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Jul 4, 2027
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The ASICS Gold Coast Marathon is a road marathon on Queensland's Gold Coast, held on a Sunday in early July, in the Australian winter, as the main race of a two-day running festival. The weekend also includes a half marathon, a 10 km, a 5 km and a wheelchair marathon, and more than 43,000 people took part in 2026. The marathon starts at 6:15 am at the Broadwater Parklands on Marine Parade in Southport, which is also the finish. It is run as out-and-back legs along the coast and the Broadwater: the route passes The Spit and Main Beach, follows The Esplanade in Surfers Paradise to Kurrawa, continues through Mermaid Beach and turns at Marine Parade in Miami at the halfway point, then heads back north. The organisers count 29 km of beachside running and put the course elevation at 62 metres. The cut-off is seven hours from the gun, which equals 6 hours 40 minutes from the last wave's start. The first Gold Coast Marathon was held on 2 September 1979 in Evandale. The course record is 2:06:20 for men (Haftu Strintzos, 2026) and 2:24:22 for women (Yuki Nakamura, 2024).
Typical climate for the race month — an estimate, not a forecast or a race-day record
July is midwinter on the Gold Coast but mild: average highs are around 21°C and lows around 12°C, with rain of 1 mm or more on about 7 days of the month.
The Race
Gold Coast
The Rotary Club of Surfers Paradise Central started the Gold Coast Marathon in 1979 as part of a health awareness campaign. Rotarian John Goldstein led 18 months of planning, including a series of marathon clinics. The first race was a six-lap course from the Evandale Civic Centre with 124 marathon starters, and Eric Sigmont and Mary Murison were first across the line. Both were given a trip to the Honolulu Marathon.
In 2026 Haftu Strintzos, 26, of Victoria won in 2:06:20, taking 73 seconds off the previous race record of 2:07:33 set by Japan's Yuki Takei in 2025. He was the first Australian winner in 20 years and also set Australian and Oceania records.
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02:06:20
Haftu Strintzos (2026)
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