Brisbane Marathon

The Race

History

The Brisbane Marathon was first run in 1992, with 101 finishers. The city had hosted a marathon before, at the 1982 Commonwealth Games, when Robert de Castella won on a course along Coronation Drive beside the river, but the modern race is a separate event that began a decade later.

It grew steadily. By 2012 the festival drew more than 5,000 participants from 18 countries. No race was held in 2020. The festival reached a record 16,500 participants across all distances in 2026, the marathon alongside a half marathon, 10 km, 5 km and a 2 km children’s race, and the date has settled in early June, the mild Brisbane winter, with a 06:00 start.

Atlas Events has run the race under a series of sponsor names, most recently the EVA Air Brisbane Marathon Festival. In September 2026 it announced the largest change in the race’s history: a new one-lap course that crosses the Story Bridge and uses Coronation Drive for the first time since 1982, with festival capacity rising to 20,000. The 2026 marathon was won by Takaki Mori and Lucy Bartholomew; because the course changes completely, earlier winning times and course records belong to the old layout. The race is AIMS certified and holds no World Athletics label.

The Atlas Majors medal

Brisbane is one of four marathons run by Atlas Events, with Hobart, Cairns and the Sunshine Coast. Finish the marathon at all four and Atlas sends a separate Atlas Majors medal. There is no time limit and no required order: after the fourth finish, runners submit a link to each official result through the application form on the Atlas Events website, and Atlas verifies them and posts the medal.

Brisbane in early June and Cairns in July sit five weeks apart in 2027, which makes them the natural pair for runners collecting two in one season. Brisbane is also nine weeks after Hobart, the longest gap in the series.

The course

The 2027 marathon is one lap. The organiser describes it as starting on the edge of the CBD, crossing the fully closed Story Bridge, following the river through Kangaroo Point and New Farm, and finishing inside the City Botanic Gardens; the announcement of the new course adds Coronation Drive, closed for a marathon for the first time since 1982. The start is at 06:00. The organiser’s own page currently names the start as George Street in one paragraph and Margaret Street in the next, both streets meeting the gardens, and quotes two different elevation totals, so neither detail is settled until the course map is out.

Earlier editions used a different layout, so older race reports, splits, GPS files and elevation figures do not describe this course. A kilometre-by-kilometre guide, aid-station positions and an elevation profile will be added once the official map is published.

Course Map

Until the route is published, the map shows only the fixed points: the City Botanic Gardens, two landmarks on the new course, and the two CBD stations served by the airport train. Tap a marker for details.

Pacers

Official pacers are listed for 3:00, 3:15, 3:30, 3:45, 4:00, 4:15, 4:30, 4:45 and 5:00, plus a sweeper. How they are identified and how start zones are allocated on the new course will be in the athlete guide; start zones are set by predicted finish time. The organiser also takes applications from runners who want to pace; The People Carrying the Balloon explains what the job involves on the day.

What to wear

Brisbane in June has a long-term mean minimum of about 11°C and a mean maximum of about 21°C, and the 06:00 start sits close to the colder figure. Runners gather before sunrise, so a light old layer is worth wearing to the start.

The morning warms fast after dawn. A runner out beyond four hours finishes in the late morning, when conditions can feel much closer to 20°C than 11°C, particularly in direct sun on open riverside roads. Dress for the second half: singlet or T-shirt and shorts, with arm sleeves or a throwaway top for the first half hour. Showers are possible and humidity can be noticeable even in winter. Put sunscreen on before the start if you expect to run past 09:00, and a cap helps on the exposed river sections.

Entry

Entry is open, sold in staged price releases, with no ballot and no qualifying time. The earliest release sells out first and each later one costs more, so entering early saves money and removes the risk of the distance filling. The minimum age is 17 on race day.

Sterling figures use A$1 = £0.53 and are a guide only. Entry includes a 2027 finisher’s medal and race shirt, a chip-timed bib, on-course aid and finish-area refreshments.

