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Jul 18, 2027
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The Melbourne Half Marathon is the ASICS Half Marathon of Run Melbourne, a mid-winter running festival held on a Sunday in July on closed roads in the city centre. It is organised by Sole Motive, a family-owned Australian business founded in 1980, which also publishes Runner's World Australia. The half marathon is a one-lap course. It starts on Batman Avenue at 6:30 am, runs east along Flinders Street and through Fitzroy Gardens, passes Flinders Street Station and follows the Yarra River, crossing Webb Bridge at about 10 km. The final stretch comes back along the Yarra into Birrarung Marr, onto Tanderrum Bridge and across the finish line inside Melbourne Park. The organisers describe the course as fast and flat. The start line closes at 7:30 am, and runners must reach set points by set times: Lansdowne Street and Flinders Street (3 km) by 8:00 am, Webb Bridge (10 km) by 9:15 am and Batman Avenue (20 km) by 11:45 am. A 10K, a 5.5K and a Kids 2K Dash run on the same weekend. More than 28,000 people took part in the 2026 festival, and the organiser said participants raised more than A$1 million for over 400 charities.
Typical climate for the race month — an estimate, not a forecast or a race-day record
July is mid-winter in Melbourne: average highs are around 14°C and lows around 7°C. With a 6:30 am start, the half marathon begins in the coldest hours of the day.
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Run Melbourne was launched by Sole Motive in 2008, and press coverage of the 2024 event described it as being in its 17th year. Sole Motive co-founder Terry O'Halloran said that at its peak, in 2012, 26,000 people ran Run Melbourne, a mid-winter 5K, 10K and half marathon event.
A 2016 profile noted that the Run Melbourne half marathon now offered runners one loop rather than a repetitive two. The current course starts on Batman Avenue and ends in Melbourne Park.
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