UniSport Australia has teamed up with the Gold Coast Marathon to launch the UniSport Virtual Distance Running Championships as part of the Village Roadshow Theme Parks Gold Coast Virtual Marathon!

Monash University is getting involved and we want you to join our team!

It’s FREE for students, staff and alumni runners, wheelies and walkers of any Australian or New Zealand university, and you can complete your race at any time or date between 1 July and 31 July.

You have a number of options:

• 5km
• 10km
• 21.1km
• 42.2km

Check out the race bundles below if you’d like to compete in multiple distances.

Representing Monash

A point score system will reward participation as well as performance and will ultimately determine the biggest University, the best University and the best male and female runners who will be crowned the UniSport Virtual Distance Running Champions.

There are a number of race ‘bundles’ for entrants who would like to enter more than one race:

• Gold Coast Big Four: Compete in all Events - marathon, half marathon,10km and 5km
• Surfers Paradise Trio: Compete in the half marathon, 10km and 5km events
• Southport Triple: Warm up for your marathon by competing in the 5km and 10km in the lead up to the marathon.
• Broadbeach Double: Compete in the 10km and 5km events
• Bonza’s Junior Challenge: Compete in both Junior Events - 2km and 4km

What is a virtual run?

A virtual run is a race that can be run (or walked) from any location you choose. You can run, jog, or walk on the road, on the trail, in the park, on the treadmill or on the track. You get to run your own race, at your own pace, and time it yourself.

You will need to keep track of your run/walk through a GPS application. We recommend using ASICS Runkeeper which is free and can be downloaded from any app store (click here). Please note that you only need the free version of ASICS Runkeeper (the upgrade to ASICS Runkeeper Pro is not required and is optional).

I'm not currently in Australia, can I still enter?

Yes of course, you can run this race from anywhere in the world. Please note the date and time differences to ensure that you log a result prior to the cut off of 11.59pm AEST on 31 July 2020.

Where do I run my race?

A virtual race can be run or walked anywhere, at a location of your own choosing in your local park, on your favourite trail or around your local neighbourhood loop (or even on a treadmill if you like). Please ensure that you are following government guidelines for COVID-19 when choosing your running location.

To keep the playing field level for all participants please keep these two rules in mind when planning your course route:

• A maximum permitted net drop (decrease in elevation) of 1m/km is permitted over the course distance. Sorry, you can’t just run down a steep hill!
• The finish location must not exceed more than 50% from the finish line (as a crow flies) of the total distance run i.e. if you run 5km the finish cannot be more than 2.5 km away from the start. Out-and-back or loop courses are encouraged.

Still have questions? Read more FAQ's here.

Register

To register, simply click here, download ASICS Australia Runkeeper and upload your results online throughout the month of July.

To ensure your results count, make sure you check the UniSport Nationals Distance Running box when registering, select Monash University as your University, enter your ID number and then select Monash University as your team!

Enquiries

If you have any questions, email us today!

Email: teammonash-enquiries@monash.edu