On the eve of Six Foot Track Marathon guaranteed entries opening here in Australia, the organisers of this iconic event are launching an exciting competition for a new logo. All you have to do is design it and if selected as the winning entry, it will be used for next year’s race and many more to come.
For many, this race embodies the true spirit of trail and ultra running in Australia – imagine being able to leave your mark on this amazing event. It’s the place where egos are left firmly at the door and the best duke it out amongst themselves on the hills of the Upper Mountains. No prizes (well almost!), no Princesses, just good hard running.
What’s even better though is that all proceeds of the race go the NSW Rural Fire Service Brigades in the Blue Mountains, around $50,000 each year and the Six Foot Track Heritage Trust, who provide upkeep of the track we love so much.
Six Foot Track is the premier trail Marathon in Australia and is steeped in history. It’s this heritage that attracts runners from multiple disciplines, be it road, triathlon or the harder core of ultra runners known as ‘the dark side’.
The race was launched in March 1984 to mark the centenary of the opening of this historic track. Since the first race, which fielded a mere seven runners, the event has attracted much acclaim for its toughness, its stunning scenery, challenging conditions and great camaraderie – testament to this is that it sells over 1,000 places in minutes. While the commercial side of trail running ramps up, the fact that so many wish to participate says a lot about how much regard people hold for the event, which attracts a field of local, national and international entrants who travel from as far as Germany, New Zealand, Japan, Ireland, England and the USA.
Personally, I think the race records (3:15 for male and 3:37 for female) held by Ben Artup and Emma Murray still stand as some of the best performances in a trail race here in Australia. It’s a testament to the calibre of athlete that races this event that has seen these records remain untouched for a number of years, in a day and age where the sport has never been so popular or had so many runners participating.
What’s the competition and what do I need to do?
Most will already be familiar with the Six Foot Track ‘totems’, that of the medal, the buckle and the belt. While the race has used a number of different working logos over the years, the 30 year mark is a great time to tie down a symbol that encapsulates the spirit of the event. The number ‘6’ features prominently in the design of the medal, and most runners familiar with the event, only have to hear the word “Six” to start conjuring up past or future images of running the event. Without wanting to be prescriptive, the race organisers are encouraging designers to factor this into their design considerations.
And it’s as simple as that. You design a logo that you feel captures the spirit of the race and the winning design will be adopted for use as the race event logo, including for use on the race event website, social media, race shirts and merchandise. Imagine being on the start line at next year’s race and seeing your handy work on every race shirt around you. Pretty inspiring if you ask me.
But that’s not all. Over and above the prize of seeing your logo plastered all over the place, there will be a $1,000 prize awarded for the winning design. Presentation to the winning designer will take place at a pre-race event to be held in the days leading up to the race.
The beauty of Six Foot Track is that it holds many of the values that we at Ultra168 hold too. It’s run by runners, for runners with an emphasis on community. It is also supported each year by the volunteers of the NSW Rural Fire Service. In what has already been a testing start to the fire season for the crews up in the mountains, this is your opportunity to make an enduring contribution and stamp your creative mark on this race.
The important stuff you should read if you want to enter…
- Designs should be prepared and submitted by 24th December 2013, and sent directly to logocompetition@sixfoot.com. The competition is not being run by Ultra168, but by the organisers of 6ft Track. Any questions, please direct them to the 6ft track guys or at the website direct. We’ve been merely lucky enough to announce the launch of the competition, so please visit here for more details.
- While the brief is pretty wide, we’ve placed some previous designs associated with the event in this article to get the creative juices flowing.
- And we’ll say it again because some might have missed it, but we’re not the organisers of the competition. Please direct all queries here 🙂
Ultra168 is an official supporter of the Six Foot Track marathon. This means that we give up our time on a voluntary basis to help input and shape the future direction of the race, based on the ethos of the race being a community event run by the community. We are not paid in any way for this and receive no special benefits.
