Triathlon 2024 is over, running a marathon 2025

2024 was a SOTA year for me. I was very busy with SOTA activities in the Alps trying to reach as many "to-be-deleted" (TBD) summits as possible.  I would even say that I was slightly under pressure to take the last chance and activate as many TBDs as possible. Also, this and other numerous XOTA activations contributed to the achieving the platinum award in the GMA Triathlon. This was the first year I reached the annual Platinum Activator Status. Additionally, I just moved to the MEGA Activator level. It was fun! It was an unique and exciting experience to get there and reach that level, so I'm going to keep going. I wouldn't say it was very difficult, but it required some strategy, dedication and planning. As with any triathlon, there are some disciplines you may enjoy more than others, but you must do them all. Well, sure, I am proud of this achievement 😀💪. Now, I should continue and look forward and set new goals and challenges. So, what's next?

Only six activators reached the platinum status in the GMA Triathlon 2024.  

I was looking for a new challenge for 2025. All SOTA related challenges in the Alps are out of my scope. The glorious SOTA era in SOTA-DL is over, the SOTA-DL association just lost almost half of its references because of P150. Well, I just need to activate a dozen peaks in SOTA-DL to get 300 uniques for my German Alps Challenger Award in Gold. And that's all. It's kind of weird. Almost all XOTA programs try to attract new participants and release as many new references as possible or necessary to keep the program running.  However, SOTA is doing it the other way around, SOTA has basically made no progress for years (apart from the launch of the new associations) and is now even taking a step backwards. It's the same P150 rule with some arbitrary allowance of P100 in some priviledged countries and areas, the same arbitrary and unfair points system and the inconsistency in the association parameters. SOTA points and rankings are meaningless to me, however, it seems that it is still crucial for some competing folks. The SOTA MT simply doesn't care. Me too now. Their rules, their game. So, SOTA is now just for fun for me. Ob Sommer oder Winter, der Berg ruft immer! 

The WWFF just announced the WWFF 2025 Marathon.  Let’s take a look at the rules and review them. 

Awards for Hunters.

• “WWFF Pillar Hunter for working WWFF activators on at least 180 calendar days during the year.”

It looks like I'm still too young for the "WWFF Pillar Hunter Club", whose members are probably pensioners or unemployed OMs without families who can sit in front of the TRX every other day in the middle of the day. I am confused as to where the 180-calendar-days requirement comes from and what the goal is here. For those who will be leading the Top Hunter list, the 180-calendar-days requirement doesn’t play any role, since they will be hunting every day from morning to night and from dusk to down. I don't have this option. And I don't see how this requirement is supposed to encourage new hunters, such as people who work all day like me, families with children, youngsters or newcomers, to take part in the marathon and reach the pillar hunter status. The entry barrier to the "WWFF Pillar Hunter Club" is too high, so like many others I'm not going to join this club. No, no, I'm not sad about it at all, a typical Pillar Hunter is probably a very old man with a lot of free time, I just don’t fit the profile yet 😁. Why not a 44-calendar-days requirement for a basic award then? OK, your rules, your game, I don’t care, I'll just keep hunting occasionally like I always have.

• “For number of WWFF QSOs during the year: 244, 1,044, 2,044, and 3,044.”

Here the same story, I will not have time to chase and accompany the same activator through all the bands in all modes. One QSO is enough to have the park hunted. If I have the chance to work with him twice, I will.

• “For number of DXFF and during the year: 44.“  

Feasible and doable. I'm in. 

• “For number of KFF states/territories + VEFF provinces/territories + VKFF states/territories during the year: 44”.  

Would be difficult from my QTH, but not impossible. I guess it would work fine for POTA rather than for WWFF as there is a lot more going on in POTA across the pond. I 💖 DXing, so let's see how many I can reach! This award is probably intended primarily for hunters in NA.  

Awards for Activators.

• “WWFF Pillar Activator for activating at least one WWFF reference every month.”

This award can easily be achieved by everyone. You just need to activate at least one reference per month. It can be the same park around the corner. Just go there, have fun with your radio, enjoy nature, get some fresh air and collect QSOs. OK, I like it and I’m in 👍👊

• “For number of WWFF QSOs during the year: 244, 1,044, 5,044, and 10,044.”

