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Marathon Details - Canberra Marathon

International Marathons > Australia > Canberra > Canberra Marathon

Canberra Marathon

The Canberra Times Canberra Marathon & Half Marathon, 10K, 5K

Canberra, Australia

April 13, 2025

http://www.runningfestival.com.au

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Race Details

Lap course through Parliamentary Triangle and around Lakeb Burley Griffin.

Contact Information

Name:	Dave Cundy
Address:	Canberra Marathon PO Box 206 Ettalong Beach NSW 2257
Phone Number:	+61 2 4342 7611
Fax Number:	+61 2 4342 7648
Email:	Email the organizers

Runner Reviews (8)

Course 3.3

Organization 4.5

Spectators 2.6

Write a review

Number of comments: 8

R. K. from Australia (7/11/2015) "Great marathon since course change in 2014" (about: 2015) 2 previous marathons \| 2 Canberra Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 I ran this course in 2012 (old course that looped twice) and again this year in 2015. the new course is significantly better than the old one as it no longer loops (although does double back on itself for a short distance a few times). Undulating hills and was slightly hillier than I expected. Still managed a PB which was great. Excellent organization. Bit chilly at the start line (6 degrees C) but great weather and scenic start outside Old Parliament House. Scenic course the whole way. Spectators were not really there at all, except at the finish. Good pacers and excellent aid stations. A great race, and a massive improvement over the old course.
J. B. from Sydney, Australia (4/15/2012) "Boring course: at least it's flat" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 2 Canberra Marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 Pros: - Flat course - Water, sports drink and sponges every 2.5km - Really great volunteers - every station was well stocked and friendly - Pretty small marathon field so it was easy to find a pacer and stick to them - Generous selection of energy gels at 15 and 28km - Relatively cool weather (hard to find in Australia!) - Lots of accommodation near the start/finish line Cons: - The course is really boring. The first 10km loop around the parliamentary triangle is ok, then the marathoners do two laps of a highway. Sure there's some pretty water views between the trees but most of the time it's just bitumen. The turn around point goes past a few national buildings but they're not spectacular and definitely not the third time you go past. - There's very little ambiance unless you BYO supporters or know other people in the race. Even the winner of the men's marathon had to ask the crowd 1km from the finish to show a little more excitement. There were maybe two spots on the course playing music. - The first part of the race shared with the half marathoners is a bit too crowded going through the narrow streets around parliament. - No finisher shirt. Also overseas visitors will be very disappointed with the 'expo' to pick up your bib. This year there was a grand total of two stalls and the only freebie in your race kit was a sample few pages from a new women's running magazine. In previous years (before a change in ownership of the race) there were high quality plastic pace bands and more stalls. I think it's a good race to do if you're local and if you want to shoot for a fast time.
S. C. from Portland Oregon USA (4/22/2011) "Flat but Boring Course" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Canberra Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 For such a beautiful city, they sure picked a bland course. It looks like you'll be running by the lake. Well, you are, but on a FREEWAY. And out and back on the same stretch of freeway TWICE. And you get the noise from the other side since it is still open. Not pleasant at all. And NO SHIRT? HUH? Why no shirt? Basically no restrooms... sorry, ladies; guys used the bushes. And hardly anything at the finish line. Nice people, but they have a way to go in making this a good marathon.
J. S. from Canberra, Australia (4/19/2007) "Give it a go!" (about: 2007) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Canberra Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Fun race! Even for a convoluted, two-plus-loop course, it was lots of fun. Fairly flat, very fast. Don't worry about Parliament hill - watch out for KM's 19 and 34! A thin crowd, but very supportive. Thought the idea of the balloon festival was GREAT (too bad the winds didn't cooperate for them). A very competitive field of runners. And the option to keep going for a 50K ultra (and get times for both) was really cool. Great volunteers; plenty of water stops. Only nit I had was lack of port-a-loos at the start. With 1000+ runners, the race has outgrown the school gym toilets. See you next year!
Vat Man from Sydney, NSW (4/8/2005) "One of Australia's best" (about: 2004) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Canberra Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Not the most interesting course with its loops, but it does have a good natural flow to it and weather conditions are perfect at that time of the year. Organization is brilliant. Spectators are very good, when you come across them - access to a fair bit of the course (Parkes Ave.) is difficult so they tend to be concentrated in a few areas. Tends to produce good times from people. Field isn't huge, but most runners tend to be from clubs so you'll generally find it's a pretty good quality field. Can get a little lonely, but you often see runners going the other way.
Andrew Wear from Melbourne, Australia (4/22/2004) "A runner's marathon" (about: 2004) 3 previous marathons \| 2 Canberra Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 This is a race in which to do well. It's a well organized run, with consistently perfect running weather on a course that has proven itself to be quite quick. It's a quiet marathon, with a relatively small field (about 800), so it can get a bit lonely - particularly up at the front. If hype is what you're after, this is not the race for you.
R. S. from Sydney Australia (11/10/2003) "Recommended" (about: 2003) COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I really enjoyed this marathon. Organization was superb, no problems at all. The course is slightly hilly but generally good. You run past many of Canberra's famous landmarks. While not particularly interesting, the course is pretty and very peaceful. The streets on a Sunday morning are very quiet even without a marathon. The weather at this time of year is near-perfect, cool but not cold. The course is a 'two-lap' course (like Stockholm) and turns back on itself in a few places - many people don't like this sort of course. Marshals and drink stations were fine. Very little fan support on the course, but very friendly at the finish. Highly recommend this course for the beginner-intermediate looking to do a PB - good weather, relatively small field and nice wide streets mean you can run a good time. I will do this race again.
A Runner from Australia (1/20/2002) "Quite a good Marathon." (about: 2001) COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Canberra is one of Australia's perfect running cities, quality environment, good temps and large interest in the sport. The only thing I didn't like about the Marathon was that quite often you found the the course turned back on itself. This effectively meant that it was difficult to guage distances and position at times. The organizers and event marshall deserve a clap for a quality event. Only one thing could make this a better run???? the finish could be situated in main street Canberra.



