Course Description and Maps - Run Bibbulmun Track Stage Race

EVENT PROGRAM: The event program is essential reading for all attendees with final schedule, course info, shuttle bus details and more. Read it ONLINE HERE.

The Run Bibbulmun Track Stage Run delivers a life changing odyssey for all runners with a spectacular course through a range of wild and untouched landscapes.

Starting amongst the Tingle and Karri trees at the Valley of the Giants in Walpole, runners will traverse long sections of the Bibbulmun Track through the mighty Great Southern region. From windswept beaches and cliff top tracks, to picturesque bays and quiet coastal hamlets – this is a journey that you’ll never forget.

FORMAT:

3 days of racing
solo runners
long course and short course options each day

Course summary

	LONG COURSE	SHORT COURSE
DAY 1 Friday 15th November	35km Valley of the Giants to Peaceful Bay	17km Conspicuous Cliffs to Peaceful Bay
DAY 2 Saturday 16th November	33km Nullaki to Cosy Corner	24km Lowlands Beach to Cosy Corner
DAY 3 Sunday 17th November	39km Prawn Rock Dog Beach Footbridge to central Denmark	21km Greens Pool to central Denmark
	107km total	62km total

Overview course map

LONG COURSE

Day 1 – 35km

Start location: Valley of the Giants Treetop Walk. Access along Valley of the Giants Road. Coffee will be available in the car park!
Finish location: Peaceful Bay Playground, opposite the corner of Peaceful Bay Rd and Rame Head Rd. Visit the Peaceful Bay Caravan Park 300m away on East St for any supplies, coffee or food
Length & elevation up / down: 34.5km. 665m up / 830m down
Race start time: 7:30am
Water points:

WP1: 17km pt at Conspicuous Cliffs car park
WP2: 28km pt at the end of Gap Tk on the beach

Long course runners start at the Valley of the Giants tourist attraction amongst the giant Karri and Tingle trees. The race commences with a circuit of the Ancient Empire Track and then it’s onto the elevated treetop walkways that provide an amazing perspective on the forest around you.

After exiting the treetop walk, runners follow the Bibbulmun Track as it weaves its way through the tall timber forests on a downhill run heading for the coast. The track exits the forest and continues through the coastal hinterland to arrive at the water point at the picturesque Conspicuous Cliffs Beach carpark and the 18km pt (this is where the short course runners start).

After the waterpoint, runners head onto the awe inspiring beach surrounded by steep dunes and cliffs, and then continue along the Bibbulmun Track as it climbs up and away from the beach and across the cliff tops providing views in all directions. The course soon diverts off the Bibbulmun Track for a spectacular adventure run along the wild and un-touched coastline, along the beaches and spectacular rocky headlands below the dunes to Rame Head before turning north for the calm waters of Peaceful Bay and the Day 1 finish line.

Day 2 – 33km

Start location: Gilge Rd. Adjacent the driveway to 110 Gilge Rd, Lowlands. NOTE. Gilge Rd is a narrow, dead end dirt road with minimal parking at the start line. Park on the road verge back from the start and walk. Please do not block the lcoal’s drive ways
Finish location: Cosy Corner. At the end of Cosy Corner Rd
Length & elevation up / down: 33.2km. 740m up / 740m down
Race start time: 7:30am
Water points:

WP1: 9km pt at the Lowlands Beach Road crossing
WP2: 26km pt at the Shelly Beach Road crossing

Day 2 starts off with a short, sharp and sandy climb to access the Bibbulmun Track on the Nullaki Peninsula. Once on the Bib Track, the course weaves its way through the beautiful coastal heathland with views inland to the Porongurup Ranges and along the coast to West Cape Howe in the distance. After 10km of undulating trail you arrive at the waterpoint at Lowlands Beach to fuel up and keep going. This is where the short course starts.

From Lowlands Beach the trail enters some of the more remote sections of the course as you run through the rugged, but wildly beautiful West Cape Howe National Park. Following the Bibbulmun Track the whole way, you’ll soon pass the Cape itself and embrace spectacular views to Shelly Beach, Mutton Bird Island and the Torndirrup Peninsula in the distance. After a fast flowing descent, you soon arrive at picturesque Cosy Corner and the finish of Day 2. Well done.

Day 3 – 39km

Start location: Prawn Rock Channel toilets, on Ocean Beach Rd (just past the junction with Monkey Rock Rd). Park in the car park or 300m further back at Prawn Rock Dog Beach.
Finish location: MacLean Park, Brazier St, next to the cricket nets on the far (north east) side of the footy ground. Park around the footy ground or on Brazier St.
Length & elevation up / down: 39.3km. 850m up / 832m down
Race start time: 7:30am
Water points:

WP1: 10km pt at the Lights Beach car park
WP2: 19km pt at Greens Pool
WP3: 24km pt at Lights Beach car park (again)
WP4: 32km Ocean Beach Road crossing

The final day commences on Wilson Inlet Estuary near Ocean Beach and heads west along the Wilderness Ocean Walk (WOW walk) below the Denmark windmills, providing expansive views to Parry Beach and beyond. Passing through Lights Beach water point for the first time at the 10km pt, runners continue west on the Bibbulmun Track as it heads over Tower Hill and onto the beach at the world renowned Greens Pool. This is where the short course starts.

Here the course turns east, passing Elephant Rocks, Madfish Bay and back through the Lights Beach water-point at the 23km pt. After Lights Beach, the Bib Track changes character and heads inland, climbing up through dense Karri forests and over the course’s highest point at Mt Hallowell (294m!). From the summit it is downhill (nearly) the whole way as the course descends the mount, and weaves through a few streets and hidden pathways beside Wilson Inlet and into the finish line in central Denmark. Well done – you’ve just finished the Run Bibbulmun Track Stage Run!

