Sydney Marathon course & pace calculator
Over the Harbour Bridge in the first 3 km, rolling city streets through Moore and Centennial Parks, and a climb or two near the Opera House finish. This profile uses a user-supplied third-party GPX labeled 2025; the current edition has not been checked turn by turn.
- Climb
- 254 m
- Descent
- 339 m
- Low – high
- 0 m – 86 m
- Terrain at 3:00
- +1:45
- Typical start
- 11°C
- Sub-3 needs
- 2:58:14 flat
Course time calculator
Type h:mm:ss or use the step buttons.
11°C at your start → 13°C at the finish · dew point 5°C
Heat is scored with shade WBGT from temperature and humidity, starting to cost time above about 15°C (59°F) WBGT. Slower runners lose more because they are out longer. Wind, sun and rain are not modelled.
Certified distance only. Switch on to count the metres lost to corners, crowds and aid stations.
Same effort all the way: slower up the climbs, faster down the descents.
- Flat course
- 2:58:14
- Terrain
- +1:44
- Weather
- +0:02
- Sydney finish
- 3:00:00
Average 4:16 /km on course · 4:13 /km flat
Elevation profile
254 m up, 339 m down. Hover or tap the chart for the grade and your clock time at any point.
- Climb 2%+
- Climb 0.8–2%
- Flat
- Descent 0.8–2%
- Descent 2%+
- 1North Sydney · 0.0 km
- 2Harbour Bridge · 2.6 km
- 3Pyrmont · 6.3 km
- 4Moore Park · 17.6 km
- 5Centennial Park · 30.3 km
- 6Mrs Macquarie’s Chair · 38.9 km
- 7Opera House · 42.2 km
Course splits for 3:00:00
Even-effort splits with the selected weather. Climbing and descent are per split, from the smoothed profile.
| Split | Pace | Split time | Clock | Up / down |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 km | 4:00 | 4:00 | 4:00 | +0 m / −41 m |
| 2 km | 4:11 | 4:11 | 8:12 | +1 m / −7 m |
| 3 km | 4:13 | 4:13 | 12:25 | +0 m / −1 m |
| 4 km | 4:07 | 4:07 | 16:31 | +0 m / −17 m |
| 5 km | 4:12 | 4:12 | 20:43 | +4 m / −13 m |
| 6 km | 4:23 | 4:23 | 25:07 | +14 m / −4 m |
| 7 km | 4:10 | 4:10 | 29:17 | +3 m / −19 m |
| 8 km | 4:30 | 4:30 | 33:47 | +19 m / −0 m |
| 9 km | 4:10 | 4:10 | 37:56 | +0 m / −10 m |
| 10 km | 4:09 | 4:09 | 42:05 | +1 m / −14 m |
| 11 km | 4:13 | 4:13 | 46:19 | +2 m / −5 m |
| 12 km | 4:28 | 4:28 | 50:46 | +16 m / −2 m |
| 13 km | 5:10 | 5:10 | 55:56 | +56 m / −1 m |
| 14 km | 4:10 | 4:10 | 1:00:06 | +8 m / −43 m |
| 15 km | 4:20 | 4:20 | 1:04:26 | +9 m / −5 m |
| 16 km | 4:27 | 4:27 | 1:08:54 | +17 m / −1 m |
| 17 km | 4:08 | 4:08 | 1:13:02 | +0 m / −13 m |
| 18 km | 4:13 | 4:13 | 1:17:15 | +3 m / −6 m |
| 19 km | 4:15 | 4:15 | 1:21:30 | +5 m / −4 m |
| 20 km | 4:09 | 4:09 | 1:25:39 | +0 m / −11 m |
| 21 km | 4:15 | 4:15 | 1:29:54 | +3 m / −2 m |
| 22 km | 4:13 | 4:13 | 1:34:07 | +0 m / −2 m |
| 23 km | 4:16 | 4:16 | 1:38:23 | +4 m / −0 m |
| 24 km | 4:12 | 4:12 | 1:42:36 | +0 m / −3 m |
| 25 km | 4:14 | 4:14 | 1:46:50 | +2 m / −1 m |
| 26 km | 4:14 | 4:14 | 1:51:04 | +2 m / −2 m |
| 27 km | 4:20 | 4:20 | 1:55:24 | +7 m / −0 m |
| 28 km | 4:22 | 4:22 | 1:59:46 | +10 m / −0 m |
| 29 km | 4:13 | 4:13 | 2:03:59 | +3 m / −9 m |
| 30 km | 4:13 | 4:13 | 2:08:12 | +1 m / −2 m |
| 31 km | 4:12 | 4:12 | 2:12:25 | +2 m / −6 m |
| 32 km | 4:20 | 4:20 | 2:16:45 | +8 m / −0 m |
| 33 km | 4:17 | 4:17 | 2:21:02 | +6 m / −2 m |
| 34 km | 4:12 | 4:12 | 2:25:14 | +1 m / −5 m |
| 35 km | 4:13 | 4:13 | 2:29:28 | +2 m / −4 m |
