TCS Sydney Marathon – Course Map and Elevation Profile
| Distance | 42.195 km |
|---|---|
| Route elevation | 219 m up · 291 m down |
| Highest point | 79 m · 0.5 km |
| Lowest point | 7 m · 11.0 km |
| Steepest climb | +10.4 % · 12.1 km |
| Steepest descent | −10.9 % · 42.2 km |
| Net elevation change | −72 m |
| Course type | Point to point |
| Course record men | 2:06:06 · Hailemaryam Kiros · 31 August 2025 |
| Course record women | no verified figure |
219 metres up and 291 down: 9 climbs, several of them long enough to break a rhythm.
Course
Sydney in numbers
- Distance
- 42.195km
- Ascent
- 219m
- Descent
- 291m
- Low / high
- 7 / 79m
- Flat-equivalent
- +0.68 %
- Steepest 50 m
- +10.4 %
Pace Planner
bergauf flach bergabWaagerecht: Distanz. Streifen unter dem Profil: mittlere Steigung je 500 m. Gestrichelte Linien sind Orientierungspunkte.
- Position
- 0.00 km
- Elevation
- 79 m
- Gradient
- 0.0 %
- Pace here
- 4:44 /km
- Elapsed
- 0:00
- Remaining
- 3:30:00
- Landmark
- —
Pacing table
| km | Point | Elevation | Gradient | up / down | Target pace | total | adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 79 m → 60 m | −1.83 % | +1 m / −19 m | 4:44 | 4:44 | 4:54 | |
| 2 | 60 m → 32 m | −2.83 % | +0 m / −28 m | 4:38 | 9:22 | 4:54 | |
| 3 | 32 m → 38 m | +0.57 % | +6 m / −0 m | 5:03 | 14:25 | 4:54 | |
| 4 | 38 m → 37 m | −0.04 % | +10 m / −10 m | 5:04 | 19:29 | 4:54 | |
| 5 | 37 m → 13 m | −2.49 % | +0 m / −25 m | 4:40 | 24:08 | 4:54 | |
| 6 | 13 m → 22 m | +0.97 % | +11 m / −2 m | 5:12 | 29:20 | 4:54 | |
| 7 | 22 m → 9 m | −1.36 % | +1 m / −14 m | 4:47 | 34:07 | 4:54 | |
| 8 | 9 m → 20 m | +1.17 % | +13 m / −1 m | 5:15 | 39:22 | 4:54 | |
| 9 | 20 m → 20 m | −0.02 % | +9 m / −9 m | 5:03 | 44:25 | 4:54 | |
| 10 | 20 m → 13 m | −0.71 % | +3 m / −10 m | 4:53 | 49:18 | 4:54 | |
| 11 | 13 m → 7 m | −0.63 % | +1 m / −7 m | 4:51 | 54:08 | 4:54 | |
| 12 | 7 m → 29 m | +2.20 % | +23 m / −1 m | 5:34 | 59:42 | 4:54 | |
| 13 | 29 m → 70 m | +4.10 % | +41 m / −0 m | 6:08 | 1:05:50 | 4:54 | |
| 14 | 70 m → 59 m | −1.07 % | +5 m / −16 m | 4:54 | 1:10:44 | 4:54 | |
| 15 | 59 m → 50 m | −0.91 % | +5 m / −14 m | 4:53 | 1:15:37 | 4:54 | |
| 16 | 50 m → 54 m | +0.39 % | +5 m / −1 m | 5:01 | 1:20:38 | 4:54 | |
| 17 | 54 m → 44 m | −0.99 % | +0 m / −10 m | 4:48 | 1:25:26 | 4:54 | |
| 18 | 44 m → 39 m | −0.54 % | +0 m / −5 m | 4:51 | 1:30:17 | 4:54 | |
| 19 | 39 m → 37 m | −0.19 % | +0 m / −2 m | 4:53 | 1:35:10 | 4:54 | |
| 20 | 37 m → 33 m | −0.37 % | +0 m / −4 m | 4:52 | 1:40:02 | 4:54 | |
| 21 | 33 m → 29 m | −0.35 % | +0 m / −4 m | 4:52 | 1:44:54 | 4:54 | |
| 22 | Halbmarathon | 29 m → 31 m | +0.13 % | +1 m / −0 m | 4:56 | 1:49:49 | 4:54 |
| 23 | 31 m → 34 m | +0.35 % | +4 m / −0 m | 4:59 | 1:54:49 | 4:54 | |
| 24 | 34 m → 32 m | −0.27 % | +0 m / −3 m | 4:52 | 1:59:41 | 4:54 | |
| 25 | 32 m → 30 m | −0.15 % | +0 m / −2 m | 4:53 | 2:04:34 | 4:54 | |
| 26 | 30 m → 34 m | +0.36 % | +4 m / −0 m | 5:00 | 2:09:34 | 4:54 | |
| 27 | 34 m → 39 m | +0.53 % | +5 m / −0 m | 5:02 | 2:14:37 | 4:54 | |
| 28 | 39 m → 47 m | +0.77 % | +8 m / −0 m | 5:06 | 2:19:43 | 4:54 | |
| 29 | 47 m → 44 m | −0.29 % | +3 m / −6 m | 4:56 | 2:24:39 | 4:54 | |
| 30 | 44 m → 42 m | −0.21 % | +1 m / −4 m | 4:54 | 2:29:33 | 4:54 | |
| 31 | 42 m → 40 m | −0.12 % | +3 m / −4 m | 4:56 | 2:34:28 | 4:54 | |
