If you're chasing a marathon PB, you could do a lot worse than heading to Wangaratta in March. The Wangaratta Marathon — now in its 15th year — has built a reputation as one of Victoria's best mid-size marathon events, and it's earned that reputation honestly: the course is fast, flat, and mostly sealed or gravel path with minimal turns.
Set in Wangaratta, the centre of North East Victoria and gateway to a world-class food and wine region, the event takes runners through genuinely beautiful country scenery. Timing is ideal too — mid-March in North East Victoria means cool, calm mornings, which are about as perfect as marathon conditions get in Australia.
Five distances are on offer: the full marathon (42.2km), half marathon (21.1km), 10km, 5km, and a 2km Primary School Challenge for children under 12. The prize pool is generous — the overall marathon podium shares $3,500, with $1,000 going to the outright winner — so if you're in form, there's real incentive to go hard.
The event welcomes runners at every level, from first-timers to serious club runners. The community of Wangaratta takes genuine pride in hosting the event, and that enthusiasm shows on race day.
If you're making a weekend of it, the Murray to Mountains Rail Trail has over 100km of trail to explore by bike, and the region's wineries and breweries are well worth a visit post-race.
