Cliff Young Australian 6-day race
Encyclopedia
The Cliff Young Australian 6 Day Race
is an ultramarathon
race that takes place in Colac, Victoria
. One of a small handful of Six Day races around the world, the Cliff Young has had many fine performances culminating in November 2005 with Yiannis Kouros
, arguably the best multiday
runner in the world, setting a new world 6 Day record. It started in 1983 and was renamed in 2004 after Cliff Young
, a Colac farmer and winner of the inaugural Sydney
to Melbourne
Westfield's Ultramarathon victory in May 1983.
(a potato farmer) won the ultramarathon in 1983, the City of Colac was inspired to stage a 1000 mile race in Cliff's honour - the 1983 Cliff Young Colac 1000 which started in Melbourne and ended in the Colac Memorial Square.
In the following year, the City of Colac announced its decision to stage a six day race. A 400 meter track was created in the Memorial square and named in his honour. Initially named the 1984 Colac Ultra Marathon, it later became known as the Australian Six Day Race - Colac. Fourteen runners entered the inaugural race including the great Yiannis Kouros and British multiday runner Eleanor Adams-Robinson. Kouros easily won, covering over 1022 km, setting a new world record and Adams-Robinson also broke 11 world records.
The race was renamed in early 2004 in honour of Cliff Young, who died in 2.11.2003.
In 2005, at the age of 48, Yiannis Kouros returned to the recently renamed race and again demonstrated his unparalleled capacity by setting a new 6 Day world record by covering just over 1,036 km, breaking the course record and set new world record times for covering 500 km and 1000 km in his age group.
6 Day Race
For the bicycle race see Six-day racingThe 6 Day Race became a standard distance in the 1870s and was a popular form of entertainment where up to 70,000 paying visitors, in 1877, came to watch the Pedestrians battle it out.-History:...
is an ultramarathon
Ultramarathon
An ultramarathon is any sporting event involving running longer than the traditional marathon length of .There are two types of ultramarathon events: those that cover a specified distance, and events that take place during specified time...
race that takes place in Colac, Victoria
Colac, Victoria
Colac is a small city located in the Western District of Victoria, Australia, situated approximately 150 kilometres south-west of Melbourne on the southern shore of Lake Colac and the surrounding volcanic plains, approximately 40 km inland from Bass Strait. Colac is the largest city in and...
. One of a small handful of Six Day races around the world, the Cliff Young has had many fine performances culminating in November 2005 with Yiannis Kouros
Yiannis Kouros
Yiannis Kouros is a Greek ultramarathon runner based in Melbourne. He is sometimes called the "Running God" or the "Pheidippides Successor". He holds every men's outdoor road world record from 100 to 1,000 miles and every road and track record from 12 hours to 6 days...
, arguably the best multiday
Multiday races
Multiday races are ultramarathon running events which are typically either segmented into daily events of a specified distance or time, or staged so that runners can run as far as they want, at their own discretion, over a set course or over a set number of days...
runner in the world, setting a new world 6 Day record. It started in 1983 and was renamed in 2004 after Cliff Young
Cliff Young (athlete)
Albert Ernest Clifford "Cliff" Young was an Australian potato farmer and athlete from Beech Forest, Victoria, best noted for his unexpected Westfield Sydney to Melbourne Ultra Marathon win at 61 years of age.-Early life:...
, a Colac farmer and winner of the inaugural Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
to Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
Westfield's Ultramarathon victory in May 1983.
History
After Cliff YoungCliff Young (athlete)
Albert Ernest Clifford "Cliff" Young was an Australian potato farmer and athlete from Beech Forest, Victoria, best noted for his unexpected Westfield Sydney to Melbourne Ultra Marathon win at 61 years of age.-Early life:...
(a potato farmer) won the ultramarathon in 1983, the City of Colac was inspired to stage a 1000 mile race in Cliff's honour - the 1983 Cliff Young Colac 1000 which started in Melbourne and ended in the Colac Memorial Square.
In the following year, the City of Colac announced its decision to stage a six day race. A 400 meter track was created in the Memorial square and named in his honour. Initially named the 1984 Colac Ultra Marathon, it later became known as the Australian Six Day Race - Colac. Fourteen runners entered the inaugural race including the great Yiannis Kouros and British multiday runner Eleanor Adams-Robinson. Kouros easily won, covering over 1022 km, setting a new world record and Adams-Robinson also broke 11 world records.
The race was renamed in early 2004 in honour of Cliff Young, who died in 2.11.2003.
In 2005, at the age of 48, Yiannis Kouros returned to the recently renamed race and again demonstrated his unparalleled capacity by setting a new 6 Day world record by covering just over 1,036 km, breaking the course record and set new world record times for covering 500 km and 1000 km in his age group.
Websites
- sixdayrace.com.au The official Colac Six Day Race website
- colac.ultraoz.com Unofficial Cliff Young Six Day Race website on Ultraoz.com
- Multidays.com - Home of Multiday Running
Organisations
- coolrunning.com.au - Australian Ultra Runners Association (AURA)
- IAU.org - International Ultrarunning Association (IAU)
Other 6 Day races
- 6jours-antibes.com - Antibes (FRA)
- cosibullig.de - Erkrath GER)
- SriChinmoyRaces.org - Self-Transcendence (USA)
- Ultradistance.za - Toyota (RSA)