The City-Bay has been running since 1973, which makes it one of the oldest and best-loved events on the Australian calendar. The signature 12km traces the route from the Adelaide CBD out to the seaside at Glenelg, where every distance finishes on Colley Terrace beside the beach. The 2026 edition is on Sunday 20 September.
Four distances cover every level: the half marathon, the classic 12km, a 6km and a 3km, with staggered starts feeding into the same Glenelg finish. It draws tens of thousands of runners and walkers, and the final stretch down Jetty Road has some of the best crowd support in the country.
The course is flat and fast, and finishing beside the sea is part of the appeal. Pack your swimmers; a dip in the gulf is the traditional reward.
The start is in the CBD and easy to reach on foot. Getting back from Glenelg is the easy part: Adelaide's tram runs straight from the beachfront to the city.
