FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

OPTION 1: Be sitting at your computer at 7pm on October 1st and buy your entry before they sell out.

OPTION 2: Volunteer at WMM this year and the following year you will have an opportunity to enter 1 week before entries open to the public.

OPTION 3: If you live in Alice Springs, sign up as a member of Alice Springs Running and Walking Club and you will also receive an opportunity to enter 2 days prior to entries opening to the public

OPTION 4: WMM allows up to 2 male and 2 female elite entries into sold out events, the main criteria being that the runner must have a current ITRA ranking of Advanced Level 2 or above. See other details relating to elite entry in the next drop down.

OPTION 5: You may apply for a Committee Discretion Entry via email to run@westamcsmonster.com.au. Typically these entries will be awarded to those in unique circumstances, have a special relationship to the event or are running to raise a significant amount of funds or awareness for a charity.

The Ekistica West Macs Monster loves it when athletes who have a proven track record of strong performance in trail running come to see what they can do on the Larapinta Trail. We also love to see elite athletes connect with a grass roots event like the Monster.

WMM doesn't pay any money for airfares, accommodation, or other travel expenses for elite athletes. We are privileged to have elite athletes join us when they do, but it is not the primary focus of our event. Trail running is the primary focus.

WMM also doesn't normally provide an elite entry discount, though we are happy to consider this on a case-by-case basis if asked.

WMM does allow entries into sold out events for up to 2 male and 2 female elite athletes per distance.

Unlike other events, if you qualify for elite entry, WMM doesn't expect you to give us anything in return on your socials etc, we will just be stoked if you have a great time running one of the most memorable races of your life in a landscape we love to share with anyone and everyone.

ELITE ENTRY CRITERIA:

1. Evidence of a current ITRA ranking of Advanced Level 2 or above.

No.

The one we get the most questions about is the 55km qualifying run for the 128km race. 55km was chosen specifically to rule out the abundance of 50km races. The 128km Ellery Monster will take a 100Miler's worth of time on feet and effort to complete. The principal is the same for all events though. A 21.1km qualifier must be at least 21.1km (not 20km, not 21km), a 100km qualifier doesn't mean 99km or a stage race of 100km or more unless the race is specifically listed (such as Run Larapinta). If you have DNF'd a race but still completed the qualifying distance you can email us and we might consider that, but successful completion of the qualifying race is the goal.

For Alice Springs and Darwin based athletes - there are specific local qualifiers available to you to complete in your own time in recognition of there being no other qualifying options in the NT except for the WMM itself.

Why are we so strict on this? Because we have a risk management plan that we follow with integrity.

What are your options if you can't fulfill the pre-qualification run criteria? You can defer your entry to the following year as per our Refund Policy.

A final general comment...we absolutely understand why anyone would want to run a West Macs distance, we are as obsessed as anyone about trail running in this landscape! However, in a day and age where 'patience' isn't valued like it used to be, this is a space where if you haven't done the work to get your pre-qual in place in the 18 months prior to the event, then hold your horses, get organised (like everyone else has to), and wait for an extra year if you have to.

It will be possible to buy most items you need in Alice Springs from event sponsors Lone Dingo and Intersport, however no guarantees can be made, so ring ahead or just bring all your gear with you. Ideally, you will have spent the last 2-3 weeks of your weekend long runs with all of your mandatory gear in your pack, fine-tuning the gear and giving your legs the benefit of specificity.

Telstra satellite messaging is not a requirement, but is recommended for ultra distance entrants. In an emergency or near emergency scenario, the ability for you to send and receive text messages will be a game changer.

The SPOT Tracker that ultra distance entrants receive only enables the sending of pre-set messages ('I'm ok', 'send help', or 'SOS'), and you can't receive messages on these devices.

There will be moments of traditional mobile coverage on Telstra or Optus along the course, with most of the final 15kms of the course getting good coverage.

Having a pacer, particularly on the 128km and 231km course is a huge advantage compared to not, and will be a major boost to your experience. Both because of the assistance they will be able to provide, but also because of the memories you will share.

If you have an entry but for whatever reason can no longer run in the event the fine print is here and summary is below:

More than 12 weeks out from the event you can receive a 100% refund or 100% credit transfer for the following years event (minus admin fee).

Between 6-12 weeks out from the event you can receive a 50% refund or 100% credit transfer (minus admin fee).

Less than 6 weeks out from the event there is no refund or a 50% credit transfer (minus admin fee).

Or at anytime up to Sunday 5pm prior to the event you can choose to transfer your entry to someone. This is arranged between yourself and the person you are transferring to and attracts an admin fee which either party can pay.

To transfer to another competitor, you need to log back into your entry in eventplus.

You should see a summary of your entry details. Click the ‘Transfer’ button then enter the email address of the person to whom you are transferring.

They will receive an email from Eventplus which asks them to click a link, accept the transfer and pay a $25 transfer fee.

It is up to you and the new competitor to make arrangements for payment of the ticket.

There are bus transport options to all of the event start lines that can be booked as a part of your registration.

There will also be a 'WMM Shuttle Bus' operating during Race HQ open times available at no cost to assist interstate entrants with getting to and from the accommodation to Race HQ and back. The shuttle bus will do a regular loop and won't need to be booked. It will operate as a hop-on, hop-off service.

Why run a long way?...out here!

