80KM Course Map & Description

Are you ready for an incredible 80km journey…?

Starting on the brilliant white sands at Hamelin Bay the 80km ultra marathon passes through an incredible array of landscapes, from towering karri trees to cliff top trails, past famed surf breaks and over iconic headlands to finish amongst the vines at Howard Park Winery at Wilyabrup.

80KM COURSE SUMMARY

Course distance: 77.7km from Hamelin Bay to Howard Park Winery, divided into five legs.
Elevation gain and loss: 1,312m ascent / 1,250m descent – subject to the vagaries of various GPS devices!!
Format: solo runners running the full 80km and relay teams who divide it between 2, 3, 4 or 5 runners

Leg breakdown:

COURSE MAP 

PUT THE MAPS ON YOUR PHONE: Scan the QR Code above (or click here) to download CAPRA mapping app and receive the 80km map on your phone.

PDF OF MAPS:

Both COURSE and SPECTATOR MAPS in PDF format will be available early 2025

COURSE DESCRIPTION AND HIGHLIGHTS

Leg 1: 11.5km Hamelin Bay to Boranup Campsite.

The Margaret River Ultra Marathon gets under way on the crisp white sands of Hamelin Bay with a terrific journey ahead of you.

Starting at the southern end of this beautiful beach, runners soon leave the coast and head inland (and uphill!) on a scenic run through a little visited part of the region. Running through the heathland you will swap the sound of crashing waves on the off-shore reefs for the sound of bird song and rustling leaves in the karri forest of the South West. Leg 1 follows a range of 4WD tracks and single tracks with some quite tight semi-technical running in spots.

The last part of the course goes across some private land, so please respect the landowner and keep to the obvious track before dropping down a narrow single track into the checkpoint at Boranup Campsite.

  • CAPRA Maps link for Leg 1 HERE
  • Leg distance: 11.5km + Elevation gain / loss: 370m / 190m

Leg 2: 14.5km Boranup Campsite to Conto Campground. Total: 26km

Setting off from the Boranup Campsite, the course takes runners on a journey through the world famous Boranup Forest with its towering karri trees.

The sandy beaches and turquoise water of the coastline will seem a million miles away and won’t be seen at all on Leg 2 as you weave through these mighty trees on a mixture of 4WD tracks. The undergrowth has a lot of new life and regrowth after the 2021 fires and the tree canopy remains lush and green overhead, providing an interesting and varied run through the forest.

Leg 2 finishes with a 1km climb (that is two-way with outgoing runners), and you will soon enter Checkpoint 2 at Conto Campground at the 26km mark.

  • CAPRA Maps link for Leg 2 HERE
  • Leg distance: 14.5km + Elevation gain / loss: 350m / 440m

Leg 3: 20km Conto Campground to Riflebutts Reserve, Gnarabup. Total: 46km

Leg 3 commences with a long, flowing downhill as you leave the hinterland and return to the coast at the spectacular Cape Freycinet for some incredible rock hopping on the ancient granite domes that make this headland so significant. Heading north from there, we join the official Cape to Cape Track for one of the most popular (and most spectacular) sections above the Conto Cliffs, past Redgate and ultimately into civilization at Gnarabup. Large sections of this area were also burnt in the 2021 fires, but new life is plentiful with the vegetation coming back.

This leg includes many kilometres of beautiful single track providing uninterrupted views out to sea, interspersed with sections of beach, running down at water level leading into Checkpoint 3 at the protected Riflebutts Reserve. The final 4+kms of beach running into Checkpoint 3 is challenging and tough and should not be under-estimated. Mental strength and preparedness is required here. This is potentially the hardest part of the course and requires a good dose of concrete pills!

  • CAPRA Maps link for Leg 3 HERE
  • Leg distance: 20km + Elevation gain / loss: 380m / 485m

Leg 4: 18km Riflebutts Reserve to Gracetown Community Hall. Total: 64km

Continuing north from Checkpoint 3, runners pass the Margaret River Mainbreak at Surfers Point before crossing the iconic Margaret River mouth on the beach. Leaving civilization behind once again, runners traverse a more remote section of coast, past little visited beaches and coves and landmarks such as Cape Mentelle, Joeys Nose and Kilcarnup.

The course sticks to the Cape to Cape Track with some short sections of beach running and long sections of beautiful single track that ultimately leaves the coast for some challenging but enjoyable hinterland running before descending into the historic Ellensbrook Homestead. After leaving Ellensbrook, the course continues along the coastline (but off the beach) along the Cape to Cape track. Although you’re on single track, it does still include a few sandy sections before entering the beautiful township of Gracetown and Checkpoint 4 at the 64km mark (NEW LOCATION for 2025 – CP4 is located at the Community Hall)

  • CAPRA Maps link for Leg 4 will be updated shortly
  • Leg distance: 18km + Elevation gain / loss: 280m / 290m


 

Leg 5: 13.7km Gracetown Community Hall to Howard Park Winery. Total: 77.7km

After leaving the checkpoint at Gracetown, the trail cuts through the township and then across North Point, providing some technical running over some rocky terrain for about 2 kilometres before reverting back to softer ground on some sandy single and 4WD tracks paralleling the coast.

