The Sydney Marathon: 2027 Date, Ballot, Course and Cut-Off

Routes | Published 2026-10-03 | By OUTRN Team

North Sydney to the Sydney Opera House, New South Wales, Australia

The TCS Sydney Marathon 2027: the 29 August date, how the ballot works, the course from North Sydney to the Opera House, the elevation and the cut-off.

Source: official ballot page.

You start on Miller Street in North Sydney, which the organisers describe as the same location as the Sydney 2000 Olympic marathon start. Early on you cross the Harbour Bridge, and later you loop Centennial Park before the long run back to Mrs Macquarie's Chair and the finish beside the Sydney Opera House.

The TCS Sydney Marathon is a 42.195km road race through central Sydney, held on Sunday 29 August 2027. It is the seventh Abbott World Marathon Major and a World Athletics Platinum Label race, per the official About page, and entry is by free ballot.

What is the TCS Sydney Marathon?

According to the official event site, the race is owned by Australian Athletics and managed by Pont3, with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) as title partner. The official About page calls it the sole remaining participant legacy of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, and says it was announced as the seventh World Marathon Major in November 2024.

When is the Sydney Marathon in 2027?

The Sydney Marathon is on Sunday 29 August 2027, per the official marathon page. The 5km Mini Marathon is on Saturday 28 August 2027, starting in the CBD on Macquarie Street and finishing at the Opera House, with its start time still to be confirmed. The marathon page lists elite wheelchair athletes at 6:15am and the mass start from 6:30am, and says start-group times are shared closer to race day.

How do you get a place in the Sydney Marathon?

By ballot, which is free to enter and random, not first-come. The 2027 ballot opened at 10:00am AEST on 29 September 2026 and closes at 10:00am AEDT on 19 October 2026. Successful applicants are notified and charged on 3 November 2026.

• Charity partners: more than 50 official charity partners offer guaranteed entries, subject to an application and fundraising requirements. The page does not publish the minimums: each charity sets its own.
• Travel and charity programs: offered to unsuccessful applicants.
• Duo teams and racing wheelchairs: apply separately. The event rules set the racing wheelchair qualifier at under 2 hours 45 within one year before registration.
• Age: 18 or over on race day, per the event rules.
• Deferrals: the official FAQ says 2025 and 2026 entrants who deferred are contacted after the November 2026 draw, and should not enter the ballot.

The entry fee depends on the page you read. On 4 October 2026 the official ballot page listed $280 for domestic entrants and $330 for international entrants, while the official FAQ listed $285 for Australian and New Zealand residents and $340 for internationals, plus a mandatory carbon levy. Check the figure at registration.

What is the Sydney Marathon course?

The course runs from Miller Street in North Sydney to the Opera House. The official course page names the landmarks: the start that celebrates the Sydney 2000 Olympic marathon, a Harbour Bridge crossing, a loop of Centennial Park, Mrs Macquarie's Chair in the Royal Botanic Garden, and the finish at the Opera House. The official elevation figures are 313m of gain and an 83m net drop.

Spectators can use the official spectator points, with these distance marks from the 2026 race:

The route has changed over the years. When Australian Athletics announced the 2023 course, it described more roadways, fewer 180-degree turns and a cut-off extended to seven hours, with the Harbour Bridge crossing and the Opera House finish.

What is the cut-off, and how fast do you need to run?

The official event rules set a seven-hour time limit, counted from the closure of the start window, and you must finish inside it to count as an official finisher. Seven hours over 42.195km works out at just under 10 minutes per kilometre. The rules add that the start window and cut-off times may vary for safety reasons, and that course cut-offs are published closer to event day. Our marathon training plan guide covers how to build to the distance.

Is there a Sydney half marathon?

Not in this event. The official site lists the marathon and the 5km Mini Marathon only. The half marathon most people are looking for is a separate event, the Runaway Sydney Half Marathon. Check its official site for the 2027 date and entry.

How do you watch the Sydney Marathon, and what closes?

Public transport is the official recommendation. For the 2026 race the organisers' traffic and transport page listed a course lock-down from 5:30am to 10:30am, light rail from 3:45am on the L1, L2 and L3 lines, and the bib as a ticket on trains, metro, buses and ferries. The 2026 race was broadcast on SBS and SBS On Demand. Road closures and transport arrangements change every year, so read the 2027 notices on the Transport for NSW event page closer to race day.

Who won in 2026?

According to the World Athletics race report, Addisu Gobena of Ethiopia won the men's race in 2:04:42, a course record, and Peres Jepchirchir of Kenya won the women's in 2:18:31. That was nine seconds outside the women's course record, Sifan Hassan's 2:18:22 from 2025. Official results are on the event results page.

What does the bridge feel like? The official course page lists "Crossing the Sydney Harbour Bridge" among its key highlights, and the first official spectator point is across the harbour at Barangaroo at the 10km mark, so the crossing comes inside the first 10km. Melissa Woodley, editor of Time Out Australia, ran the race in 2025 and 2026 and wrote the day after the 2026 race: "Running across the Harbour Bridge and flying over the finish line at the Sydney Opera House still gave me goosebumps". Her other pick was "the drag queens and DJs hyping us up down Oxford Street", which matches the official spectator point at Taylor Square, passed at 15.4km and again at 36.2km.

Is the Sydney Marathon for you?

It is a marathon, and a world-major one, so a comfortable 10km is where preparation starts, not where it ends. Places are limited and allocated by random draw: the official marathon page says the 2026 ballot drew 123,000 applications. If you miss out, charity partners are the other route in.

Inspired? Try a long day with a crew instead

If a ballot is not for you, our Blue Mountains trip has a long day built in: the Sunday Six Foot Track run, about 28 to 30km with more than 1,000m of climbing on the return, plus a shorter 15 to 16km turnaround. It is not a race and there is no race clock, just a turnaround time so everyone is off the hill in daylight. Dates are to be confirmed and the price is an estimate of about $1,650 per person. Booking is not open yet, so register your interest and we will contact you first.

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Further reading

• How do you build a marathon training plan?
• What should you eat before a long run?
• How do you train for your first ultra?

Sources

All checked on 4 October 2026.

• TCS Sydney Marathon, official site: 2027 ballot, marathon and course, Mini Marathon
• TCS Sydney Marathon: Event rules and FAQs
• TCS Sydney Marathon: About us, Run for charity, Spectators, Traffic and transport
• Australian Athletics: Sydney Marathon set to make history (2023 course announcement)
• World Athletics: 2026 race report and 2025 race report
• Multisport Australia: 2026 official results
• Transport for NSW: Getting to events
• Melissa Woodley, Time Out Australia: I ran the Sydney Marathon: here are my 5 takeaways from 2026

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