Schedule/Race Day Info – Blackwood

Race Day Schedule

Sunday 1 June 2025

Times and distances below are TBC

7:00am – 8:45amRace registration open
8:30amSTART – LONG COURSE (25km)
8:45amSTART – MEDIUM COURSE (16km)
8:55amSTART – SHORT COURSE (8km)
10:45amMedium and Short course presentations and spot prize giveaways
12:00pmLong course presentations and spot prize giveaways

Event expo

The Event Expo and Start / Finish area including sponsors displays, food / coffee for sale, live music, race commentary, social media boards, presentations and plenty more.

All in all it’s a lovely, welcoming environment for everyone to enjoy whether you are running or not. For a full list of services see the Event Expo page.

The location

Event centre and race finish line:
Blackwood Sports and Recreation Reserve – 31 Recreation Reserve Road, Blackwood VIC.

The historic village of Blackwood is located amongst the Lerderderg State Park, in the scenic Macedon Ranges just south of Trentham.  89 km north-west of Melbourne via the Western Highway it’s just over an hour from Melbourne.

The start

Starting procedure

All distances will start racing with a single wave start at the following start times (Times are TBC for 2025)

  • 8:30am LONG COURSE – all runners start
  • 8:45am MEDIUM COURSE – all runners start
  • 8:55am SHORT COURSE – all runners start

Self-seeding

Please place yourself in the start chute according to your honest running ability, with fast runners near the front, recreational runners in the middle and those who are here to enjoy yourself towards the back.

Competitor number plates

Number plate identification

All competitors are required to wear their race number plate whilst running in the race. Numbers must be safely pinned to the front of your race top so it is clearly visible from the front.

  • GOLD number plates denote runners who have entered the entire Trail Running Series, doing all 3 of the events in the series.
  • RED, GREEN or BLUE number plates will be given to all other runners doing this race only, ie, who are not entered into the Series (Red –  Long, Green – Medium, Blue – Short courses)

If you have a GOLD number plate and are doing all races in the series please KEEP YOUR NUMBER PLATE and timing tag to use for all of your races in the series. We will not be re-issuing number plates to series runners.


Number plate collection

Competitors can collect their number plate at the event from the Registration tent on race morning from 7am.

NEW FOR 2025 is the option to have your race plate posted to you. Competitors who enter RACE 1 (or the series) BEFORE 8.00am Monday 12th May 2025 have the option during the entry process to add on postage to have your number plate delivered to you (Price TBC)

Once you have received your number plate (either via post or collection) you do not need to ‘report in’ or register at the event venue on race morning, just warm up, arrive at the start line ready to race!

Headphones

We strongly encourage all runners NOT TO WEAR HEADPHONES or listen to music whilst running in the Trail Running Series events. This is primarily for your safety, so that runners wishing to overtake on a narrow section of track can communicate with you and advise where/how they’d like to pass without causing a crash. The courses also pass through some magnificent eucalypt bush land filled with birds and other wildlife that is all part of the trail running experience and if you’re pounding away to music you can’t hear that either!