Melbourne Marathon
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Nike Melbourne Marathon Festival : event overview
The Nike Melbourne Marathon Festival is a two-day running festival in Melbourne with an iconic MCG finish on both days. The weekend program includes marathon, half marathon, wheelchair, and shorter community races, with a total field capacity expanded to about 66,000 participants and a Marathon field of 20,000. Organisers added roughly 16,000 participant spots across the program.
Distances included in the festival:
- 42.195 km Nike Melbourne Marathon, field 20,000
- 42.195 km Nike Wheelchair Marathon
- 21.1 km Nike Half Marathon, field 16,000
- 10 km SriLankan Airlines 10km, capacity 15,000
- 5 km Dairy Farmers 5km, capacity 10,000
- 3 km Chobani 3km, capacity 3,000 (extended from 2.5 km)
- 1 km Bupa Healthy Cities Mini Marathon, capacity 2,000
Course and event changes are described in detail. The Marathon course has been reimagined to reduce elevation gain by up to 20 percent, run in the reverse direction to Beach Road, and remove specific climbs and diversions to create fewer turns and wider running corridors. The Half Marathon also runs in reverse, providing different on-course sightlines and wave starts to improve flow. Start-line processing has been expanded and the start line shifted 250 metres toward Flinders Street. A tram-free viewing zone will be in place between Anzac Station and Federation Square. The festival also highlights participant services such as training resources, hydration and recovery support, and reports more than $2.7M raised for charity in 2025. Visit the organization's website for the most recent information.
