Perth Running Festival

The Perth Running Festival runs four races on one Sunday morning in October, and all four finish on the turf inside Optus Stadium. The marathon, half marathon and Burswood Park 4km Dash start from the stadium. The PerthNow 10km starts in the city at Langley Park and finishes at the stadium. In 2026 the festival was on Sunday 11 October, and every distance had sold out before race day.

A championship course along the river

The marathon is the official WA State Marathon Championship and counts towards the Abbott World Marathon Majors age-group world rankings. Both the marathon and the half are run on AIMS-accredited courses. The routes follow the Swan River on both banks. The marathon crosses the new Boorloo Bridge, and the half crosses both Boorloo Bridge and the Matagarup footbridge. The organisers call it a flat course. Its event records, as published in the 2026 guide:

• Marathon: Paul Eyanae, 2:16:43 (2024). Kellen Waithira, 2:38:52 (2025).
• Half marathon: Tim Vincent, 1:05:14. Rebecca Bolster, 1:19:35 (both 2025).
• 10km: Daniel Canala, 30:00. Rachel McCormick, 35:24 (both 2025).
• 4km: Josh Neervoort, 11:56. Leah Allen, 13:49 (both 2025).

Start times and cut-offs (2026)

The marathon started at 6:00am with a 7-hour cut-off. The half started at 7:40am (3 hours 20 minutes), the 4km at 8:45am (1 hour 10 minutes) and the 10km at 9:40am (2 hours 30 minutes). Pacers in the marathon and half wear a balloon showing their finish time. The marathon has 13 aid stations. Eight of them serve Gatorade, four serve LVL UP gels, and there are sponges at three. The half has seven aid stations and the 10km has three. Prams can enter the 4km if they start at the back of the last wave.

How fast the field runs

In 2026, 3,824 runners finished the marathon. The runner in the middle of the field took 4:10:09. The half had 5,344 finishers with a median of 2:09:08. The 10km had 3,504 (median 1:10:01) and the 4km had 1,866 (median 31:00), so there is plenty of company at a jog or a walk. At the front, Antonina Kwambai won the women's marathon in 2:28:08, more than ten minutes inside the event record.

Getting an entry when it's sold out

A guaranteed way in is through Telethon, the festival's charity partner. Runners who commit to raising at least $750 as a Telethon Hero get entry to their chosen distance even after it sells out. In 2025 the festival was Telethon's largest single community fundraiser.

Race weekend logistics

Bibs are collected at Optus Stadium on the Friday and Saturday before the race, and you need to bring your Race Roster confirmation email. There is no race-day pickup. Bags have to be dropped off at bib collection, not on race morning. You pick them up after the race from a marquee on the northern oval of the stadium. Your bib also gets you free travel on Transperth trains for three hours either side of the event. Perth Stadium Station is a short walk from the start. For the 10km, get off at Elizabeth Quay Station and walk to Langley Park. Event parking at Belmont Park is limited, and after 3:30am it can only be reached from the Graham Farmer Freeway heading east. Spectators watch the finish from the Level 1 west seating bowl (aisles 126 to 135), entering through Gate A.