Winter season competition

The Associated Public Schools Old Collegians Amateur Athletic Association Inc. conducts cross-country and road races in and around Melbourne during the winter season (April to September). 

Runners of all ages and abilities are welcome. It is usual for APSOC race fields to contain athletes from under ten to over seventy years of age. Female runners comprise up to thirty percent of total competitors and there are team premierships and individual awards for both men and women. APSOC provides a vibrant, exciting competition for both elite runners and “honest battlers” alike.

There are currently thirteen events on the APSOC calendar, ranging in distance from 3.2 km to a half marathon (21.1 km). Several of the APSOC events offer short or long course options, allowing participants to choose the distance that best suits their level of fitness. All races are scheduled so as not to clash with the Athletics Victoria winter series so that athletes can easily compete in both competitions, and many APSOC members take the opportunity to do so by joining APS United.

Member clubs host the events in the APSOC series. There is afternoon tea after every race, at which athletes and friends mingle and swap stories about racing, training and club social events. This highly popular tradition of keen competition followed by friendly social interaction between club members has now endured for more than seventy-five years.

Eight of the APSOC races are handicap events, based on carefully compiled statistics of each athlete’s previous performances. Most of these are “time after go” races, where the slower runners start first and are pursued by the faster competitors, giving every runner in the field the chance to be first over the line.

There are six “grand slam” team events, where the clubs compete for points towards hotly contested divisional premierships. These team races comprise three scratch and three relay races. This unique mixture of scratch, relay and handicap races provides a variety for competitors not found in other winter running events.

APSOC events are open to all members of the APSOC clubs. It is not necessary to have been a student at one of the associated APS schools.  Information on how to join an APSOC club is available from the club contacts. After joining a club, an athlete must register with APSOC prior to competing for the first time. Read about the registration procedure.