The festival is growing from a record 16,500 participants in 2026 to 20,000 across all distances. No separate charity or tour-operator allocation has been announced, and transfer, refund and deferral terms for 2027 have not been published; check the official FAQ before entering, because Atlas policies differ between its four races.

The organiser describes the course as a Boston qualifier. The course is new, so anyone relying on a Boston-qualifying time here should confirm the new layout’s certification before race day.

Fast Runner / GFA Standards

There is no good-for-age or fast-runner entry route. Elite athletes can contact Atlas Events about its elite programme; Brisbane-specific standards have not been published. Elite waivers and pacing are two of the routes to a free place set out in How to Race Without Paying the Entry Fee.

Race Weekend

Expo

Bib collection has in recent years been at the City Botanic Gardens over the days before the race: in 2025 it ran on the Thursday, Friday and Saturday, closing at 16:00 on the Saturday. Bring the registration confirmation QR code; another person has been able to collect on your behalf using your registration email. There is no ordinary race-day collection, so be in Brisbane by Saturday lunchtime at the latest.

Collection sits in the same gardens as the finish, so a CBD hotel covers collection, race morning and the walk back after the race without any transport. The 2027 days and hours will be in the athlete guide.

Getting to the Start

The marathon starts at 06:00. Bag drop has opened at about 05:00 in recent years, using the tag attached to the bib. Walk if you can: hotels on Alice, Edward, Albert, Mary, Margaret and George Streets are a short walk from the gardens, and walking removes any dependence on special trains or road closures. Use the start gate shown on the 2027 course map, not a street name from an older guide.

Rail is the fallback for anyone staying further out. In 2026 Translink ran seven extra early trains to Central, free for runners with a bib, companions and volunteers, and Queensland public transport has been charging a flat 50-cent fare; neither arrangement is confirmed for 2027. From Central, allow 15 to 20 minutes on foot to the gardens.

Take an old top for the wait before sunrise; recent editions have collected discarded clothing at the start. With up to 20,000 people around the gardens across the morning, space to warm up is limited, and a short jog with a few strides is enough. After the finish, medals and refreshments are in the gardens, next to bag collection. From a CBD hotel the walk back takes minutes; for South Bank, cross by a pedestrian bridge once course controls allow. Taxi and rideshare pickups near the gardens are slow during closures, and the traffic plan names pickup streets.

A 06:00 gun means breakfast at about 03:00 to 04:00, hours before any hotel buffet opens, so bring your own. Race Morning Fuel covers what to eat and how to manage it from a hotel room.

Nutrition on Course

FIXX Nutrition is the event’s nutrition partner; in 2026 the course carried FIXX Fuel X Tropical electrolyte and FIXX Gel X Pro gels. Aid-station positions on the new course will be added when the course map is published.

Spectating

The City Botanic Gardens are the one place a spectator is sure to see both the start and the finish, and they sit beside the CBD with toilets, cafés and transport close by. The new course also uses the river paths, the Story Bridge and Coronation Drive, each within reach of the city centre on foot or by public transport. Because the course is a single lap, the repeat sightings of older layouts no longer apply. Viewing points with kilometre markers, and spectator plans, will follow the course map.

Post-Race Food

Most runners finish before the lunch kitchens open, so the practical order is finish-line food and drink, a shower, then brunch. Walnut Restaurant and Lounge, in the Royal on the Park hotel on Alice Street, faces the gardens and serves Sunday breakfast from 06:00 to 10:00, with all-day dining after that: the closest seated breakfast to the line for a fast finisher.

Olive and Angelo at 12 Edward Street opens for Sunday lunch from about 11:30, and a bowl of pasta after a shower is the obvious order. Longwang at 144 Edward Street opens from 11:00 on Sundays and suits anyone who finishes later or wants to eat after going back to the hotel.

Where to Stay

The race starts and finishes at the City Botanic Gardens, so the best place to stay is the southern end of the CBD, within walking distance of the gardens. That covers bib collection, race morning and the walk back to a shower.

