Sydney Marathon 2027
Over the Harbour Bridge, through the city and the parks, and down to the Opera House. A World Marathon Major now, with the hills and the late-winter warmth that make it one to respect rather than race flat out from the gun.
Weeks to go
Counting down to Late August 2027 — date to be confirmed.
- Date
- Late August 2027 — date to be confirmed
- Where
- Milsons Point to the Sydney Opera House, Sydney, New South Wales
- Events
- Marathon (an Abbott World Marathon Major); shorter events on the same weekend vary by year
- Course
- Start at Bradfield Park under the Harbour Bridge, over the bridge into the city, out through the eastern suburbs and Centennial Park, back through the city to finish on the Opera House forecourt
- Climb
- Hilly for a major — around 300 m of climbing by most GPS traces, with the sharpest work in the last 5 km
- Weather
- Late winter into spring: often 10–15 °C at the start and 20 °C or more by the finish, with sun
The course
The race begins in Bradfield Park at Milsons Point, under the southern approach of the Harbour Bridge, and the first kilometres carry the field up onto the bridge and down into the city. That descent is the first trap of the day: fresh legs, a closed bridge, a downhill and a crowd, and a pace five seconds a kilometre quicker than you meant.
From the city the route heads out through the eastern suburbs and around Centennial Park before turning back towards the harbour and finishing on the forecourt of the Opera House. The ground rolls the whole way, and the course saves real climbing for the last five kilometres, when it hurts most. Around 300 metres of total ascent by most GPS traces makes this the hilliest of the Australian city marathons — and, since it joined the Abbott World Marathon Majors, one of the hillier Majors full stop.
What time should you aim for?
Start from a race you have actually run. A recent 5K, 10K or half marathon projected with the two models coaches use gives you a flat-course marathon figure. Sydney is not a flat course, and late August is not cool, so treat that figure as the fast end of a range rather than the target. A few minutes slower than the flat prediction is a good marathon here.
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?
The long run decides it. A marathon block walks 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 and a taper. The minimum number of weeks is set by that climb, which is why the goal calculator asks for your longest comfortable run before it answers.
For this course, put hills in the long runs from the middle of the block onwards. The marathon distance is the same as the Gold Coast's; the legs it asks for at kilometre 38 are not.
Race-day pacing on this course
- Give the bridge back. Whatever the descent hands you in the first 3 km, let it go. Run the first 10 km at goal pace or a touch slower; the pace calculator prints the 5 km marks for any goal.
- Bank nothing. Time "banked" on the flat is spent twice on the climbs at the end. Even effort, not even pace, is the plan on rolling ground.
- Plan the last 5 km before you start. Know where the climb is and decide now what pace you will accept on it. A planned slowdown is pacing; an unplanned one is a collapse.
- It gets warm. A 20 °C finish is common. Drink to a plan from the first station, and start a shade slower if the forecast is above it.
Entries and the official word
As a Major, entry is by ballot with limited places, and it fills. The organiser announces the date, the ballot window and the final course each year; this page is refreshed from the official site as that happens. Confirm the date there before booking anything.
Common questions
When is the 2027 Sydney Marathon?
The organiser had not confirmed the 2027 date when this page was written. Recent editions have been run in late August or early September, and the countdown here runs against a late-August estimate until the real date is announced. The official site has the entry ballot and the confirmed date.
How hilly is it, really?
Hillier than any other Australian major-city marathon and most of the World Marathon Majors. Expect around 300 m of total climbing, a fast drop off the Harbour Bridge early that tempts you into going out too hard, rolling ground through the eastern suburbs, and a genuine climb inside the final 5 km when the legs have least to give. Pace the first 10 km as if the course were flat and you will pay for it at 38.
Should I adjust my goal time for the course?
Yes. A projection from a flat 5K or 10K assumes a flat marathon. Allow for the climbing and the warmth: a few minutes against a flat-course prediction is realistic for most runners. The race time predictor gives you the flat figure; treat it as the fast end of the range here.
How long before the race should I start?
It depends on your longest comfortable run today. The goal time calculator works out the minimum block from that, because the long run has to climb at a survivable rate. For a hilly course, add long runs on hills in the back half of the block — the distance is the same, the legs it asks for are not.
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.