SHORT COURSE

Day 1 – 17km

Start location: Conspicuous Cliff Beach (on the sand). Drive to southern end of Conspicuous Beach Rd and walk 400m along the path and boardwalk to the beach.
Finish location: Peaceful Bay Playground, opposite the corner of Peaceful Bay Rd and Rame head Rd. Visit the Peaceful Bay Caravan Park 300m away on East St for any supplies, coffee or food
Length & elevation up / down: 17.8km. 315m up / 330m down
Race start time: 8:30am
Water points:

WP2: 11km pt at the end of Gap Tk on the beach

The short course starts with a mass start on the beach. The route is the same as the long course from the 17km pt onwards as described above.

Day 2 – 24km

Start location: Lowlands Beach car park. Start is at the very end of the road. Park along the left side of Tennessee Road only, two way access must be maintained.
Finish location: Cosy Corner. At the end of Cosy Corner Rd
Length & elevation up / down: 24km. 520m up / 520m down
Race start time: 8:30am
Water points:

WP2: 17km pt at the Shelly Beach Road crossing

The short course starts at the very end of Tennessee Rd (Lowlands Beach Rd) and goes 400m along the road before turning right onto the Bib Track, joining the long course route a the 9km pt as described above.

Day 3 – 21km

Start location: Greens Pool (on the beach) at the end of William Bay Road. Park in the car park at the end or along Madfish Bay Rd and walk 300m to the beach.
Finish location: MacLean Park, Brazier St, next to the cricket nets on the far (north east) side of the footy ground. Park around the footy ground or on Brazier St.
Length & elevation up / down: 21.2km. 500m up / 500m down
Race start time: 8:30am
Water points:

WP3: 6km pt at Lights Beach car park (again)
WP4: 14km Ocean Beach Road crossing

The short course starts on the beach at Greens Pool, 300m past the end of the steps to the right. This joins the 19km pt of the long course route as described above.

Maps on your phone

All competitors MUST have the map for ALL 3 DAYS loaded into a mapping app on your phone. We recommend runners use the excellent CAPRA MAPS app that makes this very easy, just follow these steps:

1. Download the CAPRA maps app and follow the prompts to create an account (or visit this URL address: https://capra.page.link/kxjS )
2. Scan the QR code with your phone’s camera or search ‘Run Bibbulmun Track Stage Run’ in the app and tap the event logo to open the collection. ALL MAPS MUST BE SAVED FOR OFF-LINE USAGE:
3. Tap the Day 1 map for the race you are doing (long course or short course) to open the info screen for that day.
4. Tap the red ‘View Map Details’ button at the bottom to open the map on your phone
5. Tap the blue globe icon (3rd button along the bottom) and this will save the map for offline usage
6. Repeat points 3, 4 and 5 for ALL THREE DAYS so you have all maps on your phone.

To check that it worked: Go back to the Library screen and tap the profile icon at bottom right. Then tap ‘Offline Maps’ and the maps will be listed there – if not then try again!

Trail textures and terrain

The course provides a remarkable variety of terrain from start to finish, from sandy trails winding through the dunes to rock hopping around the coastline – and everything in between.

Nearly the entire course is ALL SINGLE TRACK. If you are not running on single track then you are on firm sandy beaches or, on occasion, 4WD tracks with just the a very small amount of asphalt across the 3 days.

There is a moderate amount of sand on the course but on the whole the sand is A LOT FIRMER than the sand you may have run on if you have done the Margaret River Ultra Marathon course. There are some sections of soft sand on beaches, but the sand on the single track is very runnable and provides for good going.

Trail Marking

The course will NOT BE MARKED. Competitors must navigate their own way along the course by following the GPS route downloaded to their phones whilst racing (GPS route and clear instructions how to use it will be provided).

The vast majority of the course is along the Bibbulmun Track which is very well marked, and where the race course deviates away from the Bib track it will be easy to follow using your phone and some common sense.

It is the runner’s responsibility to ensure you follow the designated race route. We recommend using the Capra mapping app and encourage you to get familiar with it before race week.

Waterpoints and on course support

Waterpoints will be established at varying points along each day’s course, but may be up to 10-15km apart due to the inaccessibility of the terrain.

Waterpoints will provide basic foods for runners like fruit cake, lollies, fruit and plenty of Skratch Nutrition drinks, chews and bars.

Support crews can provide physical assistance and support at the designated waterpoints (only). No other assistance (other than verbal encouragement!) can be provided between checkpoints.

There will be very few, if any, marshals mid-way along each leg so runners must be self-sufficient and able to run independently between each waterpoint. We will, however, be supervising all sections of the course. We will have sweep runners to ensure runner safety.

The Bibbulmun Track

The Run Bibbulmun Track Stage Run follows large sections of the Bibbulmun Track between Walpole and Cosy Corner. The Bibbulmun Track as a whole is one of the world’s great long distance walk trails, stretching 1000km from Kalamunda in the Perth Hills all the way through to Albany, winding through the heart of the scenic South West of Western Australia.

The course does not follow the track exclusively, as we deviate off the official route on a number of occasions where we think there is a more scenic option.

We are proud to be Bronze Level sponsors of the Bibbulmun Track Foundation. We strongly encourage entrants to also make a donation to help preserve the track and it’s surroundings.

>>CLICK HERE TO DONATE<<

Points of interest on the Bibbulmun Track