The Sydney Marathon

The Sydney Marathon is now one of the World Marathon Majors

Unless you're living in Australia, Sydney is a very long way away. Even if you're on the other coast it's still a five hour flight. So a trip to the Sydney Marathon is likely to be a once in a lifetime experience. Australia is a stunning place to visit and Sydney is arguably the best of all its cities for natural attractions. It's now one of the World Marathon Majors so it's an essential if you want to complete the series.

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Sydney

Located on Australia's east coast, Sydney is the country's most populated city, with 658 suburbs, home to over 5 million people. It is capital of the state of New South Wales and often known as the Harbour City. It's the traditional home of the Gadigal people of the Eora Aboriginal Nation. Its most famous landmarks are the Sydney Opera House where the Marathon finishes, with its distinctive white "sails," and the Sydney Harbour Bridge, that runners cross, and they are amongst the most photographed attractions anywhere in the world. The Harbour is a constant flurry of activity from the famous ferries that criss cross daily, to thousands of leisure craft and the multiple cruise ships that call the city home in the summer.

There is so much to see in Sydney, that you'll need to give yourself plenty of time. There's world famous Taronga Zoo overlooking the harbour and nearby Luna Park amusement park. You can climb the Harbour Bridge and once you've done that The Rocks is a must see destination close by. The Australian Museum, near the start of the race, in Hyde Park is also well worth a visit. Darling Harbour entertainment complex needs at least a day and includes the Sea Life aquarium and much more. There are many restaurants there and throughout the city where you can spend way too much time!

Across the Harbour by ferry is beautiful Manly, the start of the city's Northern Beaches. Head a few kilometres north to Palm Beach, home of the famous TV show 'Home & Away'. The city's other famous suburb, Bondi, is where you'll finish the race so save plenty of time for that and the other Eastern Suburbs hot spots.

History of the Sydney Marathon

The Marathon is the last remaining legacy event from the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The first event was in April of that year. following the same course as the Olympic marathon and there were 5000 entrants.

The global athletics body awarded the event a Silver label in 2014, a Gold label in 2015 and a Platinum label in 2022. It is now one of three candidate events to be the next World Marathon Major in 2025. it became the biggest marathon in Australia in 2023, with a field of 17,000 more than double the previous best, in Melbourne.

Race Organiser

Operated by Pont3 Events, on behalf of Athletics Australia.

When?

The race is held annually in September

Distances

Marathon (half marathon, wheelchair marathon,10km bridge run and a family fun run to be confirmed).

Is there an Expo?

The Sydney Marathon Running Show is held from Thursday to Saturday and has 75 exhibitors, event partners and charities, displaying the newest trends in health and fitness.

All participants must pick up their race bib during the show.

How many runners?

17,000 in the full marathon, 42,000 in total across all distances in 2023.

Course

There are a number of start groups, based on predicted finish time from sub 2.40 to over 4.30. with the start time being from 7.10am at Bradfield Park, Milsons Point.

From the start runners head north and then soon after turn south and head across the Sydney Harbour Bridge, a very early course highlight. Known locally as the Coathanger, the Bridge took eight years to build and opened in 1932. It has a span of 503 metres and is made of 53,000 tonnes of steel and six million hand-driven rivets. Enjoy every minute. From here the route heads southwest and past the 5km marker to Darling Harbour, another must see visitor destination. It's full of great restaurants and cafes and tourist attractions like the Aquarium and the Wildlife Zoo. It's an out and back loop around the Harbour to the 10km marker and then it's north up to Barangaroo Reserve and then onto one of the famous parts of Sydney, past The Rocks and on to Circular Quay, where the city's ferries arrive and depart. The Rocks is home to one of the new spectator zones that is encouraging more people to watch the race and is part of the bid to become the next World Marathon Major. It was here in 1788 that the convicts first settled. It has a rich colonial history , has amazing water views and is full of quirky boutiques and cafes.

At 15km runners head south past the Botanical Gardens and on to Hyde Park, Oxford Street and Flinders Street before a series of out and back loops, from 20km to 35km. There is another spectator zone here as the course weaves around Moore Park and Centennial Park. Moore Park is home to the city's main sports grounds, including the Sydney Cricket Ground, where both cricket and Australian Rules Football are played and next door is the new Sydney Football Stadium, opened in 2022. Centennial Park, where much of this section is focused, was opened in 1888 and stretches for more than 189 hectares. At 35km the route takes runners north back into Sydney, down Oxford Street and past Hyde Park for another loop, up to Mrs MacQuarie's Chair, probably the best place in the whole city for views of the Opera House. It's then back through the 30 hectares of heritage listed Botanical Gardens for two of the best kilometres of any event anywhere, before finishing outside one of the most well-known buildings in the world, the Sydney Opera House.

Opened in 1973 and never actually seen by the man who designed it, Jørn Utzon from Denmark, the Opera House took 14 years to build. It was added to UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2007 and is visited by eleven million people every year.

The course is pretty flat and there are plenty of water stations. Facilities came under pressure in 2023 due to the unseasonably hot weather.

What's unique?

That finish at the Opera House!

Do charities benefit?

There has been a charity programme in the event for many years, with more than A$23 million raised since the first event. A$1.46m was raised in 2023.

Our verdict

One of the most beautiful cities in the world now has one of the fastest growing marathons in the world. From a normal marathon field of 4000 runners to one of 17,000 in a very short period of time has changed the nature of the event considerably. With the push to become the next World Marathon Major in 2025, comes big changes, with an elite field and the entertainment zones for spectators being just two of them. The growth in the marathon field may impact on the inclusion of other distances in 2024. It's definitely worth doing this event now if you're planning to at some point as it will become so much tougher to get a spot if it does become a Major, but then many will want to wait as it won't count towards a new Seven Star Medal until it does!

How to register

Online via the website. It's a first come first served event at the moment, but the growth is so significant that the marathon is likely to sell out much sooner for 2024. Charities do have guaranteed entries and so do some tour operators.

Race website

https://sydneymarathon.com/

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