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R. K. from Australia (7/11/2015) "Great marathon since course change in 2014" (about: 2015) 2 previous marathons \| 2 Canberra Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 I ran this course in 2012 (old course that looped twice) and again this year in 2015. the new course is significantly better than the old one as it no longer loops (although does double back on itself for a short distance a few times). Undulating hills and was slightly hillier than I expected. Still managed a PB which was great. Excellent organization. Bit chilly at the start line (6 degrees C) but great weather and scenic start outside Old Parliament House. Scenic course the whole way. Spectators were not really there at all, except at the finish. Good pacers and excellent aid stations. A great race, and a massive improvement over the old course.
J. B. from Sydney, Australia (4/15/2012) "Boring course: at least it's flat" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 2 Canberra Marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 Pros: - Flat course - Water, sports drink and sponges every 2.5km - Really great volunteers - every station was well stocked and friendly - Pretty small marathon field so it was easy to find a pacer and stick to them - Generous selection of energy gels at 15 and 28km - Relatively cool weather (hard to find in Australia!) - Lots of accommodation near the start/finish line Cons: - The course is really boring. The first 10km loop around the parliamentary triangle is ok, then the marathoners do two laps of a highway. Sure there's some pretty water views between the trees but most of the time it's just bitumen. The turn around point goes past a few national buildings but they're not spectacular and definitely not the third time you go past. - There's very little ambiance unless you BYO supporters or know other people in the race. Even the winner of the men's marathon had to ask the crowd 1km from the finish to show a little more excitement. There were maybe two spots on the course playing music. - The first part of the race shared with the half marathoners is a bit too crowded going through the narrow streets around parliament. - No finisher shirt. Also overseas visitors will be very disappointed with the 'expo' to pick up your bib. This year there was a grand total of two stalls and the only freebie in your race kit was a sample few pages from a new women's running magazine. In previous years (before a change in ownership of the race) there were high quality plastic pace bands and more stalls. I think it's a good race to do if you're local and if you want to shoot for a fast time.
S. C. from Portland Oregon USA (4/22/2011) "Flat but Boring Course" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Canberra Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 For such a beautiful city, they sure picked a bland course. It looks like you'll be running by the lake. Well, you are, but on a FREEWAY. And out and back on the same stretch of freeway TWICE. And you get the noise from the other side since it is still open. Not pleasant at all. And NO SHIRT? HUH? Why no shirt? Basically no restrooms... sorry, ladies; guys used the bushes. And hardly anything at the finish line. Nice people, but they have a way to go in making this a good marathon.
J. S. from Canberra, Australia (4/19/2007) "Give it a go!" (about: 2007) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Canberra Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Fun race! Even for a convoluted, two-plus-loop course, it was lots of fun. Fairly flat, very fast. Don't worry about Parliament hill - watch out for KM's 19 and 34! A thin crowd, but very supportive. Thought the idea of the balloon festival was GREAT (too bad the winds didn't cooperate for them). A very competitive field of runners. And the option to keep going for a 50K ultra (and get times for both) was really cool. Great volunteers; plenty of water stops. Only nit I had was lack of port-a-loos at the start. With 1000+ runners, the race has outgrown the school gym toilets. See you next year!
Vat Man from Sydney, NSW (4/8/2005) "One of Australia's best" (about: 2004) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Canberra Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Not the most interesting course with its loops, but it does have a good natural flow to it and weather conditions are perfect at that time of the year. Organization is brilliant. Spectators are very good, when you come across them - access to a fair bit of the course (Parkes Ave.) is difficult so they tend to be concentrated in a few areas. Tends to produce good times from people. Field isn't huge, but most runners tend to be from clubs so you'll generally find it's a pretty good quality field. Can get a little lonely, but you often see runners going the other way.
Andrew Wear from Melbourne, Australia (4/22/2004) "A runner's marathon" (about: 2004) 3 previous marathons \| 2 Canberra Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 This is a race in which to do well. It's a well organized run, with consistently perfect running weather on a course that has proven itself to be quite quick. It's a quiet marathon, with a relatively small field (about 800), so it can get a bit lonely - particularly up at the front. If hype is what you're after, this is not the race for you.
R. S. from Sydney Australia (11/10/2003) "Recommended" (about: 2003) COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I really enjoyed this marathon. Organization was superb, no problems at all. The course is slightly hilly but generally good. You run past many of Canberra's famous landmarks. While not particularly interesting, the course is pretty and very peaceful. The streets on a Sunday morning are very quiet even without a marathon. The weather at this time of year is near-perfect, cool but not cold. The course is a 'two-lap' course (like Stockholm) and turns back on itself in a few places - many people don't like this sort of course. Marshals and drink stations were fine. Very little fan support on the course, but very friendly at the finish. Highly recommend this course for the beginner-intermediate looking to do a PB - good weather, relatively small field and nice wide streets mean you can run a good time. I will do this race again.
A Runner from Australia (1/20/2002) "Quite a good Marathon." (about: 2001) COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Canberra is one of Australia's perfect running cities, quality environment, good temps and large interest in the sport. The only thing I didn't like about the Marathon was that quite often you found the the course turned back on itself. This effectively meant that it was difficult to guage distances and position at times. The organizers and event marshall deserve a clap for a quality event. Only one thing could make this a better run???? the finish could be situated in main street Canberra.

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Marathon Details - Canberra Marathon