The Melbourne Marathon has been held annually since 1978. The 42.195km run over the traditional marathon distance is the main race within the annual Melbourne Marathon Festival. The race celebrated its 30th birthday in 2007 with a new course which featured the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) as both the starting point and finishing point. A total of 3328 competitors completed the 2008 race. Another 17,000 people participated in Half Marathon (21.1km), 10km and 5.5km events.

The 2019 running of the marathon saw an Australian record of 7037 finishers, 1880 of whom were female (27%). In 1978 approximately 4% of the 1947 finishers were female.

The 2020 event was cancelled on 9 September due to the COVID-19 crisis. A virtual marathon was run for the period 5 December to 13 December.

In September 2021 it was decided to postpone the 2021 event until 11 and 12 December. The marathon and half marathon were run on Sunday the 12th, starting an hour earlier to escape the heat. The shorter events were held on the afternoon of Saturday the 11th.

The 2022 event returned to October with all events being run on Sunday. There were 6215 finishers in the marathon.

The marathon was owned by IMG from 2006 until 2025, when ownership was transferred to MARI.

The course

A variety of different courses have been used for the Melbourne Marathon although the most common course has begun at Frankston and concluded at either Albert Park or at The Arts Centre on St. Kilda Rd. It is normally run on the second Sunday in October.[citation needed]

Since 2007 the event has started near the MCG and finished with a lap of the ground. The predominantly flat marathon course goes through some of the most scenic areas of Melbourne. It skirts the Botanic Gardens and Albert Park Lake with several kilometres on the road parallel to the beaches of Port Phillip Bay. The other events share parts of the course but staggered starts ease congestion.[citation needed]

Past winners

Key: Course record Country's championship race

EditionYearMen's winnerTime (h:m:s)Women's winnerTime (h:m:s)
1st1978Bill Scott(AUS)2:21:04Elizabeth Richards-Hassall(AUS)2:53:38
2nd1979Andrew Lloyd(AUS)2:26:44Jane Kuchins(AUS)3:12:35
3rd1980Andrew Lloyd(AUS)2:17:37Rosemary Longstaff(AUS)2:46:16
4th1981Andrew Lloyd(AUS)2:19:03Jackie Turney-Cook(AUS)2:42:12
5th1982Bill Rodgers(USA)2:11:08Sue King(USA)2:37:57
6th1983Juma Ikangaa(TAN)2:13:15Rhonda Mallinder(AUS)2:37:56
7th1984Juma Ikangaa(TAN)2:15:31Margaret Reddan(AUS)2:43:40
8th1985Fred van der Vennet(BEL)2:12:35Margaret Reddan(AUS)2:44:56
9th1986Richard Umberg(SUI)2:17:21Tani Ruckle(AUS)2:36:06
10th1987Ric Sayre(USA)2:14:16Jackie Turney-Cook(AUS)2:44:18
11th1988Thomas Hughes(IRL)2:18:14Coral Farr(AUS)2:47:38
12th1989Takeshi So(JPN)2:18:13Colleen Stephens(AUS)2:49:18
13th1990Russell Foley(AUS)2:20:35Alevtina Chasova(URS)2:39:00
14th1991Victor Muzgovoi(URS)2:17:02Irina Petrova(URS)2:39:57
15th1992Sławomir Gurny(POL)2:16:04†Alena Peterková(TCH)2:33:02†
16th1993Jerry Modiga(RSA)2:15:07Dominique Rembert(FRA)2:44:22
17th1994Manabu Kawagoe(JPN)2:19:02Winnie Ng(HKG)2:47:37
18th1995Osamu Monoe(JPN)2:17:19Lynn Clayton(AUS)2:38:50
19th1996Zerhun Gizaw(ETH)2:22:40Sylvia Rose(AUS)2:41:53
20th1997Greg Lyons(AUS)2:15:49Tracey Newton(AUS)2:48:32
21st1998Daniel Radebe(RSA)2:12:48Sherryn Rhodes(AUS)2:37:56
22nd1999Michael McIntyre(AUS)2:25:04Susan Hobson(AUS)2:33:27
23rd2000Jamie Harrison(AUS)2:25:53Nelly Marmy-Conus(AUS)2:49:22
24th2001Todd Ingraham(AUS)2:23:58Samantha Hughes(AUS)2:39:44
25th2002Phillip Sly(AUS)2:22:28Sherryn Rhodes(AUS)2:47:08
26th2003Magnus Michelsson(AUS)2:14:00Loretta McGrath(AUS)2:49:01
27th2004Magnus Michelsson(AUS)2:26:51Billinda Schipp(AUS)2:54:01
28th2005Nick Harrison(AUS)2:23:30Sherryn Rhodes(AUS)2:50:35
29th2006Kazunari Suzuki(JPN)2:23:43Karen Natoli-Barlow(AUS)2:53:06
30th2007Rowan Walker(AUS)2:19:16Hanny Allston(AUS)2:40:34
31st2008Asnake Fikadu(ETH)2:17:43Mai Tagami(JPN)2:38:16
32nd2009Asnake Fikadu(ETH)2:17:32Lisa Flint(AUS)2:34:08
33rd2010Japhet Kipkorir(KEN)2:11:04Mulu Seboka(ETH)2:32:20
34th2011Japhet Kipkorir(KEN)2:11:12Irene Mogaka(KEN)2:35:12
35th2012Jonathan Chesoo(KEN)2:12:35Lauren Shelley(AUS)2:36:29
36th2013Dominic Ondoro(KEN)2:10:47Lisa Weightman(AUS)2:26:05
37th2014Dominic Ondoro(KEN)2:11:30Nikki Chapple(AUS)2:31:05
38th2015Brad Milosevic(AUS)2:16:00Jessica Trengove(AUS)2:27:45
39th2016Thomas Do Canto(AUS)2:20:53Virginia Moloney(AUS)2:34:27
40th2017Isaac Birir(KEN)2:14:08Celia Sullohern(AUS)2:29:27
41st2018Liam Adams(AUS)2:15:13Sinead Diver(AUS)2:25:19
42nd2019Isaac Birir(KEN)2:16:31Naomi Maiyo(KEN)2:35:34
2020postponed due to coronavirus pandemic
43rd2021Brett Robinson(AUS)2:14:33Millie Clark(AUS)2:26:59
44th2022Timothy Kiplagat Ronoh(KEN)2:09:12Beatrice Cheptoo(KEN)2:27:58
45th2023Reece Edwards(AUS)2:14:35Gemma Maini(AUS)2:35:26
46th2024Jack Rayner(AUS)2:11:49Genevieve Gregson(AUS)2:28:13
47th2025Jack Rayner(AUS)2:15:02Caitlin Adams(AUS)2:30.26
  • † = short course