Only you know why. From the inception of the Monster, this phrase has been the answer we keep coming back to in the community around this race when it’s hard to explain to people who think you’re crazy, why you want to run long on the Larapinta. When we talk about long, we are talking about whatever long is for you. For many, 25km is a long way, as is 231km and every distance between. For everyone on a start line feeling uncertain about the outcome….putting yourself in the deep end and seeing if you can swim (or run in this case)….. we salute you. That uncertainty in and of itself is a big part of the why for many. We live in a world where so many things in life are predictable and secure…and if they aren’t we are sub-consciously trying to make them moreso. Wild and remote trails like the Larapinta that pass through ancient landscapes make space for something unpredictable to happen, and the space to discover or rediscover who we are, when we find ourselves at the limit of our resources.

You can plan for a lot, but not for everything. Something is going on every step of the way. For this journey you need to be acutely present of what is going on around you, and in you…physically, emotionally…and for many, even spiritually. In the safe, predictable life we have built up, it is possible to lose sight of who we truly are and what we are capable of. Clarity gets consumed by fluff and noise. Nature and the forces that created it, give us the gift of a place to find centre and rediscover hidden strength through hardship and uncertainty. Some people go to Balinese retreats, our tribe finds a start line with a distance in front of them that secretly scares the shit out of them. It’s daunting, unknown, uncertain….perfect.

When was the last time you were in touch with the essence of who you truly are? The Larapinta is a space where the superficial layers are stripped away. It’s quiet enough that you can hear your heart beating under a million stars. It’s quiet enough that the smallest bit of wind through the trees starts to speak to your soul. It’s quiet enough to quieten you – body, mind and spirit. In the harshness of the environment around you, your own fragility and resilience is simultaneously brought into sharp focus.

Your senses are heightened. It is immersive. Cool, crisp morning air. The fragrance of dirt and sweat. The sweetness of water. The mystery of sunset colours on the horizon. An awareness of every step courtesy of millions of nerve endings on the soles of our feet. The symphony….of silence. Scream your loudest, only the spirits will here you.

There is nothing to buy and sell out there. The richest person in the world is not as fortunate as you in those moments where you viscerally experience simple, powerful, beautiful, real things with amplified presence.

There’s no one out there to judge or care what you look like, how you smell, how fast or slow you’re moving, how many degrees you have or what your net worth is. That kangaroo looking at you has no clue. That eagle above you is confused why you can’t fly – you only seem to run. That dingo stalking you is only curious about whether you’ll stop or keep going. Not one of those rocks gives a shit about who you are or where you came from or who you are trying to be and what you are trying to do. All of the things modern culture cares for has no relevance for completing a run from A to B on the Larapinta, yet the journey can have such a profound impact on you and in you for when you eventually enter ‘normal’ again….whatever that is.

In fact, the most useful thing you have for this journey is all the lessons learned from every trial you’ve ever faced in life up to this point and endured and survived. There is beauty and brokenness in every life. On the Larapinta, the beauty to be revealed is in you and becomes evident the longer you hang in there as the masks you’ve built up for a lifetime are stripped away by your fatigue….and whatever brokenness you carry, it is transformed into a source of strength…no need to bury it. Draw on it....turn it into something uniquely useful and beautiful for what lies ahead of you.

What this landscape ultimately wants to know about you, and will ultimately test is:

• Can you adapt?
• Can you listen?
• Can you stay calm when you’re hurting and you’re only half-way through?
• Can you endure the discomfort in the moment in the hope of securing something of greater value later?
• Can you remain focussed on solutions when you're being forced to adjust expectations?
• How relentless are you?

Everything I have attempted to describe so far hasn’t taken the finish line into account….the last kilometre or so, where the suffering is soon going to end (or take on a different form), and everything you’ve endured is about to ‘be worth it’. The relief isn’t merely physical, it is mental too. There is a good chance your mind or your heart or both and every cell of your being have been willing you forwards and clinging on just to enable you to ‘stay with it’ and take another step.

You have had some time to reflect with clarity on what you can do when you put your mind and focus on it. You’re not sure what point in time it happened but you feel different to the person you were at the start line. The old self has shed itself somewhere in terrain so vast it will never be found again…..the new self just finished a Monster distance. What was uncertain has suddenly been locked in and it now becomes a part of your story forever.

The trail has moulded something into your being….gratitude, humility, stillness, strength under control, vulnerability…an ability to face limits and redefine them. If you get to the finish line and your ego has grown, you probably didn’t choose a long enough distance…or you failed at listening. Ideally, you’ve had to wrestle, regroup, stare down doubt and fear and lean hard into whatever you have to drive you forward, so that when you cross the finish line and finally give your nervous system a break from the drip fed agony, genuinely positive and constructive energy floods into the well within. A well that is now deeper, clearer and more aligned to true North than it ever has been.

You might be reading this and think I’m rambling on a bit and maybe I am.

It is just a run after all.

Or maybe I’ve run a Monster distance and you haven’t yet so the things I’m trying to relay in these paragraphs are hard to relate to, until you do it too one day. Maybe I should just keep these reflections to myself, because ultimately every person’s experience is different. Yet, if one person reads this and experiences resonance…deep calling to deep…and allows destiny to bring them to a West Macs Monster start line, for a chance to experience the journey, and subsequently, the only West Macs Monster finish line in the world, all my rambling will have been worth it.

Whether it’s the Larapinta Trail itself calling you or a yearning for clarity through uncertainty, or a longing for connection with a tribe of people who thrive on giving hard things a red hot go…I hope your next big run gives you all of these things and more. The Larapinta Trail is always here if you need. If you don’t want to do it totally alone, then come explore, come as you are and never be the same again, come party with the Alice Springs trail running community once a year every May! We'll be here.

Only you know why.

Simon

• Mandatory Gear List
• Race Rules
• Cancellation Policy
• Larapinta Trail Information
• Alice Springs Tourist Information