Men’s course record
2:17:43
Dale Warrander · 2006
- Average pace
- 3:16 / km
- Terrain-adjusted
- +0.42 %
Auckland Marathon
Auckland, New Zealand The Sunday nearest 1 November, 1 November in 2026 Founded 1992
The Harbour Bridge on foot at 15 km, and a flat run along the bays to St Heliers and back after it.
Overview
The marathon starts in Devonport at 6am, before it's properly light, and stays on the North Shore for the first third. It climbs out of Narrow Neck, runs up through Takapuna, then joins the Northern Busway and the motorway, which only runners get to use on race day. At about 15.0 km it goes up onto the Harbour Bridge.
Over the bridge the course drops into St Marys Bay, loops Westhaven Marina and the Viaduct, and follows Quay Street onto Tamaki Drive. From there it's out along the bays to the turn at St Heliers, 31.0 km in, and back to finish in Victoria Park.
The organiser calls it a rolling first half and a flat second, and the profile agrees: 180 m of its 212 m of climbing comes before halfway. Entry is open, with no ballot, and 2,776 finished in 2025.
Over the bridge the course drops into St Marys Bay, loops Westhaven Marina and the Viaduct, and follows Quay Street onto Tamaki Drive. From there it's out along the bays to the turn at St Heliers, 31.0 km in, and back to finish in Victoria Park.
The organiser calls it a rolling first half and a flat second, and the profile agrees: 180 m of its 212 m of climbing comes before halfway. Entry is open, with no ballot, and 2,776 finished in 2025.
- When
- The 2026 Auckland Marathon is on Sunday, 1 November 2026, starting at 6:00am local time on King Edward Parade, Devonport.
- Course
- Auckland's course climbs 212 m in all, with its lowest point at 0 m and its highest at 43 m.
- Entry
- Entry to Auckland is open, with no ballot, and costs NZ$271 for 2026.
- Field
- The 2025 Auckland Marathon had a marathon field of 2,776.
- Weather
- Across 31 years, Auckland's race-day temperature has a median of 15.7 °C.
- Records
- The Auckland Marathon course records are 2:17:43 (Dale Warrander, 2006) and 2:38:10 (Brigid Dennehy, 2025).
- Time limit
- Auckland's time limit is 7 hours.
Marathon Course · every marathon course, measured the same way
Auckland Marathon
The Harbour Bridge on foot at 15 km, and a flat run along the bays to St Heliers and back after it. King Edward Parade, Devonport → Victoria Park, Auckland, New Zealand.
- Distance
- 42.2 km
- Ascent
- 212 m
- Descent
- 211 m
- Net
- +1 m
Course map and elevation
5 km splits marked · hover or drag the profile below to move along the courseElevation · measured on the organiser's 2026 course line · LINZ Auckland 1 m lidar DEM (2024) · smoothed 100 m 0–43 m
—
0.08.516.925.433.842.3
kmmi — elev — grade — hover or drag the profile
The first half does nearly all the climbing. Seacliffe Avenue out of Narrow Neck, around 3.0 km, is the steepest climbing kilometre at 21 m, and the North Shore keeps rolling through Takapuna. The biggest single climb is the bridge, about 40 m from the shore at 14.0 km to the top of the span. The way down comes in two drops, off the span and then down Curran Street into Westhaven. From 18.0 km to the finish the course never rises more than 9 m above the sea. Add up the energy cost of every gradient and, for a three-hour runner, the course comes out about 42 seconds slower than a flat 42.195 km (0.42 %).
Take it with you
Course GPX Organiser's course map
The GPX is ours: our resampled line, a point every 25 m, carrying LINZ Auckland 1 m lidar DEM (2024) elevation rather than the GPS noise a watch file usually holds.
LINZ Auckland 1 m lidar DEM (2024), measured on the organiser's 2026 course line, smoothed 100 m · marathoncourse.com/marathons/auckland/ · checked 2026-10-08
How to enter: dates and fees
Auckland takes open registration, and there's no ballot.
The marathon was NZ$271 on 8 October 2026, a limited tier, and the price goes up once it's gone, so check the official entry page for what you'll pay today. Entry includes free Auckland Transport trains and buses on your bib on race day, but not the ferry or bus to the start.
Online entries close at 2:00pm on Saturday 31 October, the day before the race. Late entries are taken in person at check-in unless the race has sold out.
The marathon was NZ$271 on 8 October 2026, a limited tier, and the price goes up once it's gone, so check the official entry page for what you'll pay today. Entry includes free Auckland Transport trains and buses on your bib on race day, but not the ferry or bus to the start.
Online entries close at 2:00pm on Saturday 31 October, the day before the race. Late entries are taken in person at check-in unless the race has sold out.
