What is the refund policy?

Should you wish to withdraw from the event PRIOR to 31st October, we will refund your entry fee, minus an administration fee (20%).

Anyone who withdraws from the event AFTER 31st October will NOT RECEIVE A REFUND, in line with the published conditions of entry. Most significantly, by that date the vast majority of your entry fee has already been spent on securing bibs, a timing chip, permits, race overheads, insurance, etc. Please note that there are NO EXCEPTIONS (including doctor's certificates etc.) to this rule.

What happens if the event is cancelled due to COVID restrictions?

Damn COVID. Been a bumpy ride, eh? And we are well aware that it means you might have reservations about entering until the last minute. That, however, makes our planning super hard. So, we are offering our COVID Refund Policy which is:

• If the event is cancelled due to COVID (i.e. government shutdown directives), we offer a full refund less the usual admin fee (20%), right up until the event date.

• If you prefer, we can transfer your entry to the rescheduled date of the event, TBC.

• NOTE: that this ‘full refund less admin fee right up until the event’ is for cancellation of THE EVENT due to COVID only as enforced by government agencies. Any other refund requests for personal impacts of COVID (i.e for injury, unexpected commitment clashes etc) are under our regular refund policy as per above (i.e. refund less 20% admin up to and including 3 November 2022; no refunds post this date, no debate).

Can I transfer events?

You CAN DOWNGRADE from the 21km to the 11km, or to the 5km, but there is no refund of the difference in fee.

To downgrade (or upgrade!) access your original registration via this page HERE.

Alternatively, find the registration confirmation email sent to you when you entered. At the top of the email is a link to 'edit registration'. Follow that link and you will be able to amend your details, including the distance you are registered for.

Note that there is a charge for upgrading equal to the difference between the two events.

You CAN TRANSFER your entry to another person. Please contact us and we will sort it out.

You CANNOT TRANSFER to another event in the future.

Can I listen to music whilst running?

Nope.

In the interests of trail safety and courtesy, we discourage listening to music. Some sections are quite tight, and you’ll need to be aware of what’s going on around you. Furthermore, there are numerous road crossings and short road sections on all courses, so please, no headphones. Instead, bathe in the sounds of nature, if you can hear them over the thumping of your heart.

Can I bring my dog?

Nah.

Yeah, we love dogs, but in the interests of trail safety and courtesy, we have a 'no dogs on course' rule. Ever tried to run technical single track while a jubilant dog scurries under your feet?

Dogs are allowed at the start / finish but you must keep them on a leash and under control at all times. One year a loveable pooch did urinate on our sponsors' fleet of test shoes. No, they were not happy.

What kind of shoes should I wear?

If you’ve got trails shoes, wear them.

For this type of course we are right into something like the Altra Lone Peak. Why not get in to Julian and Are at The Running Company Ballarat and get them to recommend the best shoes for you, your running style and the terrain?

If you don’t have trail shoes, your road shoes will get you through but you might find some of the trail a little gnarly and if it is slippery it could get a bit hectic underfoot if you don’t have the right lugs. But you can certainly run this race in them, take care and remember that you’re the boss of you.

Are there course maps for download

Of course mate!

You can download GPX and KML files from the Run Courses pages on this website. Whack them on your watch, or better yet use them to do a little training on the course in the lead up, can’t beat that local knowledge when it comes to putting in your best effort on race day.

What is the cultural significance of the land on which we run Wild Mount?

Wild Mount is kindly hosted on the traditional lands of the Dja Dja Wurrung people. As organisers and participants we acknowledge that our event is occurring on Dja Dja Wurrung Country. Elders of the Dja Dja Wurrung community and their forebears are the traditional owners of this land, have been custodians for many centuries and have performed age old ceremonies of celebration, initiation and renewal. We note that the Dja Dja Wurrung gathered and managed this place for the last 60,000 years. We acknowledge their living culture and their unique role in the life of this region.

For more information on the aboriginal heritage and connection to the land we run on, see these links and downloads:

Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation Fact Sheet

Index of Mini Poster Series (this is a great resource full of fascinating information about Aboriginal heritage).

To access individual A4 posters for free contact:

Heritage Registrar, The Office of Aboriginal Affairs Victoria 
PO Box 2392, MelbourneVIC3001 
Telephone: 1800 762 003 www.aboriginalaffairs.vic.gov.au 

Dja Dja Wurrung website
www.djadjawurrung.com.au

How will the course will be marked?

It is your responsibility to familiarise yourself with the course map before the race. And when on course keep your wits about you, analyse your surroundings, make good decisions based on the briefing given to you in the event program and at the start line. 

The course will be well marked with a combination of signage, ribbons, and marshals. Decision points such as intersections and junctions will be marked but sections of singletrack that you cannot turn off may only be lightly marked.

This is trail running, and 'thinking' is a core part of the trail running skill set. And 'noticing things'. Things like you have been running for half an hour now and haven’t seen anyone, and there hasn’t been any markings on the last four road crossings and you’re heading west when the course is meant to be north-south.

A key indicator - is there singletrack below your feet? Have you been following it WITHOUT hitting any decision points? And you've been paying attention? No earphones? Well, likely you are on the right trail then! Trust yourself if so! 

But how difficult is the running?

The 21km is a little beefy, not Himalya-beef but there is definitely some up. We call it ‘Moderate to Difficult’. There are some steep climbs where you will likely be trekking or walking, particularly early on in the course (not far out of Richards).

The 11km is similar to the 21, a little beef, some steep climbing, some walking or fast trekking if you’re fit-as. Only it is shorter ;-)

The 5km is pretty chill in terms of vert and terrain. It is and is less arduous than the longer options, and though it does undulate it is runable by anyone (and by anyone we mean ANYONE. Have a crack.)

On the trail there will be ups and downs (in terms of altitude, but maybe also mentally and physically!). Your feet might get wet and you may stub your toe. But the magic of the trail will outweigh all these little difficulties and you’ll totally forget that your watch tells you that you’re going much slower than you do on the black top.

Are there cut off times?

There is one cut off for the 21km, 12:30pm at Mugwamp. At about 11.5km into the course it comes at almost bang-on the half way mark at the top of the hill. The time is pretty generous so long as you keep moving.

There are no cut offs for the 11km.

There are no cut offs for 5km (walkers are most welcome).

Who is Tour de Trails?

Tour de Trails events showcase Victoria's best wilderness environments for running, from the big mountains of the Victorian Alps and Mount Buller, and the coastal trails of the Surf Coast to the big tree and fern forests of the Warburton Valley and Buangor State Park or the riverside Goldfields of Daylesford's Spa Country. Our events are inclusive, welcoming and for everyone with super relaxed cut off times (if any), distance choices suitable to all levels and a great finish line vibe where we are all about celebrating the singletrack and adventure lifestyle (more so than the ticking of the finishline clock!).

Events include the coastal Surf Coast Trail Marathon, the mountainous Warburton Trail Fest, the good times of Afterglow Night Trail Run, the fast and flowy GoldRush or even next year’s Wild Mount! There’s also Oscars 100 Hut 2 Hut / The Archie 50 and Bella 10 up at Mt Buller.

Check out the event roster and links in our calendar.

We also host trail running tours both at home (on request) and abroad in England, France, Crete and Bhutan (set date or bespoke). www.tourdetrails.com