Marathon, not a sprint: Why Sydney’s beast of a course rewards power over pace

On a ferry trip to the launch event for the Sydney Marathon on Thursday, Tanzanian star Alphonce Simbu was chatting with some of the other elite runners. They agreed to have a big crack at breaking the Sydney course record on Sunday.

“We are planning to make it a new record for here. On Sunday we can do it, this is possible,” Simbu said.

Like social running in general, record-breaking and marathons is on trend right now.

In April, Kenyan star Sabastian Sawe became a household name by becoming the first person to legally run a marathon in under two hours, winning the London Marathon in 1 hour, 59 minutes and 30 seconds.

Somewhat unluckily, the second man to break two hours, Yomef Kiljecha, did so in the same race – so his feat was almost totally overshadowed by that of Sawe. But Kiljecha claimed his own history by last week breaking the half-marathon world record last week in a staggering 56:51.

The Australian marathon record also fell in July, claimed by Victorian Haftu Strintzos (2:06:20) on the Gold Coast.

As the reigning men’s marathon world champion, Simbu is every chance to win the Sydney major on Sunday and grab another record. But don’t hold your breath for a sub-two hour run.

The all-time record here is a far slower 2:06:06, set last year by Ethiopian Hailemaryam Kiros – who is also back this year to defend his title.

Why is Sydney’s record so much slower? The short answer is hills, and lots of them.

Sydney joined the exclusive ranks of the Abbott World Marathon Majors last year, but it has already become tagged online by runners around the world as the “Toughest Major”, courtesy of the Harbour City’s undulating course.

When running the leg-sapping Sydney marathon, you’ll climb around 320 metres of cumulative elevation; the most of the eight Major marathons. Tokyo (60m), Berlin (73m) and Chicago (74m) are almost flat in comparison.

“Before coming here I just asked my agents how about the course,” Simbu said. “They told me it is up and down. So I started the training for this course. When I was in Tanzania, at home in Arusha we have hills and slopes, and so I tried to train according to this course. I am ready for it.”

Sydney Marathon race director Wayne Larden baulks at the “toughest major” tag, arguing the gradients are gradual and pointing out many runners even post personal bests here. But some Sydney Marathon marketing still leans into the course being a beast, with a tagline on one video saying “we didn’t build this race to be comfortable, we built it to test you”.

In general, though, the hills haven’t scared off the running world. There will be a record number of entrants on Sunday, with over 40,000 starters, including thousands of overseas visitors. Organisers are hoping 500,000 spectators will line the course.

But the make-up of the men’s elite field in 2026, at least, does reflect the difficulty of the Sydney course, which adheres to the cliché of being a marathon, not a sprint.

Because the world’s top marathoners tend to only run two or three races a year, Sydney finds itself up against Berlin, Chicago and New York, (which are all held in the next few months) when trying to recruit star names.

Larden and his team chased Sawe, Kelejcha and Jacob Kiplimo after the incredible scenes in London, but the world’s fastest marathoners are set to chase even faster times and lower records in Berlin or Chicago.

“They are right now running for times. But they will not always run a marathon for a time because a lot of those guys also want to win all the majors, right? Or win a major,” Larden said. “We will be chasing those guys, we want those guys running here. But when they’re in the form they’re in, they’re trying to break records right now, rightfully.

“All the races shouldn’t be all the same. They shouldn’t be all fast. They should be different because that will bring out different strengths in different elite athletes, too, right?

“So, you won’t see the same people winning Sydney as you’ll see winning Berlin or Chicago. And that variety is good.

“It’s about the city, it’s about the people. Sydney sells itself. We’re here beside the Sydney Harbour Bridge, finish line at the Opera House, the harbour, the people, the atmosphere. It’s just unique and beautiful and fun. And that’s how we pitch it internationally.”

They don’t carry the same GOAT profiles as last year’s marquee stars – Eliud Kipchoge and Sifan Hasan – but the Sydney field is still stacked with elite racers, led by both men’s and women’s world champions in 2025: Simbu and Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir.

Jepchirchir is a legend of the women’s marathon world, having won the 2020 Olympic gold and three Major marathons. She has the seventh-fastest women’s time ever, 2:14:43.

Ethiopia’s Sisay Lemma, a previous Major winner, has the fastest PB in the men’s field with 2:01:48 in 2023. That makes Lemma the eighth-fastest marathoner in history, while Simbu is equal 12th, with a PB of 2:02:47.

His incredible 2025 world championship victory has to be seen to be believed. Simbu passed Amanal Petros in a photo-finish surge on the line to win by 0.03 seconds.

But to put the staggering speed of Sawe into context, Simbu running at PB pace would still have finished over a kilometre behind Sawe in London. Or to use some Sydney context, Simbu would still be passing St Marys Cathedral when Sawe is arriving at the Opera House.

“I ran in London in 2017, but I ran 2:09, I think,” Simbu said. “It was a very tough pace this year, with Sawe, Kiljecha, [Jacob] Kiplimo, all those guys. I always thought Sawe was strong. I appreciate him very much.”

Paralympic star Madison de Rozario leads the Aussie charge in the women’s wheelchair races, and highly decorated British racer David Weir is the favourite in the men’s.

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