calendar icon Apr 20, 2024

Marathon Details - Adelaide Festival City Marathon

International Marathons > Australia > Adelaide > Adelaide Festival City Marathon

Prepd Adelaide Festival City Marathon & Half Marathon, 10K, 5K

location icon Adelaide, Australia    calendar icon  August 25, 2024    calendar icon http://www.adelaidemarathon.com.au




Name: SA Road Runners Club
Address: 73 Wakefield Street,
Adelaide South Australia 5000
Phone Number:  61 8 8232 7644
Fax Number: 61 8 8232 5418
Email: Email the organizers
 
 
Become a Verified Race, and stand out from the crowd. We feature a blue check Verified next to verified races on our calendar, and feature your race on the Verified Races section of the website.
Get Verified Now
 
 
Getting ready for this event? Get a personalized adaptive training plan and 1:1 coach assistance. Get Your Plan

Reviews

Course Rating Course 4.1 
 
Oranization Rating Organization 4.1 
 
Spectator Rating Spectators 2.4 
 
 
Number of comments: 8


 

C. H. from Sydney (8/28/2013)
"top effort adelaide!" (about: 2013)

4-5 previous marathons | 1 Adelaide Festival City Marathon
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 5


All of the basics were spot on, well timed drink stations, excellent course marshals. The course in 2013 was two laps, not my preferred lay out but it was a pretty course. not many spectators but those who were out were supportive. best marathon t-shirt so far! to improve.. maybe hype it up a bit more.. an mc at the start and add another band on the course,the one that was out there was cool.
 

M. B. from Brisbane, Australia (11/7/2011)
"A very memorable first marathon" (about: 2011)

1 previous marathon | 1 Adelaide Festival City Marathon
COURSE: 3  ORGANIZATION: 4  FANS: 2


Adelaide Oval is one of the greatest sporting grounds in the world and to start and finish at this location was very special. I enjoyed the course although the undulations for the last 7km along the Torrens River certainly reduced my km splits. I look forward to coming back in the future.
 

J. C. from Australia (9/1/2008)
"A chilly morning marathon" (about: 2008)

6-10 previous marathons | 1 Adelaide Festival City Marathon
COURSE: 4  ORGANIZATION: 4  FANS: 1


We started out at 6:45 a.m. (in between downpours and gray looming clouds) as a small crowd of runners. We headed out of the Santos stadium at a nice, slow pace. The majority of runners seemed to group quite closely together, until about the West Lakes area, at which point we started to spread out. On reaching the coast, we encountered a horrendous side and headwind that really made it a battle and my partner and I couldn't wait to change direction back to the city via the river. The sun finally came out and stayed out for the last 11K. The fuel stations were nicely spaced and equipped with choices of drink. Also, a big thank you to all you volunteers who braved the horrendous weather. The traffic bollards were spaced so that you were really having to run single file - not helpful if one is running with a partner, which I was. The course in general was flat, a little indirect, and not the most scenic - although it did have its moments! As an international event the inner city, the park lands and the coast would be an attraction!

I was surprised at how low-key the event is in comparison to the City to Bay - especially as the event offers a half-marathon and an 8K run.

I was surprised to hear that someone collapsed at the gate just seconds before the finish line, and there was a delay in getting him an ambulance. If cost is an issue, then I'm sure $2.00 per head extra on enrollment wouldn't be frowned upon!

I very much enjoyed it, and would do it again.
 

Janet Lawrence from Perigueux, France (9/9/2007)
"Traveled a long way but was well worth it" (about: 2007)

2 previous marathons | 1 Adelaide Festival City Marathon
COURSE: 4  ORGANIZATION: 4  FANS: 2


Having run the London Marathon twice, I decided to have a change, so I went to the other side of the world. I found the organizers friendly and extremely helpful even to the extent of one taking me round the course in his car (thanks Dave), which turned out to be a great help.

The race started at 6:45 a.m. with one lap round the stadium and then out into the Adelaide suburbs; at around halfway, the course runs alongside the ocean, which is great with the cool breeze because it had started to warm up by then. The second half of the run was very warm - somebody mentioned it was about 25 degrees and I did suffer for the last 3 miles - but when I arrived in the Santos Stadium and did the last 400 meters or so around the track, I felt good. For me I think one of my lasting memories of the Adelaide Marathon was a group of young women who had run around the same time as me coming up to me and flinging their arms around me and congratulating me on finishing. The atmosphere in the stadium was definitely one of a family day out.
 

W. M. from Calgary, Canada (8/22/2004)
"A good place to avoid the crowds" (about: 2004)

First Marathon
COURSE: 4  ORGANIZATION: 4  FANS: 2


This was my first marathon, and overall it was a good experience. Registration was easy and the race organizer, Ian, was quick to respond to email queries. There was a pasta party on the Friday before the race, though I opted to skip it. Race morning was cool (it's run during the Australian winter after all) and clear, and the sun was just starting to come up when we headed off at 6:45 sharp.

The race starts in a park along the River Torrens near downtown Adelaide, but quickly runs onto city streets. Pylons restrict the runners to about 1 meter on the sides of the streets - traffic lanes are not closed. However, there wasn't much traffic at that time of the day and the local police did a good job controlling traffic at intersections. Most of the last half of the race is along a bike/pedestrian pathway along the River Torrens. Again, this is not closed off to the public, so one has to contend with cyclists who tend to treat the route as their own personal speedway. The riverside path undulates somewhat, but there are no real killer hills (thankfully). It is quite scenic, but since at this point the small field of runners has spread out, it is easy to find yourself very alone. A small but very enthusiastic crowd greeted the runners at the finishing line. All the finishers received a medal and t-shirts were available for purchase. The post-run goody bag contained fruit, juice and literature from various sponsors.

My only complaint about the race was the fact that there were very few spectators. From what I could tell, there was no advertising for the race which might bring out some cheerleaders (or even curious onlookers). During the last half of the race, there were very few volunteers along the course. Someone might be in serious trouble if they ran into health problems. Having said that, aid stations (water, no sports drinks) were placed every 5 km or so, and were manned by friendly volunteers.

Overall, it was a good experience for a first-time marathoner. Next time, though, I'll choose a bigger race where I won't feel like I'm running by myself for so much of the race. Nevertheless, if you're going to be in Adelaide in August, and want to run a marathon, this is a good one to try.
 

A Runner from Edinburgh, Scotland (9/5/2001)
"The weather reminded me of Scotland" (General Comments)


COURSE: 4  ORGANIZATION: 4  FANS: 2


Another water station needed near the end of the course.
 

A Runner from Singapore (9/3/2001)
"It was cold" (about: 2001)


COURSE: 4  ORGANIZATION: 4  FANS: 3


The race was perfect. The main problem was that it was very cold and rained for much of the time. Other than that, it was good. The volunteers were good. For the drinks, instead of water all the time, maybe we should have more sports drinks or isotonic drinks instead. There was also little spectator support.
 

A Runner from Singapore (8/27/2001)
"IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY DAY" (about: 2001)


COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 4  FANS: 2


The only thing that was bad was the weather. It was very cold. There was also a lack of spectator support. Other than that, it was well organised and the trail was relatively well marked in all areas and easy to run. I would like to praise the volunteers who accompanied me for much of the race as I was the last of the last, encouraging me and just making sure nothing happened to me. Cheers and hope to participate again.

Become an Advertiser

Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

Become an Advertiser