| 32 | 40 m → 48 m | +0.72 % | +7 m / −0 m | 5:05 | 2:39:34 | 4:54 | |
| 33 | 48 m → 52 m | +0.48 % | +5 m / −0 m | 5:01 | 2:44:35 | 4:54 | |
| 34 | 52 m → 46 m | −0.64 % | +0 m / −7 m | 4:50 | 2:49:26 | 4:54 | |
| 35 | 46 m → 42 m | −0.45 % | +0 m / −5 m | 4:51 | 2:54:17 | 4:54 | |
| 36 | 42 m → 55 m | +1.39 % | +14 m / −0 m | 5:17 | 2:59:34 | 4:54 | |
| 37 | 55 m → 46 m | −0.93 % | +0 m / −10 m | 4:49 | 3:04:23 | 4:54 | |
| 38 | 46 m → 29 m | −1.76 % | +0 m / −18 m | 4:44 | 3:09:06 | 4:54 | |
| 39 | 29 m → 16 m | −1.28 % | +2 m / −15 m | 4:49 | 3:13:55 | 4:54 | |
| 40 | 16 m → 20 m | +0.44 % | +5 m / −0 m | 5:01 | 3:18:56 | 4:54 | |
| 41 | 20 m → 43 m | +2.24 % | +23 m / −1 m | 5:33 | 3:24:29 | 4:54 | |
| 42 | 43 m → 24 m | −1.90 % | +0 m / −19 m | 4:43 | 3:29:12 | 4:54 | |
| 42.20 | 24 m → 7 m | −8.51 % | +0 m / −17 m | 4:07 | 3:30:00 | 4:54 |
The course, kilometre by kilometre
Start and finish are 2.8 km apart as the crow flies, so this is a point-to-point course.
It drops 72 metres net, from 79 m at km 0.5 down to 7 m at km 11.0.
The race is held in Sydney, Australia, in August, on tarmac throughout.
Elevation gain and climbs
219 metres up and 291 down: 9 climbs, several of them long enough to break a rhythm.
The hardest stretch runs from km 11.8 to 12.3: 29 metres at 7.2 % on average. It comes early enough to take on fresh legs.
The gradient model puts this course at 0.68 % flat-equivalent — faster than flat, on paper. What it does not model: 21 % of the course runs downhill, and 291 metres of descent load the quadriceps long before the first climb arrives.
Against a 3:30 target the terrain costs about 1 minute compared with a flat loop. Adjust for gradient and what remains is what the legs actually paid.
The route on the map
The course covers 2.8 km of ground between start and finish and never returns to where it began.
The GPX data of this course
The smoothed profile is stored every 50 metres: 845 points with latitude, longitude, elevation and gradient. The elevations come from the course file itself, median-filtered and smoothed with Savitzky-Golay.
We do not hand this course out as a file: the line comes from a third-party source and is not ours to pass on. Once a course is built from runners’ own recordings, the file appears here.
Common questions
- How hilly is the Sydney Marathon?
- 219 metres of ascent and 291 of descent over 42.195 km. 63 % of the course sits between −1 and +1 per cent, and 11 % steeper than three. That makes it a hilly course.
- Where is the hardest section?
- Between km 11.8 and 12.3, gaining 29 metres at 7.2 % on average. The steepest single ramp is at km 12.1 at 10.4 %, the steepest descent at km 42.2 at −10.9 %.
- Is this a good course for a personal best?
- Minetti's cost model puts this course at 0.68 % against a flat one. On a three-and-a-half-hour target that is roughly 1 minutes.
- Is the course a loop?
- No. Start and finish are 2.8 km apart in a straight line.
- Where does this elevation data come from?
- GPX-Streckendatei von goandrace.com (Garmin-Connect-Export), 650 Punkte, auf 42195 m normiert (Rohlinie 42,24 km). Elevation: Höhenwerte der GPX-Spur, Medianfilter 310 m, Savitzky-Golay 510 m.
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