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The Nike Melbourne Marathon is the main race of the Melbourne Marathon Festival, held on a Sunday in October since 1978. The 2026 festival, the 48th edition, had a 10 km, a 5 km, a 3 km and a 1 km mini marathon on the Saturday, and the marathon, a wheelchair marathon and a half marathon on the Sunday. In 2026 the 42.195 km course ran down St Kilda Road, past Flinders Street Station and around Albert Park Lake, with part of it on the Albert Park Formula One circuit, before finishing inside the Melbourne Cricket Ground. More than 20,000 runners took part across the festival that year. Eliud Kipchoge won the 2026 men's marathon in 2:09:10, a course record, and New Zealand's Camille French won the women's race in 2:28:25. The women's course record is 2:25:19, set by Sinead Diver in 2018.
Typical climate for the race month — an estimate, not a forecast or a race-day record
October in Melbourne is mild spring weather: highs average about 20°C and lows about 10°C, with around 55 mm of rain over the month.
The Race
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In October 2026 Eliud Kipchoge, then 41, broke away inside the last 10 km to win in 2:09:10, two seconds inside the course record Timothy Kiplagat Ronoh set in 2022. The two-time Olympic champion slowed down inside the MCG to wave to the crowd. Australians Thomas Do Canto and Reece Edwards were second and third.
In October 2018 Sinead Diver won the women's race in 2:25:19, beating the course record Lisa Weightman set in 2013 by 46 seconds. It was her third Melbourne Marathon, and a record bonus of A$20,000 doubled her prize money. The record still stands.
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02:09:10
Eliud Kipchoge (2026)
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