Melbourne Marathon

Melbourne Marathon in 2013 at Princes Bridge.

The Melbourne Marathon has been held every year from 1978. The 42.195 km 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 (21.1 km), 10 km and 5.5 km events.

The 2013 running of the marathon saw a record number of 6852 finishers, and race records set for both men and women. There were 6054 finishers in 2014, 30% of them female. In 1978 approximately 4% of the 1947 finishers were female.

The marathon has been owned by IMG since 2006.[1]

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.

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.

Past winners

Key:   Course record   Country's championship race

Edition Year Men's winner Time (h:m:s) Women's winner Time (h:m:s)
1st 1978  Bill Scott (AUS) 2:21:04  Elizabeth Richards-Hassall (AUS) 2:53:38
2nd 1979  Andrew Lloyd (AUS) 2:26:44  Jane Kuchins (AUS) 3:12:35
3rd 1980  Andrew Lloyd (AUS) 2:17:37  Rosemary Longstaff (AUS) 2:46:16
4th 1981  Andrew Lloyd (AUS) 2:19:03  Jackie Turney-Cook (AUS) 2:42:12
5th 1982  Bill Rodgers (USA) 2:11:08  Sue King (USA) 2:37:57
6th 1983  Juma Ikangaa (TAN) 2:13:15  Rhonda Mallinder (AUS) 2:37:56
7th 1984  Juma Ikangaa (TAN) 2:15:31  Margaret Reddan (AUS) 2:43:40
8th 1985  Fred van der Vennet (BEL) 2:12:35  Margaret Reddan (AUS) 2:44:56
9th 1986  Richard Umberg (SUI) 2:17:21  Tani Ruckle (AUS) 2:36:06
10th 1987  Ric Sayre (USA) 2:14:16  Jackie Turney-Cook (AUS) 2:44:18
11th 1988  Thomas Hughes (IRL) 2:18:14  Coral Farr (AUS) 2:47:38
12th 1989  Takeshi So (JPN) 2:18:13  Colleen Stephens (AUS) 2:49:18
13th 1990  Russell Foley (AUS) 2:20:35  Alevtina Chasova (URS) 2:39:00
14th 1991  Victor Muzgovoi (URS) 2:17:02  Irina Petrova (URS) 2:39:57
15th 1992  Slawomir Gurny (POL) 2:16:04†  Alena Peterkova (TCH) 2:33:02†
16th 1993  Jerry Modiga (RSA) 2:15:07  Dominique Rembert (FRA) 2:44:22
17th 1994  Manabu Kawagoe (JPN) 2:19:02  Winnie Ng (HKG) 2:47:37
18th 1995  Osamu Monoe (JPN) 2:17:19  Lynn Clayton (AUS) 2:38:50
19th 1996  Zerhun Gizaw (ETH) 2:22:40  Lynn Clayton (AUS) 2:38:50
20th 1997  Greg Lyons (AUS) 2:15:49  Tracey Newton (AUS) 2:48:32
21st 1998  Daniel Radebe (RSA) 2:12:48  Sherryn Rhodes (AUS) 2:37:56
22nd 1999  Michael McIntyre (AUS) 2:25:04  Susan Hobson (AUS) 2:37:56
23rd 2000  Jamie Harrison (AUS) 2:25:53  Nellie Marmy-Conus (AUS) 2:49:22
24th 2001  Todd Ingraham (AUS) 2:23:58  Samantha Hughes (AUS) 2:39:44
25th 2002  Phillip Sly (AUS) 2:22:28  Sherryn Rhodes (AUS) 2:47:08
26th 2003  Magnus Michelsson (AUS) 2:14:00  Loretta McGrath (AUS) 2:49:01
27th 2004  Magnus Michelsson (AUS) 2:26:51  Belinda Schipp (AUS) 2:54:01
28th 2005  Nick Harrison (AUS) 2:23:30  Sherryn Rhodes (AUS) 2:50:35
29th 2006  Kazunari Suzuki (JPN) 2:23:43  Karen Natoli-Barlow (AUS) 2:53:06
30th 2007  Rohan Walker (AUS) 2:19:16  Hanny Allston (AUS) 2:40:34
31st 2008  Asnake Fikadu (ETH) 2:17:43  Mai Tagami (JPN) 2:38:16
32nd 2009  Asnake Fikadu (ETH) 2:17:32  Lisa Flint (AUS) 2:34:08
33rd 2010  Japhet Kipkorir (KEN) 2:11:04  Mulu Seboka (ETH) 2:32:20
34th 2011  Japhet Kipkorir (KEN) 2:11:12  Irene Mogaka (KEN) 2:35:12
35th 2012  Jonathan Chesoo (KEN) 2:12:35  Lauren Shelley (AUS) 2:36:29
36th 2013  Dominic Ondoro (KEN) 2:10:47  Lisa Weightman (AUS) 2:26:05
37th 2014 Dominic Ondoro (KEN) 2:11:30  Nikki Chapple (AUS) 2:31:05
38th 2015 Brad Milosevic (AUS) 2:16:00  Jessica Trengove (AUS) 2:27:45
39th 2016 Thomas Do Canto (AUS) 2:20:53  Virginia Moloney (AUS) 2:34:27

Spartans

Qualification

Spartans are runners who have completed 10 or more Melbourne Marathons. Spartans are recognized today by their distinctive green, gold, red, maroon or navy running singlets. Every Spartan has their own personalized 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 more than 1200 who have qualified as Spartans including 83 females. Most come from Victoria but there are many from other states and 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 39th running there were seven remaining Spartan Legends. Runners who have completed at least 30 marathons are eligible for the Melbourne Marathon Hall of Fame. The runners in the following list marked with an asterisk completed the first 30 marathons.

Name Completed runs
Peter Battrick * 37
Frank Biviano 39
John Dobson 39
David Foskey 39
Neville Gardner 38
Bruce Hargreaves 39
Manual Karageorgiou 39
Peter Ryan * 37
Wayne Thompson 39
Roger Weinstein 39
Ian Campbell 38
Bryan Flegg 38
Chas Harcoan 38
Antony Martin 37
Dennis Nish 38
Richard Tann 37
Ken Bowes 37
Laurie Glover (deceased) 34
Jim Hopkins 37
Conor McNeice 34
John Burt 33
John Dean * 32
Brian Gawne 32
Grayson Summers 37
Carlo Iovenitti 33
Steven Lightowler 34
Jack Gubbins * 30
Keith Hunter 30
Brian Walsh 31
Clarke Whitehand 30
Shirley Young * 30
Russell Harris 31
Con Zanetidis 31

Wheelchair Spartans

The Melbourne Marathon has always included wheelchair entrants. Two have attained Spartan status: Ian Gainey who has completed 25 races and Dean Callow who has completed 12.

References

  1. ↑ By George, it’s time to get fit for the Melbourne Marathon!
List of winners
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