Sun Run

The Sun Run is Northern Beaches Council's summer road race, and the 2027 edition, its 17th, is confirmed for Saturday 6 February 2027. Both distances start on The Strand at Dee Why and finish at South Steyne in Manly. The 10km goes first at 6:30am, with the 7km following about 45 minutes later (7:15am in 2025, 7:30am in 2026).

Getting an entry is the hard part

Entries open in early November, and the race has now sold out three years in a row. Early-bird pricing for the 2026 edition opened on 3 November 2025 and ran to 20 November; the race was declared full on 16 January, about two weeks out, with more than 10,000 people entered. There is no race-day registration, and in 2025 entries closed at 3pm the afternoon before. If you want a start in 2027, the date to watch is early November 2026, not January.

The course

The route heads south along the coast past Curl Curl, Freshwater and Queenscliff, with a steep hill early before the road settles. The 10km is World Athletics certified (registered as The Sun Run 10KM, current to 2030), so a time here counts as a legitimate 10km. The 7km covers the shorter stretch of the same coastline. From 2026 it no longer awards place prizes, so anyone racing for a result should enter the 10km.

How fast the field actually runs

In 2026, 7,548 people finished the 10km and 1,315 the 7km. Leo Peterson won the 10km in 30:24. The middle of the field came through in 58:33, so roughly half the 10km runners broke the hour, and the last finisher took 2:07:13, which tells you walkers are genuinely part of this race. Martin Smellie won the 7km in 27:00. Lexie Tague was the first woman home in that race in 29:01, fourth overall and still in the 13-15 age group.

Practical notes

This is a point-to-point, so sort the trip back before you start: buses run along Pittwater Road between Manly and Dee Why, and the Manly ferry connects to Circular Quay. There was no bag service in 2025, so travel light. Pets, bikes, scooters, skateboards and rollerblades are not allowed, assistance animals excepted, and children under five ran free. The event raises money for Australian charities and has passed its $100,000 target in recent years; the 2025 beneficiaries were Ovarian Cancer Australia, Breast Cancer Network Australia and the Stroke Foundation.