I’m less interested in the number of QSOs. An award that simply indicates the number of OSOs completed during the year – 244 or 10,044 – does not excite me. I find the Kilo Award (1000 QSOs from one park) more elegant, where you can collect different Kilos from different parks. 

Many parks around the corner were activated several times on 20/40m during the solar minimum. Instead, I want to put more emphasis on high band DXing, reaching as many DXs as possible and giving new ones to DX hunters, especially since the high bands are now in top form. At some point the solar cycle maximum will be over for the next 11 years, and I don't want to miss that. Low bands can wait. High bands also mean far fewer QSOs, but when they are open, very nice DX opportunities. So why not to introduce an award for “the number of DXCC reached during the year: 44 or 88?” Okay, DX will be my own challenge then. DXing is especially fun within POTA as POTA is much more popular around the world. 

Secondly, I want to “GoGreen” as often as possible, at least once a month. It is not the award or the number of QSOs that are important, but above all the outdoor experience and the memory that remains. And an award can be a nice reminder of your outdoor and /P activities. Finally, it’s my run and my fun, isn't it? It’s also about home brewing, trying out new things and optimizing /P-equipment. It is about personal goals and sporting challenges as well as one's own health and inner satisfaction, etc.😀 Ohh, excuse me, I'm getting off topic. Let's move on 😁.

• “For number of confirmed P2P QSOs during the year: 44, 144, and 244.”

I do not actively collect P2P or S2S, but always respond respectfully to any /P callers. With WWFF, the P2P has to be entered manually into the log, which is very annoying. Unfortunatelly, there is no simple cross checking as with POTA.

And what is my final impression? The idea of ​​the marathon is basically good. However, the WWFF seems to make everything overly complicated. Make it simple and people will go for it. The WWFF marathon will certainly provide a boost in activity, but probably among the existing activators and hunters who were already represented in the program and rankings. The "WWFF Hunter Pillar Club" will certainly have many members this year, as radio amateurs in the EU suffer from the problem of aging. The WWFF Pillar Activator Award, which requires one activation per month, can be easily achieved by anyone who is not too lazy 👍. However, I do not see how the actual marathon rules are intended to attract and mobilize new groups of participants. POTA succeeds in doing that. The aim of the marathon is probably to stimulate activity within the WWFF own party 😉, but this is OK. I definitely won't be able to top any marathon rankings because I don't have time for it. However, I will have my fun and my own goals and challenges within the WWFF 2025 Marathon, which provides a solid framework for this.

Then let's run. My personal live score is here:

Short summary for January 2025

My focus in January was mainly on the high bands and DX when operating outdoor POTA/WWFF. The propagation conditions on the high bands were somewhat changeable, but still very good, and I didn't want to miss out on a chance for DX. I got a few nice P2P with NA on 10/15m, the highlight was a P2P QSO with JA on 15 m 👍. The ODX was ZL1. 

DD1LD/P statistics for January 2025. All QSOs @ outdoor XOTA.

 DD1LD/P QSOs map in January 2025. All QSOs @ outdoor XOTA.

Short summary for February 2025

I spent more time on the classic bands - 20/30/40m because of QRP SOTA and WWFF but still with a focus on DX. The ODX was LW2. The propagation on the high bands was good at the beginning of the month and deteriorated towards the end. 

DD1LD/P statistics for February 2025. All QSOs @ outdoor XOTA with QRP and LP.

DD1LD/P QSOs map in February 2025. All QSOs @ outdoor XOTA with QRP and LP.

Short summary for March 2025

The CONDX on high bands were weak in March if compared to January and early Febraury. In general, the propagation was very changeable (K=3-4 and SFI=160 in average) on all bands. So, I spent less time on the high bands and more time on the classic bands 20/30/40m. I just worked whatever the band was open. A couple of the WWFF activations were a bit tough. The ODX was CE3 on 10m in CW. 

DD1LD/P statistics for March 2025. All QSOs @ outdoor XOTA with QRP and LP.

DD1LD/P QSOs map in March 2025. All QSOs @ outdoor XOTA with QRP and LP.

CU agn es 73 de Dzianis, DD1LD