Runners turn away from the Cape to Cape track after 4.5km and climb uphill along Juniper Road and into some Private Property. The next couple of kilometres are very sandy and suck any remaining energy from your legs, but soon enough you cross over Caves Road and continue along flat 2WD dirt roads through lovely farming land that provide plenty of joy. Then it’s a final sprint through the vines to the celebratory finish line at Howard Park Winery. Well done!

  • CAPRA Maps link for Leg 5 HERE
  • Leg distance: 13.7km = Elevation gain / loss: 250m / 150m

Elevation Profile

The entire 80km course includes ~1,730m of elevation gain and 1,675m of elevation loss. You finish at a higher elevation than you start.

Leg by leg statistics: 

Leg   Leg distance Elevation gain Elevation lossTotal dist at end Expected fastest teamExpected fastest soloCut off time for the leg
Leg 111.5km370m190m11.5km45mins50minStart time + 3h30min for solos OR Start time + 2h15min for teams
Leg 214.5km350m440m29.5km1hr101hr10Start time + 6h15min for solos OR start time + 5h for teams
Leg 320km380m485m49km1hr351hr45Start time + 10hrs for solos OR start time + 8h 45min for teams
Leg 418km330m340m67km1hr301hr45Start time + 13h30min for solos OR start time + 11h45min for teams
Leg 513.7km250m150m80km1hr1hr 10minThe Course closes at the finish line at 2230 Saturday for ALL competitors

On course checkpoints

Checkpoint locations:

  • Checkpoint 1: 11.5km at the Boranup Campsite.
  • Checkpoint 2: 26km at the Conto Campground
  • Checkpoint 3: 46km Riflebutts Reserve, Gnarabup
  • Checkpoint 4: 64km Gracetown Community Hall.

Nutrition and hydration at checkpoints – for solo and relay team runners

The following nutrition and hydration will be available for solo and relay team runners at each checkpoint (CPs):

CP1 at Boranup Campsite AND CP2 at Conto Campsite

  • Skratch Labs hydration – premixed
  • Sandwiches – sweet (eg. jam) and savoury (eg. vegemite and cheese)
  • Bananas and oranges
  • Banana cake and/or honey and oat slice
  • Snakes and lollies
  • Small packets of potato crisps or Shapes (salty)
  • Cold boiled chat potatoes with salt

CP3 at Riflebutts Reserve AND CP4 at Gracetown Community Hall

  • All the items listed for CP1 and 2 above PLUS:…
  • Warm foods in paper cups such as: chicken noodle soup (CP3) and minestrone soup (CP4), two minute noodles
  • Cold quinoa salad (or similar)
  • Hot water and cups so you can make your own tea and instant coffee
  • Some Coke will be available in cups at CP4

Considerably more information on Checkpoints can also be found on the Support Crew page here

Course Terrain and Textures

In the same way that the course passes through a range of landscapes, the terrain under foot also has plenty of variety with anything from hard-packed dirt through to soft sand passing under your feet. 

Being a coastal race, sand is an overriding trail feature common to all legs. In the most part, the sand is quite runnable and the sandy trails often have a firm base below. Leg 3 (especially) and Leg 4 include some longer stretches on soft sandy beaches that make for slower going at times. Some parts of the course are moderately technical with roots and rocks to jump over but on the whole, the course is not overly technical, although the sand makes it harder than it looks on paper. .

Listed below is a very brief summary of the terrain types found on each leg:

  • Leg 1: Good running on a firm base. Minimal sand or technical aspects. Quite a bit of uphill.
  • Leg 2: Great running on firm, hard packed trails. No sand or technical aspects. Undulating.
  • Leg 3: Varied running with all trail types. A lot of running on soft sand – on beaches and trails, as well as some technical aspects with rock hopping and some trail obstacles. You’ve been warned!
  • Leg 4: Good running with all trail types. Quite a bit of running on sand, mainly on trails which mostly have a firm base with some sand on top. Some lesser technical aspects and trail obstacles.
  • Leg 5: Varied running with all trail types. A bit of running on sand – some super soft 4WD track sections – but otherwise there’s some lovely running on technical trails, 2WD roads and nearly everything in between.

Team mate combinations

The 80km Ultra can be completed by solo runners doing the whole thing or by relay teams of up to 5 doing one or more legs each. 

Because each leg is different, relay teams can consist of team members with varying abilities – with less capable runners doing shorter legs and the fitter running further.

If all team members are roughly equal then here are some ways the course can be split up:

  • 2 runners: Runner 1: Leg 1, 2 and 5 (40km) /  Runner 2: Leg 3 and 4 (38km)
  • 3 runners: Runner 1: Leg 1 and 5 (25km)  /  Runner 2: Leg 3 (20km)  /  Runner 3: Leg 2 and 4 (34km)
  • 4 runners: Runner 1: Leg 1 and 5 (25km) /  Runner 2: Leg 2 (14.5km)  /  Runner 3: Leg 3 (20km)  /  Runner 4: Leg 4 (18km)

There are many different ways to divide the legs between a team!

ITRA pts  /  UTMB qualifying race

The 80km Margaret River Ultra Marathon individual race is registered with the UTMB as an UTMB Index Race. The Margaret River Ultra Marathon is awarded 3 ITRA points. For further information on UTMB click here.