Townsville in August is peak running weather — the Top End's dry season delivers blue skies and mild temperatures, making it one of the best times to tackle the scenic streets of North Queensland's largest city. No humidity, no excuses.
The McDonald's Townsville Running Festival offers distances from 3km up to the full marathon, so whether you're chasing a PB or just want to soak up the Tropical North Queensland vibes, there's a race for you. The course winds through Townsville's heart, past iconic landmarks and along the stunning waterfront.
Flat to undulating route through Townsville's CBD and waterfront precinct. The Strand finish is a crowd favourite with a well-earned view of Magnetic Island on the horizon. A standout feature is the Hero Run — a shorter charity distance that turns a running weekend into a proper family adventure.
Marathon (42.2km), Half Marathon (21.1km), 10km, 5km, and 3km Hero Run.
It's a popular event in a region where running culture is strong — register early, especially for the marathon and half.
Townsville Airport (TSV) has direct flights from Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, and Cairns. The race start/finish is close to the CBD with plenty of hotel options along the Strand.
August in Townsville is warm even in the dry season — hydrate well in advance and respect the Queensland sun during recovery. The post-race atmosphere along the Strand is the perfect reward after a big effort.
Ollie Palmer won the 2026 Townsville Airport Marathon in 2:36:56 on Sunday 2 August, almost eleven minutes clear of Mick Vivian. Skye Perkins was first woman home in 3:00:51, 12th overall in a field of 271 marathon finishers.
| Position | Name | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ollie PALMER | 02:36:56 |
| 2 | Mick VIVIAN | 02:47:54 |
| 3 | Ricky OWEN | 02:50:31 |
| 4 | Jeff RUBACH | 02:51:02 |
| 5 | Jason BURKE | 02:51:18 |
| 6 | Kyle AMBROSE | 02:51:48 |
| 7 | Ethan KWA | 02:52:01 |
| 8 | David ARNOLD | 02:57:07 |
| 9 | Jacob MONAGHAN | 02:58:31 |
| 10 | Romain PERRIOT | 02:58:36 |
| 11 | Fraser SWEENEY | 02:59:07 |
| 12 | Skye PERKINS | 03:00:51 |
| 13 | Ben WALSH | 03:02:03 |
| 14 | Michael DURKIN | 03:03:15 |
| 15 | Kyle WOOD | 03:04:40 |
| 16 | Zachary DURKIN | 03:05:40 |
| 17 | Liv COMPTON | 03:06:40 |
| 18 | Ruth EAGLES | 03:07:14 |
| 19 | Ben JOHNSON | 03:08:00 |
| 20 | Hwan KIM | 03:08:24 |
| 21 | Ian BOWREY | 03:08:37 |
| 22 | Tomas BOGUZIS | 03:10:58 |
| 23 | Riley MCCLUNG | 03:11:30 |
| 24 | Toby GORDON | 03:14:55 |
| 25 | Sara WINTER | 03:15:35 |
| 26 | Stephen SORENSEN | 03:15:48 |
| 27 | Reegan KOOPMAN | 03:16:42 |
| 28 | Edward DAWSON | 03:19:44 |
| 29 | Anwar ALI ABUKAR | 03:21:11 |
| 30 | Kristian SKINNER | 03:22:16 |
| 31 | Matthew FANNING | 03:22:19 |
| 32 | Mitchell ZATTA | 03:22:38 |
| 33 | Liam MADIN | 03:23:04 |
| 34 | Kaylah RUDDICK | 03:23:41 |
| 35 | Jesse EGGINS | 03:25:25 |
| 36 | Jin-Seung KANG | 03:26:16 |
| 37 | Ewan COTTLE | 03:26:21 |
| 38 | Dan BROADFOOT | 03:26:34 |
| 39 | Richard BANKS | 03:26:52 |
| 40 | Larry GRIFFIN | 03:26:57 |
| 41 | Carl JONES | 03:26:59 |
| 42 | Bruce MCDONALD | 03:27:26 |
| 43 | Fiona BUNT | 03:27:32 |
| 44 | Christopher WATT | 03:27:41 |
| 45 | Scott JACKSON | 03:30:03 |
| 46 | Chris AULBURY | 03:30:05 |
| 47 | Henry CHIN | 03:30:30 |
| 48 | Rielly HARPUR-MASTERS | 03:31:05 |
| 49 | Marcel ZEVENBERGEN | 03:31:29 |
| 50 | Colette READ | 03:31:32 |
Timing by RaceResult: complete 2026 Townsville Running Festival results, all distances.
Nicholas Callanan won the 2025 Townsville Airport Marathon in 2:35:57 on Sunday 3 August, almost thirteen minutes clear of Maxendre Keller. Liv Compton was first woman home in 3:05:53, tenth overall in a field of 254 marathon finishers.
