Recently I took part in the Melbourne Marathon 2025. The full marathon race here is part of the Melbourne Marathon Festival which also comprised of a half marathon, as well as a 5km and 10km.
The full marathon flagged off at 6:30am in the morning along Batman Avenue just outside the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). As I entered the start area, I realised that it was basically one long start pen with the faster runners in front and slower runners behind.
The marathon route takes runners around the city centre, then heading out to Albert Park and Beach Road, before taking us to St Kilda’s Road and then back to the MCG.
The first 3 to 4 kilometers were extremely crowded. The roads felt narrow and it was difficult to find space to run. It was only after 5km when I started to find some space to breathe while running.
The weather that day, however, was perfect for running, with a low of 8 degrees at the beginning and gradually warming up to 15 degrees towards the finish. Melbourne weather is pretty cooling at this time of the year but do note that it can be erratic sometimes.
The race itself was pretty well organised. The drink stations were spaced apart roughly every 5km or so, most were serving water with a handful serving Maurten electrolytes but there were two Maurten gel stations along the marathon route giving out free-flow of both gels as well as drink mix. 
In terms of terrain, it was somewhat flat-ish but there were inclines along the way, especially towards the dying stages of the marathon. After running that far, you can really feel every single little incline in the legs, so trying to run up them wasn’t fun.
Along the way, there were spectators lining the streets. With Melbourne being a sports-oriented city and the residents here truly embracing their sports, I was definitely not disappointed by what I experienced.
There were a few designated sections where the spectators and crowd support was quite electric and I really enjoyed lapping this all up. 
Somehow the crowd support really does give you that extra boost when you are suffering and questioning your life choices in the middle of a marathon.
Faster full marathon runners were caught in the congestion of half marathon runners in the final stages of the marathon.
Perhaps the start times could be staggered better or the routes adjusted so that such a situation would not happen in the future. Alternatively, the organisers could consider splitting the Melbourne Marathon Festival into two days to prevent this, just like how the Gold Coast Marathon does it.
I always love stadium finishes at the end of a race and the Melbourne Marathon didn’t disappoint. Running into the MCG, with spectators in the stands cheering us on, felt special and gave my exhausted legs an extra burst of energy to speed up a bit. The finishing itself was pretty exhilarating and the atmosphere was great. 
My finish time was 4:00:02 hours.
Our finisher entitlements collection was inside the MCG carpark. We picked up our medal, finisher tee and fruits and there was free flow of the Maurten energy drink mix too. After that we were ushered out of the stadium.
The medal was quite nice and the design of the finisher tee was quite different to most, with text printing the locations en route.
However I would have preferred to collect the medal on the MCG track so that we could take photos with it on the track in front of the finish line. It would have been a great photo opportunity. 
I later went back inside the stadium to wait for a friend to finish. But after he had finished, I realised that you’re in the stands and there’s no way to get back on the stadium track. So we couldn’t really take finisher photos together at the finish line.
Outside, the race village was quite happening, with freebies such as yoghurt and sweets being given out, as well as lots of photo opportunities with standees. It was a very colourful carnival and I took the chance to refuel my energy with some yummy strawberry yoghurt. 
Overall it was an enjoyable running race experience here in Melbourne and I definitely have some positive memories of the marathon morning.
Walking back 2km to where I was staying, I also received a couple of congratulations from strangers when they saw my marathon medal hanging around my neck. These experiences always bring a smile to my face.
Thanks again Melbourne for this experience.
Gold Coast Marathon Race Review
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