TCS Sydney Marathon 2027

Sunday, 29 August 2027 · Sydney, Australia

The weekend at a glance

Race day

Sunday 29 August 2027. The 5 km Mini Marathon is on Saturday 28 August

Start

Miller Street, North Sydney, beside St Leonards Park. Wheelchair race at 6:15, mass start at 6:30

Start groups

In 2026 they left in rolling groups from 6:32 to about 8:20

Getting to it

North Sydney station, or Victoria Cross and Crows Nest on the metro, by assembly area

Finish

Sydney Opera House

Your number

The Running Show at Sydney Showground. 2027 dates and hours aren't published

Bag drop

Only at the Running Show. There is none at the start

Time limit

7 hours. In 2026 that meant finishing by 15:40

Climb

313 m of gain and a net drop of 83 m, according to the organiser

Weather

The last five race mornings ran from 6.9 °C to 15.5 °C at 6:00

On this page

1. Getting to Sydney
2. Where to stay in Sydney
3. Collecting your number
4. Race morning
5. The course
6. Weather in Sydney in August
7. Afterwards
8. Other race weekends
9. Sources

Getting to Sydney 2026 details

Most visitors fly into Sydney Airport. The Domestic and International stations sit underneath the terminals, on the T8 Airport and South line, which Transport for NSW says runs every day from 5:00 to midnight. The line runs through a 9 km tunnel to Central, and trains go on round the city to Town Hall, Wynyard and Circular Quay. Every trip to or from an airport station adds a station access fee to the fare, and it doesn't count towards the daily Opal cap. You can pay with an Opal card or tap a contactless bank card.

Race week brings free travel. In 2026 your bib was your ticket on trains, metro, buses, ferries and light rail on race Sunday, and a travel pass in your bib collection email covered the trip to the Running Show. You show it to staff and don't tap on or off. Neither covers the airport station access fee.

Where to stay in Sydney

The start is north of the harbour and the finish is beside Circular Quay, so a bed in the city centre puts you on the metro to the start and a short walk home. The metro reaches Victoria Cross and Crows Nest from Central, Gadigal, Martin Place and Barangaroo.

The organiser gives no walking times. Work back from your start group's arrival time, which was as early as 5:00 in 2026. Light rail ran from 3:45 that morning, and the organiser laid on extra early trains and metro services.

Collecting your number 2026 details

You collect your bib at the TCS Sydney Marathon Running Show at Sydney Showground, 1 Showground Road, Sydney Olympic Park, through Hall 4. In 2026 it was open on Thursday 27 August from 9:00 to 20:00, Friday 28 August from 8:00 to 20:00 and Saturday 29 August from 8:00 to 16:00. The 2027 hours aren't out yet.

You have to collect it yourself. Bring a driving licence or passport that matches your registration, and the bib collection email with its QR code. Bibs are never posted. Your finisher T-shirt comes with the bib, and a swap booth near bag drop changes the size if one is left.

Marathon Express trains ran every 30 minutes from Central to Olympic Park. The organiser put the trip at about 23 minutes on Thursday and Friday and about 40 minutes on Saturday, when the trains are busier. It asks you to come on Thursday or Friday to avoid the Saturday queues, and to book a collection window when you're sent the link.

Race morning 2026 details

Your bib shows your assembly area by colour, your start group by number and your chute by letter. Each area has its own stations. In 2026 Purple and Orange runners took the train to North Sydney or the metro to Victoria Cross, leaving by Denison Street and then Walker Street. Green runners took the metro to Crows Nest, leaving by Clarke Street and walking in along Burlington Street and Falcon Street.

In 2026 the times were almost the same for all three colours.

You aren't let in before your group's arrival time, and each group is a rolling start, so you may cross the line 10 to 30 minutes after its listed time. The start line closed at 8:40. The 7-hour limit counts from then, and anyone finishing after 15:40 got a DNF.

There is no bag drop at the start. You hand in your bag at the Running Show in the official 35 by 45 cm bag, one per runner, with no phone, wallet, keys, power bank or fresh food in it. Anything you leave at the start is donated, so wear old layers and drop them in the clothing bins in your assembly area. Leave the car, because the city roads on the course are closed from 5:30 to 10:30. The only drop-off is at ANZAC Public School on Anzac Avenue, for local runners.

The course 2026 details

The route leaves Miller Street and crosses the Harbour Bridge in the opening kilometres. It then runs through Pyrmont, The Rocks and the city, out along Oxford Street and Anzac Parade towards Kingsford, back through Centennial Park and Moore Park, and round Mrs Macquarie's Chair in the Royal Botanic Garden before the finish at the Opera House.

The organiser publishes 313 m of elevation gain and a net drop of 83 m, and a GPX file of the course. The course map marks stations with water and electrolytes and separate GU gel points. Medical posts sit about every 2.5 km.

Weather in Sydney in August

The race moved from mid-September to the end of August in 2025, so the last two rows are the closest guide to 2027. These are the last five race days at the North Sydney start, at 6:00 and at 13:00. No race was held in 2020 or 2021.

The two August races started near 7 °C and 9 °C and passed 18 °C by 13:00. In September 2023 it was 31.1 °C by 13:00, when slower runners were still out on the course.

Afterwards 2026 details

A 600 m walk-off follows the finish line, where you collect your medal and a bag with water, Powerade and fruit. Your bag waits at the Parade Grounds in the Royal Botanic Garden, about 600 m from the line. The Recovery Village has a reunite zone with lettered flags from A to G, so agree a letter beforehand. If it's crowded, the organiser suggests the Motion Festival at Customs House Forecourt, which ran until 21:00.

Other race weekends

TCS Sydney Marathon is part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors. The series' other races with a guide here are Bank of America Chicago Marathon, TCS New York City Marathon, Tokyo Marathon, Boston Marathon, TCS London Marathon, Sanlam Cape Town Marathon and Berlin Marathon.

The next races with a guide

Copenhagen Half Marathon19 September 2027 · Copenhagen, Denmark Berlin Marathon26 September 2027 · Berlin, Germany Warsaw MarathonSeptember 2027, date to be announced · Warsaw, Poland

All race weekend guides

Sources

Written from the organiser's published information and the app's own race data, checked on 2 October 2026.

If something here is wrong or out of date, tell us.