Melbourne Marathon

The Melbourne Marathon has been held every year from 1978. The 42.195 km run over the traditional marathon distance is the main race within the annual Melbourne Marathon Festival. The race celebrated its 30th birthday in 2007 with a new course which featured the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) as both the starting point and finishing point. A total of 3328 competitors completed the 2008 race. Another 17,000 people participated in Half Marathon (21.1 km), 10 km and 5.5 km events.

The 2013 running of the marathon saw a record number of 6852 finishers, and race records set for both men and women. There were 6054 finishers in 2014, 30% of them female. In 1978 approximately 4% of the 1947 finishers were female.

The marathon has been owned by IMG since 2006.

A variety of different courses have been used for the Melbourne Marathon although the most common course has begun at Frankston and concluded at either Albert Park or at The Arts Centre on St. Kilda Rd. It is normally run on the second Sunday in October.

Since 2007 the event has started near the MCG and finished with a lap of the ground. The predominantly flat marathon course goes through some of the most scenic areas of Melbourne. It skirts the Botanic Gardens and Albert park Lake with several kilometres on the road parallel to the beaches of Port Phillip Bay. The other events share parts of the course but staggered starts ease congestion.

Key:   Course record   Country's championship race

Spartans are runners who have completed 10 or more Melbourne Marathons. Spartans are recognized today by their distinctive green, gold, red, maroon or navy running singlets. Every Spartan has their own personalized race number. The singlet is worn with pride by all Spartans as a sign of their dedication to marathon running and the Melbourne Marathon in particular. Club records reflect more than 1200 who have qualified as Spartans including 83 females. Most come from Victoria but there are many from other states and at least two from Japan.

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