Canberra marathon is a standard 42.195-kilometre (26.219 mi) marathon around the Australian capital city. The marathon was established in 1976 is said to be the oldest city marathon in Australia. It takes place early in April each year, and comprises a festival of races, with 10 and 5 km race on a Saturday, and the main marathon and extended or ultra marathon the following day.
The marathon starts at Telopea park school in the suburb of Manuka, which is within sight of Parliament House. The route consists of a 10 km lap around the old and new parliament buildings and other major government buildings, followed by a double lap crossing Lake Burley Griffin over the Kings Avenue and Commonwealth Avenue bridges and along Parkes Way out towards the Glenloch interchange, which is within close proximity to the Telstra Tower landmark. A course map may be obtained from the organisers homepage.
Runners who complete 10 Canberra marathons are given the honorary title of Griffin, in reference to Lake Burley Griffin, which is at the centre of the marathon and the city of Canberra. The marathon is small in comparison to other big city races with just 866 people completing the 2006 event.
The event is currently in doubt due to an ongoing dispute between the ACT Cross Country Club who own the event and Cundy Sport Management who have been running the event on the club's behalf for a number of years.