| Position | Name | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nicholas CALLANAN | 02:35:57 |
| 2 | Maxendre KELLER | 02:48:48 |
| 3 | Mick VIVIAN | 02:53:18 |
| 4 | Fraser SWEENEY | 02:54:16 |
| 5 | John DOODY | 02:58:04 |
| 6 | Sam STEDMAN | 02:58:57 |
| 7 | David ARNOLD | 02:59:40 |
| 8 | Jacob MONAGHAN | 03:01:46 |
| 9 | Edward DAWSON | 03:02:44 |
| 10 | Liv COMPTON | 03:05:53 |
| 11 | Clinton ELLIOTT | 03:06:19 |
| 12 | Ewan COTTLE | 03:07:07 |
| 13 | Paul MACKENZIE | 03:07:30 |
| 14 | Ruth EAGLES | 03:07:56 |
| 15 | Darrell NEWSOME | 03:08:23 |
| 16 | Dane LENNON | 03:09:19 |
| 17 | Alec STEVENS | 03:09:24 |
| 18 | Ashley HOWARD | 03:09:26 |
| 19 | Jayden JONES | 03:09:48 |
| 20 | Natalie WAGAN | 03:10:43 |
| 21 | Callum MCMAHON | 03:11:41 |
| 22 | Andrew ZHANG | 03:12:56 |
| 23 | Sam WRIGHT | 03:13:31 |
| 24 | Chris BRODIE | 03:14:42 |
| 25 | Ryan JONES | 03:14:44 |
| 26 | Rees PICKERING | 03:15:48 |
| 27 | Ethan BURTON | 03:16:32 |
| 28 | Pascal SCHMIDT | 03:17:37 |
| 29 | Matthew DEWAR | 03:19:12 |
| 30 | Chris BONNY | 03:21:58 |
| 31 | Matthew BOSCHEN | 03:23:33 |
| 32 | Harley BROWN | 03:25:14 |
| 33 | Jimson MORES | 03:25:42 |
| 34 | Kerrin MURRAY | 03:26:04 |
| 35 | Georgia BULLEY | 03:26:57 |
| 36 | Cameron YATES | 03:27:47 |
| 37 | Colette READ | 03:28:00 |
| 38 | Corey KEMPTHORNE | 03:28:35 |
| 39 | Jin-Seung KANG | 03:29:18 |
| 40 | Patrick WALL | 03:29:19 |
| 41 | Anthea MESSMER | 03:29:31 |
| 42 | Scott STRACHAN | 03:29:37 |
| 43 | Karl ROMBERG-YEE | 03:29:44 |
| 44 | Ben WALSH | 03:30:07 |
| 45 | Sam MORRISON | 03:30:23 |
| 46 | Tomas BOGUZIS | 03:30:31 |
| 47 | Nathan CLAYPOLE | 03:30:39 |
| 48 | Shane DONNOLLAN | 03:30:46 |
| 49 | Lorenzo PARODI | 03:31:54 |
| 50 | Helen FRASER | 03:32:47 |
Timing by RaceResult: complete 2025 Townsville Running Festival results, all distances.
Tsubasa Iwaya won the 2024 Townsville Airport Marathon in 2:40:39 on Sunday 4 August, more than fourteen minutes clear of Chun Hung Tse. Sarah Parkins was first woman home in 3:05:58, ninth overall in a field of 236 marathon finishers.
| Position | Name | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tsubasa Iwaya | 02:40:39 |
| 2 | Chun Hung Tse | 02:54:58 |
| 3 | Jason Burke | 02:56:29 |
| 4 | Aaron Smith | 02:57:56 |
| 5 | Ricky Owen | 02:59:28 |
| 6 | Nathan Safe | 02:59:36 |
| 7 | Fraser Sweeney | 03:01:31 |
| 8 | Ryan Elworthy | 03:03:11 |
| 9 | Sarah Parkins | 03:05:58 |
| 10 | Leonel Fernando Brime | 03:06:32 |
| 11 | Kyle Fleer | 03:07:53 |
| 12 | Tim Cochrane | 03:11:11 |
| 13 | Matthew Elworthy | 03:12:15 |
| 14 | Jonathon Baltais | 03:13:21 |
| 15 | Saskia Jurriaans | 03:13:40 |
| 16 | Callum Mcmahon | 03:14:54 |
| 17 | Kyle Wood | 03:15:24 |
| 18 | Kyle Ambrose | 03:16:44 |
| 19 | Carmen Ritter | 03:21:03 |
| 20 | Michael Wooster | 03:22:09 |
| 21 | Scott Furness | 03:22:38 |
| 22 | Damon Jaenke | 03:22:59 |
| 23 | Ruth Eagles | 03:23:00 |
| 24 | Crispin Musumba | 03:23:27 |
| 25 | David Arnold | 03:23:44 |
| 26 | Robert Bell | 03:25:28 |
| 27 | Peter Herten | 03:25:44 |
| 28 | Ben Johnson | 03:26:31 |
| 29 | Chiemi Daito | 03:26:35 |
| 30 | Christian Wassmuth | 03:29:04 |
| 31 | Bridget Webber | 03:29:34 |
| 32 | Ryan Jones | 03:29:49 |
| 33 | Colette Read | 03:29:53 |
| 34 | Josh Hurd | 03:30:45 |
| 35 | Michelle Crawford | 03:31:15 |
| 36 | Joseph Kemei | 03:31:26 |
| 37 | Matthew Boschen | 03:31:50 |
| 38 | Cooper Maitland | 03:31:50 |
| 39 | Sam Dyer | 03:32:20 |
| 40 | Cameron Macpherson | 03:32:25 |
| 41 | Trevor Nichols | 03:32:30 |
| 42 | John Emerson | 03:33:00 |
| 43 | Esther Groen | 03:33:18 |
| 44 | Liv Compton | 03:34:27 |
| 45 | David Mwaria | 03:35:30 |
| 46 | Thomas Harte | 03:35:56 |
| 47 | Jimson Mores | 03:37:32 |
| 48 | Kristian Skinner | 03:37:45 |
| 49 | Richard Pennington | 03:37:47 |
| 50 | Shane Donnollan | 03:38:53 |
Timing by DURT: complete 2024 Townsville Running Festival results, all distances.
