Men’s course record
1:00:52
Shumpei Tomita · 2026
- Average pace
- 2:53 / km
- Terrain-adjusted
- −0.02 %
Gold Coast Half Marathon
Gold Coast, Australia The Saturday before the marathon, 3 July in 2027 Founded 1979
A Saturday-morning half up the Broadwater from Southport to a turn at Paradise Point, a day before the marathon.
Overview
The half starts at 6:15am on a Saturday, on the Gold Coast Highway in Southport, the day before the marathon. It runs north beside the Broadwater through Labrador, Biggera Waters and Runaway Bay, takes a short out-and-back west along Lae Drive, and turns at Paradise Point to come back the same way to Broadwater Parklands.
There's almost nothing to climb. The whole course sits within 8 m of height, and the highest point is in the first few hundred metres.
9,889 finished in 2026, and D'Amato's 1:06:39 is still the fastest half a woman has run in Australia.
There's almost nothing to climb. The whole course sits within 8 m of height, and the highest point is in the first few hundred metres.
9,889 finished in 2026, and D'Amato's 1:06:39 is still the fastest half a woman has run in Australia.
- When
- The 2027 Gold Coast Half Marathon is on Saturday, 3 July 2027, starting at 6:15am local time on Gold Coast Highway, Southport.
- Course
- The Gold Coast half's course climbs 36 m in all, with its lowest point at 1 m and its highest at 9 m.
- Entry
- Entry to the Gold Coast half is first come, first served (opens December 2026), and costs A$180 for 2026.
- Field
- The 2026 Gold Coast Half Marathon had a half-marathon field of 9,889.
- Weather
- Across 31 years, the Gold Coast half's race-day temperature has a median of 14.4 °C.
- Records
- The Gold Coast Half Marathon course records are 1:00:52 (Shumpei Tomita, 2026) and 1:06:39 (Keira D'Amato, 2023).
- Time limit
- The Gold Coast half's time limit is 3 hours 20 minutes.
Marathon Course · every marathon course, measured the same way
Gold Coast Half Marathon
A Saturday-morning half up the Broadwater from Southport to a turn at Paradise Point, a day before the marathon. Gold Coast Highway, Southport → Broadwater Parklands, Gold Coast, Australia.
- Distance
- 21.1 km
- Ascent
- 36 m
- Descent
- 39 m
- Net
- −3 m
Course map and elevation
5 km splits marked · the dashed line is the marathon, whose northern leg the half shares before carrying on to its own turn at Paradise Point · hover or drag the profile below to move along the courseElevation · measured on the organiser's 2026 course file · GA DEM_LiDAR_5m_2025 · smoothed 100 m 1–9 m
—
0.04.38.512.817.121.3
kmmi — elev — grade — hover or drag the profile
The highest point comes almost straight away, 9 m on Marine Parade in Southport, and the steepest descending kilometre follows it, 7 m. The lowest is at the turn on The Esplanade at Paradise Point, 1 m, at about 11.7 km. The steepest climbing kilometre, out of the turn up Bayview Street, gains 2 m. Add up the energy cost of every gradient and the course comes out about level with a flat 21.1 km.
Take it with you
Course GPX Organiser's course map
The GPX is ours: our resampled line, a point every 25 m, carrying GA DEM_LiDAR_5m_2025 elevation rather than the GPS noise a watch file usually holds.
GA DEM_LiDAR_5m_2025, measured on the organiser's 2026 course file, smoothed 100 m · marathoncourse.com/half-marathons/goldcoast/ · checked 2026-10-19
How to enter: dates and fees
The 2027 half opens in early December 2026, and the fee isn't set yet; for 2026 it was A$180. Expect it to go fast: entries for 2026 opened on 2 December 2025 and the half sold out in about two and a half hours. You have to be 15 on race day.
There are no refunds or deferrals. A place can be transferred for A$20 in a window before the race, which ran from 24 March to 24 May in 2026. The marathon page has the rest of how entry works.
There are no refunds or deferrals. A place can be transferred for A$20 in a window before the race, which ran from 24 March to 24 May in 2026. The marathon page has the rest of how entry works.
History
The half has been run alongside the marathon since the first one in 1979, when 144 people ran it. Lisa Martin set a Commonwealth record of 1:09:42 here in 1988, and in 1993 Steve Moneghetti and Tadesse Gebre couldn't be separated at the line. It was cancelled in 2020 and 2021, and moved to the Saturday in 2022.
Keira D'Amato ran 1:06:39 in 2023, then a US record. Andy Buchanan's 1:01:08 in 2025 finally took the men's record from Benson Masya's 1:01:16 of 1992, and Shumpei Tomita lowered it to 1:00:52 a year later. The race's full history is on the marathon page.
Keira D'Amato ran 1:06:39 in 2023, then a US record. Andy Buchanan's 1:01:08 in 2025 finally took the men's record from Benson Masya's 1:01:16 of 1992, and Shumpei Tomita lowered it to 1:00:52 a year later. The race's full history is on the marathon page.
- 1979The first half, alongside the first marathon; 144 run it
- 1988Lisa Martin runs 1:09:42, a Commonwealth record
- 1992Benson Masya runs 1:01:16, a course record that stands for 33 years
- 1993Steve Moneghetti and Tadesse Gebre can't be separated at the finish
- 1999The race is based at Runaway Bay for three years
- 2020No race, and none in 2021
- 2022The half moves to the Saturday
- 2023Keira D'Amato runs 1:06:39, a US record
- 2025Andy Buchanan runs 1:01:08; the half sells out for the first time
- 2026Shumpei Tomita runs 1:00:52, and 2026 places go in about two and a half hours
19801990200020102020
Course records
Pace is derived from the certified distance. Terrain-adjusted figures come from the same model that ranks every course on this site.