Spartans

Qualification

Spartans are runners who have completed 10 or more Melbourne Marathons and are recognised today by their distinctive green, gold, red, maroon or navy running singlets. Every Spartan has their own personalised race number. The singlet is worn with pride by all Spartans as a sign of their dedication to marathon running and the Melbourne Marathon in particular. Club records reflect over 1400 males and 150 females who have qualified as Spartans. Most come from Victoria but there are many from other states with at least two from Japan.

Legends and Hall of Fame members

Spartan Legends prior to the 2007 Melbourne Marathon

Spartan Legends are a select group of runners who have completed every Melbourne Marathon since the beginning. After the 45th running there were three remaining Spartan Legends. Runners who have completed at least 30 marathons are eligible for the Melbourne Marathon Hall of Fame. The runners marked with an asterisk in the following list completed the first 30 marathons.

NameCompleted runs
Peter Battrick *37
Frank Biviano *40
John Dobson45
David Foskey45
Neville Gardner *41
Bruce Hargreaves43
Manuel Karageorgiou * (deceased)39
Peter Ryan *37
Wayne Thompson45
Roger Weinstein43
Ian Campbell42
Bryan Flegg41
Chas Harcoan44
Antony Martin37
Dennis Nish41
Richard Tann37
Ken Bowes40
Laurie Glover (deceased)34
Jim Hopkins43
Conor McNeice34
John Burt35
John Dean *33
Brian Gawne32
Grayson Summers42
Carlo Iovenitti (deceased)37
Steven Lightowler40
Jack Gubbins (deceased) *30
Keith Hunter30
Brian Walsh34
Clarke Whitehand30
Shirley Young (deceased) *30
Hugh Creamer33
Russell Harris34
Con Zanetidis36
Stephen Barker36
John Kaparelis34
Brett Thiele32
Jim Yatomi-Clarke34
Andy Moore36
Peter Moore (deceased)31
Duncan Bartley34
Lorraine Allen34
Eric Heine34
Francis Kaszmarek31
Trevor Marsh31
Greg Payne31
Jay Fleming31
Ken Watt31
Clarke Whitehand31
Greg Moore32

Wheelchair Spartans

The Melbourne Marathon has always included wheelchair entrants. Two have attained Spartan status: Dean Callow who has completed 12 and Ian Gainey who has now completed 31 races and was inducted into the Hall of Fame at the 2022 Annual General Meeting.

  • "The Wall: The history of the Melbourne Marathon 1978–2012" by Chris Muirden

List of winners

External links