History
Rendell McIntosh, a Commonwealth Games hurdler, started the bridge marathon in 1992 with race director Paul Ryken. On 25 October that year it became the first sports event to cross the Harbour Bridge, once Transit New Zealand had agreed, on condition that the field was capped at 4,000 and used only two of the bridge's eight lanes.
The YMCA took the race over in 1994 and dropped the bridge for two laps of Tamaki Drive. It came back in 2000, and entries more than tripled. IRONMAN bought the race in 2014. In 2020 it went ahead on 1 November while most of the world's marathons were cancelled, and the 2021 edition, postponed by lockdown, was run in January 2022, so that year had two.
The YMCA took the race over in 1994 and dropped the bridge for two laps of Tamaki Drive. It came back in 2000, and entries more than tripled. IRONMAN bought the race in 2014. In 2020 it went ahead on 1 November while most of the world's marathons were cancelled, and the 2021 edition, postponed by lockdown, was run in January 2022, so that year had two.
- 1936The first Auckland Marathon, on a waterfront course
- 1959The Harbour Bridge opens, 33 years before anyone runs a marathon over it
- 199225 October: the first sports event to cross the Harbour Bridge. 2,542 finish, and the entrants come from 15 countries
- 1993Kerry and Raewyn Rodger win the men's and women's races, the first husband and wife to do it on the same day in New Zealand
- 1994The YMCA takes over, drops the bridge for two laps of Tamaki Drive and adds a half marathon
- 2000The bridge is back. Entries jump from 2,200 to about 7,500, and 2,500 are turned away
- 2004The finish moves to Fanshawe Street beside Victoria Park
- 2006The course is officially measured, and Dale Warrander runs 2:17:43, still the men's record
- 2012Alexandra Williams runs 2:41:29, the women's record for the next thirteen years
- 2014IRONMAN buys the race
- 2017The finish line moves into the middle of Victoria Park
- 2020Run on 1 November while most of the world's marathons were cancelled
- 2022Two races in one year: the postponed 2021 edition in January, then October's in the rain. Daniel Jones wins both, his third win in a row
- 2025Brigid Dennehy runs 2:38:10 and takes 3 minutes 19 seconds off the women's record
- 20261 November, the 35th running
200020102020
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
2:38:10
Brigid Dennehy · 2025
- Average pace
- 3:45 / km
- Terrain-adjusted
- +0.42 %
Race day: start times and cut-offs
- 6:00am
- 1:00pm
- Time limit
- 7 hours
- 13
The marathon starts at 6:00am on King Edward Parade in Devonport and finishes in Victoria Park, off Fanshawe Street in the city. The limit is seven hours, with six intermediate cut-offs, and runners still on the Harbour Bridge at 10:10am are taken off it. Thirteen aid stations carry water and electrolyte drink, eight of them flat cola too.
Transport to the start has to be booked in advance, through your registration, and nothing is sold on race day. Marathon ferries leave downtown between 4:00 and 4:45am for NZ$15, and there are buses from Albany, Constellation and Takapuna. Being dropped off isn't recommended, because of the road closures.
Your gear bag goes from the start to Victoria Park; collect it by 1:00pm. After the race, Auckland Transport trains and buses are free on your bib until 4pm.
Transport to the start has to be booked in advance, through your registration, and nothing is sold on race day. Marathon ferries leave downtown between 4:00 and 4:45am for NZ$15, and there are buses from Albany, Constellation and Takapuna. Being dropped off isn't recommended, because of the road closures.
Your gear bag goes from the start to Victoria Park; collect it by 1:00pm. After the race, Auckland Transport trains and buses are free on your bib until 4pm.
The morning, hour by hour
- 5:55am
- Wheelchair start
- 6:00am
- Marathon start
- 6:50am
- Half marathon start
- 10:10am
- Runners still on the Harbour Bridge taken off
- 1:00pm
- Marathon course closes
Cut-offs
- Smales Farm · 10.0 km
- 7:45am
- Onewa Rd on-ramp · 14.0 km
- 8:25am
- St Heliers turn · 31.0 km
- 11:16am
- Mission Bay aid station · 34.0 km
- 11:43am
- Ngapipi aid station · 37.0 km
- 12:10pm
- Quay St aid station · 40.0 km
- 12:41pm
Times from the organiser's 2026 marathon page. Its event schedule, still based on 2025, lists later cut-offs at Smales Farm and Onewa Road, shared with the shorter races.
Race-day weather, 1995–2025
- Median
- 15.7 °C
- Warm years
- 6 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
Is the Auckland Marathon hilly?
