can take you to the Park N Ride at the end of The Gap (you can indicate on your form that you are looking for a lift from there). Here you can plan your journey.

If you have your own wheels you can book anywhere, but check how far it is from The Gap or Bellbird Grove. Mount Nebo and Mount Glorious are very nice to stay too, which is beyond Bellbird Grove (about 15 – 25 minutes).

If you get stuck for accommodation, email events@traq.org.au, and we’ll see if we can help out.

You need to nominate yourself so that the selection panel know that you will be in a position to travel as part of the Australian Mountain Running Team to and from Argentina (minimum of 11 – 12 days away from 9 November – 19 / 20 November 2019) and compete in the World Mountain Running Championships.  Your nomination needs to be submitted before the Australian Mountain Running Championships, so before the 15th of September 2019. Apart from the Junior and Senior divisions, there are no age categories selected. 

In order to nominate, you need to complete the nomination form which includes your verifiable performances – mainly over the past 12 months. This form can be used to express your interest for the short / ‘classic’ distance of 14km for the seniors or 6.6km for the Juniors. Please note that to compete in the Junior division you need to be aged between 16 and 19 on the 31st December 2019. The form can also be used to nominate for the part of the team that competes in the World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships, which will be held on the 16th of November at the same location. 

The Australian Mountain Running Team Selection is conducted by the Australian Mountain Running Association.

The basics of the selection process work as follows:

1. You nominate to be part of the Australian Mountain Running Team before the 15th September 2019 and include relevant past performances from approx. the last 12 months.
2. If you win your championship race (Junior or Senior M/F), you automatically qualify for the Australian Mountain Running Team 2019.
3. The rest of the team is selected based on individual athlete performances relative to the winner’s time, so if you come in second or third, you are not guaranteed a spot on the team.
4. If the race lacks competition, and the winning time is slow, the selection panel may select only the winner for the team or look further afield / look at your past performances. 

Regarding looking further afield: For example, if an athlete is ill on the day of the Australian Mountain Running Championships and does not compete, but has a convincing, excellent competition record, he / she may be selected on the team. However, it must be stressed that the selection panel only looks at this latter option if the performances at the Australian Mountain Running Championships are inadequate and the out-of-competition athlete is outstanding.

There is no specific selection race / race series to select team members to compete in the World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships and is solely based on recent (approx. 12 months) domestic and international marathon distance trail and mountain running performances by individual athletes. Please note that the minimum age to be selected is 20 on the 31st of 2019. Use the same nomination form and submit before the 15th of September 2019.

The team is likely to be headed up by Tim Crosbie, who has been Team Manager for many years. Juniors who don’t travel with a parent or carer will be traveling with the Team Manager.

Following the proposed team travel itinerary you will be travelling a long day on the 9th of November, from Sydney to Santiago in Chile and then to Puerto Montt (Chile). The team will be based there for 4 nights from Saturday the 9th to Wednesday the 13th of November to acclimatise. On the 13th the team will travel by car to the race venue at Villa La Angostura in Argentina. 

The team will be provided with 4 nights of food and accommodation in Villa La Angostura till Sunday 17th November.

On Sunday 17th November the team will travel back to Puerto Montt to catch a flight back to Santiago and then on to Sydney, arriving there on Tuesday 19th November. There are options to stay longer, but the recommendations for travel provided by the World Mountain Running Association are expensive and better suited to those travelling East West and North South, like north Americans, Europeans and Africans.

Estimated travel cost are $2,500 at the moment but are subject to change. Athlete accommodation and food for the 4 nights at the race venue are covered. The AMRA provides the uniforms for the team and a little extra athlete funding, depending on the generosity of donation and the success of the association’s fund raising efforts. The World Mountain Running Association usually provides some team funding and it is recommended that athletes seek (some) funding support from their clubs and investigate grants and other forms of funding available from their States / Territories. These funding options may provide $100 – few $100 from each source.

For further information about the World Mountain Running Championships, please go here for general information and inspiration and here for the team manual to read the specifics. If you have any questions, please contact John Harding at hackettrunner at Hotmail dot com. 

If you would like to have a chat or need further information, please give send our Event Organiser Hubertien an email via events@traq.org.au