TheMarathon Clinic
Course pacing

How to pace the Melbourne Marathon

The Nike Melbourne Marathon is a largely flat but gently rolling marathon, with about 135 m of climbing and 132 m of descent (a near-level net change). Pace it by even effort: ease back on the few rises and let the descents run, rather than forcing an identical pace on every kilometre.

← All marathons
Next Melbourne Marathon

Sunday 11 October 2026

About 15 weeks away · 105 days · projected from the usual race weekend

Build a plan for this race

Elevation gain

135m

Elevation loss

132m

Net change

+3m

Terrain

Rolling

Typical race-day conditions

October

At the gun

10°C

~7:00am start

By the finish

16°C

warms through the morning

Humidity

71%

morning average

Conditions

Good

close to ideal, a small cost at most

Goal finish time
::
StrategyEven effort keeps your effort steady and lets pace drift with the terrain, slower up the climbs and faster down. Even pace holds one pace the whole way and ignores the hills.
Splits every
Units
Race conditionsPace for an ideal cool day, a typical race-day, or a warm-outlier year. Warmer conditions slow your realistic finish, and the splits below adjust to match.
AcclimatisedAcclimatised: you already train and race in conditions like these, so your body has adapted. You sweat sooner and more, hold a lower heart rate and core temperature, and barely lose time to the heat.Not yet: you mostly train in cooler weather, so a warm race hits harder, a higher heart rate, an earlier fade, and roughly twice the slowdown an adapted runner sees. It comes good after about two weeks of training in the heat.
Typical condition impactTypical October · +1.2%

A typical October morning sits around 10°C at the gun and 16°C by the finish. Adapted to conditions like these, the heat may still slow you about +1.2% against an ideal cool day. That moves your 3:30:00 goal to about 3:32:36, and the pace below already allows for it.

Your target pace

5:02/km

Your average across the whole course. The splits below shift it for every climb and descent, so your effort stays even the whole way.

Nike Melbourne Marathon

Melbourne, VIC

Hover the map or the profile, the other follows.

This one is won on the back half.

0 km5101520253035405 m10 m15 m20 m25 m30 m
km 35–37 climbs 14 m, right where most runners fade.
climb descenttarget pace

The coach's read

A fast, largely flat city course that finishes with a lap inside the MCG. A few gentle rises and bridge ramps are the only real interruptions, so hold an even effort and keep something back for the stadium finish.

WHY  Allowing for a typical October day, that's about 5:01/km of effort the whole way, the splits below shift with the gradient, not your pace.

Ease the climbs, let the descents run, and stay relaxed through the second half.
JHJason HuntFounder & Head Coach

Hardest stretch

The km to Finish: 5:37/km at +2.1%.

Free speed

The km to 38 km: 4:49/km at -0.8%.

Key climbs & descents
Your race-day splits
MarkerTarget paceClock
1 km5:20/km5:20
2 km5:01/km10:21
3 km5:07/km15:28
4 km5:03/km20:31
5 km5:04/km25:35
6 km4:57/km30:32
7 km4:50/km35:22
8 km4:58/km40:19
9 km5:06/km45:26
10 km4:59/km50:25
11 km4:58/km55:22
12 km5:02/km1:00:24
13 km5:03/km1:05:27
14 km5:19/km1:10:46
15 km4:52/km1:15:38
16 km4:56/km1:20:35
17 km5:00/km1:25:35
18 km4:56/km1:30:31
19 km5:00/km1:35:31
20 km5:05/km1:40:36
21 km5:02/km1:45:38
22 km5:09/km1:50:47
23 km4:56/km1:55:43
24 km4:58/km2:00:41
25 km5:06/km2:05:48
26 km5:00/km2:10:48
27 km5:00/km2:15:48
28 km5:01/km2:20:49
29 km5:06/km2:25:55
30 km5:16/km2:31:11
31 km5:05/km2:36:16
32 km5:03/km2:41:20
33 km5:00/km2:46:20
34 km4:56/km2:51:16
35 km5:06/km2:56:22
36 km5:08/km3:01:30
37 km5:15/km3:06:44
38 km4:49/km3:11:34
39 km4:53/km3:16:27
40 km5:00/km3:21:26
41 km5:05/km3:26:31
42 km4:59/km3:31:31
Finish5:37/km3:32:36

Even-effort splits distribute your goal time by the energy cost of each gradient (the Minetti grade-cost model), not an even pace. Wind, heat, turns, and your own downhill tolerance still apply, so run the climbs by feel and stay relaxed on the descents.

Train for this course, not just the distance.

A coach builds the climbs and descents into your plan.

Get a coachAll courses
Take it furtherAdjust for the heatPlan your splits
·Race-day guide

Pacing the Melbourne Marathon

A coach's read on how the Nike Melbourne Marathon runs, and how to spend your effort across it.