Women’s course record
1:06:39
Keira D'Amato · 2023
- Average pace
- 3:10 / km
- Terrain-adjusted
- −0.02 %
Race day: start times and cut-offs
- 6:15am
- Time limit
- 3h 20m
- 8
The G:link tram is free on your bib from 4:00am to 2:30pm on the Saturday, and it stops by the start. Bags go in the race bag you're given, on the lawn behind the presentation stage in Broadwater Parklands, from 5:00am; collect yours by 1:00pm.
There are eight aid points on the out-and-back, the first at about 2.5 km. Four have Fuel X as well as water, and four are water only.
There are eight aid points on the out-and-back, the first at about 2.5 km. Four have Fuel X as well as water, and four are water only.
The morning, hour by hour
- 4:00am
- G:link trams start, free on your bib
- 5:00am
- Bag drop opens, behind the presentation stage
- 5:15am
- Recommended arrival
- 6:15am
- Start
- 6:35am
- Start line closes
- 9:35am
- The three hours 20 minutes run out
- 1:00pm
- Last bag collection
The organiser's 2026 times; 2027 details aren't out yet. You have three hours 20 minutes from the gun. The organiser's pace guide puts the last runners at about 8:30 per kilometre.
Race-day weather, 1995–2025
- Median
- 14.4 °C
- Warm years
- 2 of 31
- Wet years
- 3 of 31
Race-day mean temperature, 1995-2025. Lime marks the hottest edition; the coldest and wettest carry a label only, so the colour still means one thing.
Frequently asked questions
What day is the Gold Coast half?
Saturday, the day before the marathon. In 2027 that's 3 July, with the first wave away at 6:15am.
Organiser half-marathon page; 2026 start times.
Is it flat?
About as flat as a road course gets. The whole course sits within 8 m of height, and the steepest climbing kilometre gains 2 m.
Geoscience Australia 5 m lidar, sampled every 25 m, smoothed over 100 m.
When does entry open for 2027?
In early December 2026. For 2026 the half sold out in about two and a half hours, so be ready when it opens.
Organiser entries report, December 2025.
Does the half share the marathon's course?
Partly. It shares the marathon's northern leg from Southport to Runaway Bay, then carries on to its own turn at Paradise Point. The marathon's run south to Surfers Paradise and Miami isn't on it.
Organiser course files, compared.
What is the time limit?
Three hours 20 minutes from the gun, which is about 8:30 per kilometre for the last runners.
Organiser cut-off policy, 2026.
What are the course records?
Shumpei Tomita's 1:00:52 from 2026 and Keira D'Amato's 1:06:39 from 2023.
Organiser race records page.
How do I get to the start?
On the G:link tram, free on your bib from 4:00am on the Saturday. The organiser recommends arriving by 5:15am.
Organiser transport page, 2026.
Can I get a refund?
No, and there are no deferrals. You can transfer your place for A$20 in a window before the race, from 24 March to 24 May in 2026.
Organiser refund and transfer page.
What's the weather like in July?
Cool and mostly dry. Across 31 race mornings the median temperature was 14.4 °C, and three had a millimetre of rain or more.
ERA5 climatology, 6:00 to 9:00, Saturdays 1995 to 2025.
Is it a good first half?
It's a good one for a fast time: flat, cool, with eight aid points and three hours 20 minutes to finish. Getting a place is the hard part.
Organiser race information; measured profile.
How many people run it?
9,889 finished the half in 2026, against 9,657 in 2025.
Organiser figures for the 2026 edition.
What is the weather like on race day?
About 14.4 °C during a typical race: that's the median across 31 years, which have run from 10.8 °C to 18.1 °C. 3 of the 31 were wet.
ERA5 reanalysis for the race date, 1995-2025.
How accurate is the elevation figure?
It comes from GA DEM_LiDAR_5m_2025, sampled every 25 m along the course line and smoothed over 100 m. The raw-to-smoothed ratio here is 2.33. Around 1.3 means the model is reading the ground, not rooftops; above about 2.0 the total climb carries real noise, and the net change is the sturdier number.
4 missing samples · 3 bridge spans corrected.
Sources
Every fact on this page, its source, and the date it was checked · 10
| Fact | Source | Verified |
|---|---|---|
| Course line | The organiser's 2026 GPX, which measures 21.41 km, 1.5 % long | 2026-10-19 |
| Elevation | Geoscience Australia 5 m lidar DEM (2025), CC BY 4.0, the model the marathon is measured on | 2026-10-19 |
| Race-day weather | ERA5 via Open-Meteo archive, 6:00 to 9:00 on the Saturday before the marathon, 1995 to 2025 | 2026-10-19 |
| Course records | Organiser race records page and 2025 and 2026 race reports | 2026-10-19 |
| Field size | Finishers from Multisport Australia's results, 2025 and 2026 | 2026-10-19 |
| Start, limit, aid and bag drop | Organiser half-marathon page and race weekend information, 2026 | 2026-10-19 |
| Entry | Organiser half-marathon page and 2026 entries report | 2026-10-19 |
| Refunds and transfers | Organiser refund and transfer page | 2026-10-19 |
| History | Organiser history pages, 1979 to now, and race reports | 2026-10-19 |
| Photography | Unsplash: City of Gold Coast (the Broadwater), Joseph Prospere (race weekend) | 2026-10-19 |
Until the Gold Coast Half Marathon · 3 Jul 2027
— days
— hrs— min— sec
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