| 36 km | 4:26 | 4:26 | 2:33:53 | +14 m / −0 m |
| 37 km | 4:06 | 4:06 | 2:38:00 | +0 m / −19 m |
| 38 km | 4:13 | 4:13 | 2:42:13 | +4 m / −8 m |
| 39 km | 4:08 | 4:08 | 2:46:21 | +2 m / −17 m |
| 40 km | 4:17 | 4:17 | 2:50:39 | +7 m / −5 m |
| 41 km | 4:29 | 4:29 | 2:55:08 | +18 m / −1 m |
| 42 km | 4:04 | 4:04 | 2:59:12 | +0 m / −31 m |
| Finish | 4:06 | 0:48 | 3:00:00 | +0 m / −3 m |
Race-morning weather
Air temperature and relative humidity by hour from the first wave’s 06:30 start, from 76 mornings within three days of the race date since 2011 at SYDNEY OBSERVATORY HILL, AS. Cool and warm are about the 10th and 90th percentile mornings by heat stress.
| Local time | Cool | Typical | Warm |
|---|---|---|---|
| 06:30 | 8°C · 69% | 11°C · 64% | 15°C · 73% |
| 07:30 | 9°C · 74% | 13°C · 56% | 14°C · 80% |
| 08:30 | 11°C · 57% | 13°C · 53% | 15°C · 77% |
| 09:30 | 12°C · 52% | 13°C · 80% | 17°C · 67% |
| 10:30 | 14°C · 46% | 17°C · 49% | 19°C · 61% |
| 11:30 | 14°C · 50% | 16°C · 65% | 21°C · 54% |
| 12:30 | 17°C · 34% | 18°C · 53% | 23°C · 42% |
This race has only recently moved to its current date, so there are no past race days on record in this slot yet. The scenarios on the left use every morning near the date.
Data & method
- Route: User-supplied GoAndRace GPX internally named TCS Sydney Marathon 2025; third-party reference geometry, not an official GPX or a verified current-edition route. Measured at 42.24 km and scaled to 42.195 km.
- Elevation: Copernicus GLO-30 DEM (30 m), © DLR e.V. 2010–2014 and © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH 2014–2018, provided under COPERNICUS by the European Union and ESA. Sampled every 25–50 m, with bridges set to deck height and smoothed over 200–400 m.
- Weather: hourly observations from NOAA’s Integrated Surface Database (station 94768099999).
- Small climbs on flat courses can be terrain-model noise; they add only seconds to the estimates.
- This reference GPX has not been verified against the current edition. Check the organizer's latest course map before using its pacing plan.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Sydney Marathon hilly?
The course climbs about 254 m (833 ft) and descends about 339 m in total, which is hilly by big-city standards. At even effort the terrain alone changes a 3:00 flat-course marathon by +1:45 and a 4:00 by +2:21.
What flat-course time do I need to break 3 hours at the Sydney Marathon?
About 2:58:14 on a flat course, assuming a typical race morning. For a sub-4 you need about 3:57:26. Switch the weather off in the calculator to see the terrain-only figure.
What is the weather usually like at the Sydney Marathon?
On a typical race morning it is about 11°C (53°F) at the first wave’s start and 13°C (55°F) three hours later, with a dew point near 5°C. That costs a 3-hour runner about 0:02 and a 4-hour runner about 0:16. Figures come from airport observations within three days of the race date since 2011.
How is the course-adjusted time calculated?
The course is cut into 100 m pieces. Each piece is run at your flat-course pace times a grade factor (about +3.3% per 1% uphill and −1.8% per 1% downhill) and a heat factor from shade WBGT at the time you reach it. Adding the pieces gives the course time, and the calculator works backwards from a goal the same way.