01The course

Kilometre by kilometre

  • The climbing that matters: 35.3–36.6 km (+14 m at 1.1%), 28.5–30.2 km (+12 m at 0.7%), 13.2–14.0 km (+11 m at 1.4%). Run these by effort; your pace will and should slow.
  • Where you get it back: 36.6–38.3 km (-14 m down), 40.6–41.4 km (-10 m down), 5.9–6.7 km (-10 m down). Let these run without braking or hammering: relaxed, quick feet.
  • Albert Park Lake (~10.4 km): A flat lap past the lake and the Grand Prix circuit.
02The plan

How to pace the Melbourne Marathon

  1. Read the course before race day. Largely flat, MCG finish. A fast, largely flat city course that finishes with a lap inside the MCG.
  2. Pace by effort, not just the watch. Set the effort you can hold for the whole marathon, then let the pace flex with the ground: a little slower up, a little faster down, the same effort throughout.
  3. Give the climbs effort, not pace. Let your pace slow on the climbs while holding effort steady; chasing your flat pace uphill is the classic way to blow up. The biggest is around 35–37 km (+14 m).
  4. Protect your quads on the descents. Stay relaxed and let the descents come to you. Hammering downhill banks a few seconds now and wrecks your legs for the closing kilometres; the model deliberately caps the downhill benefit for this reason.
  5. Plan your finish. A few gentle rises and bridge ramps are the only real interruptions, so hold an even effort and keep something back for the stadium finish.
03Questions

Melbourne Marathon, answered

Is the Melbourne Marathon hilly?
It's largely flat but gently rolling, with around 135 m of total climbing over the 42.2 km and a biggest single climb of about 14 m. None of it is severe, but the rises add up.
How should I pace the Melbourne Marathon?
The Nike Melbourne Marathon is a largely flat but gently rolling marathon, with about 135 m of climbing and 132 m of descent (a near-level net change). Pace it by even effort: ease back on the few rises and let the descents run, rather than forcing an identical pace on every kilometre.
What is the hardest part of the Melbourne Marathon?
The toughest climb runs roughly 35–37 km, gaining about 14 m at an average 1.1%. A fast, largely flat city course that finishes with a lap inside the MCG.
Is the Melbourne Marathon a good course for a PB?
It can be. It's fast enough for a personal best if you pace by effort and don't fight the rolling sections; just don't expect a dead-flat racetrack.
How much elevation gain does the Melbourne Marathon have?
About 135 m of total gain and 132 m of loss over the 42.2 km, in line with the organiser's published figures.

From the journal

2026-06-10 · 4 min

Why your marathon paces should come from a real run

More marathons

Gold Coast

Gold Coast, QLD

0 km10203040-1–15 m
+62 m climb
Pace it

Sydney

Sydney, NSW

World Major
0 km102030406–90 m
+313 m climb
Pace it

Tokyo

Tokyo, Japan

World Major
0 km102030401–40 m
+25 m climb
Pace it

Boston

Boston, Massachusetts

World Major
0 km102030406–136 m
+248 m climb
Pace it

London

London, United Kingdom

World Major
0 km102030402–52 m
+127 m climb
Pace it

Berlin

Berlin, Germany

World Major
0 km1020304034–51 m
+73 m climb
Pace it

Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

World Major
0 km10203040178–188 m
+74 m climb
Pace it

New York

New York City, New York

World Major
0 km102030404–65 m
+247 m climb
Pace it

Auckland

Auckland, New Zealand

0 km102030400–40 m
+217 m climb
Pace it

Queenstown

Queenstown, New Zealand

0 km10203040316–434 m
+159 m climb
Pace it

Brisbane

Brisbane, QLD

0 km102030401–35 m
+293 m climb
Pace it

Rotorua

Rotorua, New Zealand

0 km10203040286–345 m
+240 m climb
Pace it

Perth

Perth, WA

0 km102030401–13 m
+187 m climb
Pace it

Valencia

Valencia, Spain

0 km102030403–28 m
+46 m climb
Pace it

Paris

Paris, France

0 km1020304034–72 m
+144 m climb
Pace it

Amsterdam

Amsterdam, Netherlands

0 km10203040-3–3 m
+84 m climb
Pace it

Cape Town

Cape Town, South Africa

0 km102030403–36 m
+205 m climb
Pace it

Hobart

Hobart, TAS

0 km102030402–25 m
+146 m climb
Pace it

Sunshine Coast

Sunshine Coast, QLD

0 km102030401–19 m
+79 m climb
Pace it

Osaka

Osaka, Japan

0 km102030400–32 m
+107 m climb
Pace it

Train for Melbourne. Not just the distance.

A coach builds this course's climbs, descents and race-day pacing into a plan made for you.

Get a coach