Gold Coast Marathon 2027
Flat, cool and run on closed roads along the ocean, the Gold Coast is where Australians go to set a personal best. Here is the race, how long you have, and what time to aim for.
Weeks to go
Counting down to Sunday 4 July 2027.
- Date
- Sunday 4 July 2027
- Where
- Southport, Gold Coast, Queensland
- Events
- Marathon and half marathon (race weekend 3–4 July); 10 km, 5.7 km and junior distances on the Saturday
- Course
- Out-and-back along the Gold Coast Highway from Broadwater Parklands, south towards Burleigh Heads then north to Runaway Bay
- Climb
- Close to flat — well under 100 m of climbing over the marathon
- Weather
- Mid-winter: typically 8–12 °C at the start, around 20 °C by late morning
The course
The marathon starts and finishes at Broadwater Parklands in Southport and spends almost all of its distance on the Gold Coast Highway and the oceanfront: south through Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach to the turn near Burleigh Heads, back past the start, north to Runaway Bay and home. Two out-and-backs, wide roads, and the field in sight for much of the way.
There is no hill worth planning for. The rises are bridges and underpasses, over in a hundred metres, and the total climb is a fraction of what Sydney or Melbourne ask. That is why the Gold Coast has held Australia's fastest marathon times and why the race sells itself as the place to run a personal best. The one thing the course does have is wind off the water in the back half, which punishes anyone who went out too hard in the first.
What time should you aim for?
Not the time you would like. The time a race you have already run says you are worth. A recent 5K, 10K or half marathon, projected with the two models coaches use, is a far better anchor than the round number in your head — and over the marathon both models are optimistic for anyone who has not built the long-run endurance yet.
Project your marathon from a recent race · Then score the goal against the weeks you have
The second link carries this race's distance and the weeks left into the goal calculator, so the only things you type are your current 5K and the time you want.
How many weeks does the build need?
More than most schedules admit, and the reason is the long run. A marathon block has to walk your longest run from wherever it is today up to the low thirties of kilometres, at a rate your legs can absorb, with cutback weeks along the way and a taper at the end. The minimum number of weeks is set by that climb, not by the calendar — which is why the goal calculator asks for your longest comfortable run before it gives you a number.
If the countdown above is shorter than the block the calculator asks for, the honest options are a later goal time or the half on the Saturday. Compressing the long-run climb is how marathon blocks turn into injuries in week nine.
Race-day pacing on this course
- Even splits win here. The course gives you no reason to vary pace. Run the first 5 km no faster than goal pace; the pace calculator prints the 5 km marks for any goal time.
- Respect the north leg. The run to Runaway Bay and back is where the wind and the kilometres meet. Plan for the second half to feel harder at the same pace, and keep the pace.
- The weather will change twice. Cold at the start, warm by the finish. Dress for kilometre 30, not kilometre 1.
- Drink to a plan. Aid stations are frequent and well staffed. Decide before the start which ones you use.
Entries, timing and the official word
Entries open through the organiser's site, and the marathon has sold out in recent years — earlier each time. The race is a World Athletics Label road race with an early-morning start to beat the sun. Dates, start times and entry details on this page are refreshed each year from the official site; confirm there before booking travel.
Common questions
Is the Gold Coast Marathon really flat?
As flat as a big-city marathon gets. The course follows the Gold Coast Highway and the oceanfront with a handful of gentle rises at bridges and underpasses. Most GPS traces show well under 100 m of total climb, and the fast times over the years come from exactly that.
How long before the race should I start training?
It depends on how far you can comfortably run today, not on a fixed number of weeks. The goal time calculator works out the minimum block from your current longest run, because the long run has to climb at a rate your legs survive. From a comfortable 10 km, expect it to want the better part of four months.
What time should I aim for?
Start from a race you have actually run, not a time you would like. The race time predictor turns a recent 5K, 10K or half into a marathon figure, and the goal time calculator then scores how likely that is against the weeks you have left.
Will it be cold at the start?
It is July in Queensland: usually single digits to low teens at 6 am, climbing to around 20 °C by the time the back of the field finishes. A throwaway layer at the start and a plan for the sun after 9 am covers most years.
Outrunr is not affiliated with the race organiser. Event names are their owners' trade marks; dates and details come from the official site and can change.