City Botanic Gardens and Alice Street

Alice Street runs along the gardens’ city edge, and hotels here are a few minutes from the start and finish. Saturday nights are quieter than in Fortitude Valley, though this is still the city centre. Rates are high on race weekend because the location is hard to beat.

CBD: Edward, Albert, Mary and Margaret Streets

The wider CBD is the best all-round choice, with most hotels 5 to 15 minutes from the gardens and Central station close by for the airport train. Noise depends on the block, but business districts are usually quiet on a Saturday night.

Queen’s Wharf and George Street

Queen’s Wharf and the southern end of George Street hold some of Brisbane’s newest high-end hotels, about 10 to 15 minutes from the gardens. The entertainment precinct keeps evenings busy, so skip it if a casino and bar district next door would cost you sleep.

Eagle Street and the Riverside

Eagle Street, along the river at the north-east end of the CBD, has hotels 10 to 20 minutes from the gardens and riverside restaurants, priced upper-middle to premium.

South Bank

South Bank, across the river, has parkland, galleries and restaurants and suits a longer city break or a family trip. Reaching the start means crossing the river by a pedestrian bridge before dawn, which adds time and depends on which crossings stay open.

Fortitude Valley

Fortitude Valley has plenty of rooms, often cheaper, and Brisbane’s liveliest nightlife. It is a longer walk or an early train to the gardens, and Saturday-night noise can be heavy: better for the days after the race than the night before.

Recommended hotels

Booking timeline

There is no ballot, so the trigger to book is the price release. The Early Access marathon release had already sold out by September 2026, eight months before the race, and the festival is expanding to 20,000 participants. Enter early and book a refundable room near the City Botanic Gardens at the same time. Brisbane has a large hotel market, but the rooms within a short walk of the gardens are limited. No official race hotel block has been announced.

International runners should aim to arrive by the Friday: bib collection has closed on the Saturday afternoon in recent years, and a delayed long-haul flight on Saturday leaves no margin. The Airtrain links Brisbane Airport with Central and Roma Street in about 20 minutes. Brisbane is nine hours ahead of the UK in June, a difficult eastward shift; Beating Jet Lag for Marathon Tourists sets out how to start adjusting before you fly.

See & Do

The gardens and South Bank are on foot from the finish; the koala sanctuary and Mount Coot-tha need a boat or a bus and suit the second day after the race.

City Botanic Gardens

0 km (0 miles), the finish. About 18 hectares on a bend of the river at 147 Alice Street, open 24 hours. The paths are flat, which makes a slow loop the afternoon after the race easy on the legs.

South Bank Parklands

1 km (0.6 miles) from finish. Riverside lawns and paths across the Goodwill Bridge from the gardens. Keep the visit short; the full river loop is more than tired legs want the day after.

Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art

1.5 km (0.9 miles) from finish. The two galleries sit side by side on the South Bank riverfront, across the Victoria Bridge from the CBD. Most of the visit is indoors and level, with seating throughout, which suits a cool or wet June day.

Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mount Coot-tha

7 km (4.3 miles) from finish. The city’s larger botanic garden, open 08:00 to 17:00 in the winter months, is reached by bus or taxi. Stick to the lower garden loops; the summit walks are for another trip.

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

12 km (7.5 miles) from finish. Reached by a river cruise from South Bank that takes 1 hour 45 minutes each way, so most of the trip is seated. The sanctuary itself means several hours on your feet, which makes it a better choice two days after the race than one.

Reading

David Malouf’s first novel, Johnno, follows two young men growing up in Brisbane in the 1940s and 1950s and is one of the defining books about the city. It shows the older, lower-rise Brisbane underneath the skyline runners see from the Story Bridge.

After the Race

June is winter in south-east Queensland, with mild days, cool evenings and the start of the humpback whale migration along the coast, which runs from June to November. The trips below are all reachable without flying.