The first half is. It climbs 212 m in all, 180 m of it before halfway, on the North Shore and up the Harbour Bridge. From 18.0 km to the finish the course never rises more than 9 m above the sea.
LINZ 1 m lidar, sampled every 25 m, smoothed over 100 m; the bridge deck modelled from its 43.3 m clearance.
How steep is the Harbour Bridge?
It climbs about 40 m from the North Shore to the top of the span, over roughly 1.8 km, an average of a little over 2 %. You're off it by about 16.5 km and down at Westhaven by 18.0 km.
Measured profile; bridge deck from Engineering New Zealand's heritage record.
Is there a ballot?
No. Entry is open until it sells out or closes, at 2:00pm on Saturday 31 October 2026. The marathon was NZ$271 on 8 October, a limited tier, and the price goes up once it's gone.
Organiser entry page, checked 2026-10-08.
What is the cut-off?
Seven hours: the marathon starts at 6:00am and the course closes at 1:00pm. There are six intermediate cut-offs, the first at Smales Farm, 10.0 km, at 7:45am. Runners still on the Harbour Bridge at 10:10am are taken off it.
Organiser marathon page, 2026.
How do I get to the start in Devonport?
On the organiser's chartered ferries or buses, which you book in advance through your registration. Nothing is sold on race day. Marathon ferries leave downtown between 4:00 and 4:45am for NZ$15, and being dropped off isn't recommended because of the road closures.
Organiser transport page, 2026.
Can I defer my place?
No. The organiser doesn't offer deferrals. Until 30 October you can switch distance, paying the difference if the new one costs more, or transfer your entry to a friend for NZ$27. Partial refunds ended on 20 September.
Organiser FAQ and entry page, checked 2026-10-08.
Is it a fast course?
Not by its records. The men's record of 2:17:43 has stood since 2006, and the 2024 women's winner, Brigid Dennehy, called Auckland a pretty tough course. The second half is flat, so the time is made or lost on the North Shore.
Organiser records and race reports.
Where can spectators watch?
The organiser's spectator map marks King Edward Parade in Devonport, Akoranga bus station, Ōrākei Domain and St Heliers, and the finish is in Victoria Park. Tamaki Drive is the easy one, since the course passes Mission Bay twice, at about 29.0 km and 34.0 km.
Organiser course map, 2026.
Is it a good first marathon?
Open entry and a seven-hour limit make it a reasonable one. The catches are the hour, with a ferry or bus to the start around 5am, and the climbing, which all comes in the first half, when it's easiest to go too fast.
Organiser race information; measured profile.
How many people run it?
2,776 finished the marathon in 2025, up from 2,439 in 2024. Across all five distances the organiser counted more than 17,000 registered runners and walkers.
Organiser figures for the 2025 edition.
What is the weather like on race day?
About 15.7 °C during a typical race: that's the median across 31 years, which have run from 12.3 °C to 18.2 °C. 3 of the 31 were wet.
ERA5 reanalysis for the race date, 1995-2025.
Can I use a time here to qualify for Boston?
On net drop, yes. The course finishes 1 m above its start, nowhere near the 1,500 ft at which the B.A.A. starts adjusting times for 2027 qualifying, so a time run here counts at face value. The B.A.A. also needs the course certified by AIMS or the national federation. The organiser says Auckland is AIMS-certified, but the link to its certificate was broken when this page was checked, so confirm with the organiser before planning a qualifying attempt here.
Net drop +1 m from this site's course line; 2027 adjustment None. Certification certified: AIMS-certified, according to the organiser; the certificate itself wasn't viewable on 8 October 2026.
How accurate is the elevation figure?
It comes from LINZ Auckland 1 m lidar DEM (2024), sampled every 25 m along the course line and smoothed over 100 m. The raw-to-smoothed ratio here is 1.25. 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.
72 missing samples · 6 bridge spans corrected.
Sources
Every fact on this page, its source, and the date it was checked · 13
| Fact | Source | Verified |
|---|---|---|
| Course line | Organiser's 2026 course map (Google My Maps, layer "Marathon - Route"), 603 points, 42.45 km | 2026-10-08 |
| Elevation | LINZ Auckland 1 m lidar DEM (2024), CC BY 4.0, bridges corrected | 2026-10-08 |
| Harbour Bridge deck | Engineering New Zealand heritage record: navigation span 243.8 m, 43.3 m clearance at high water, used as the deck height | 2026-10-08 |
| Race-day weather | ERA5 via Open-Meteo archive | 2026-10-08 |
| Course records | Organiser results and records page; the 2025 race report for the women's record | 2026-10-08 |
| Field size | Marathon finishers counted from the 2024 and 2025 results; all-distance registrations from the organiser's 2025 race report | 2026-10-08 |
| Race date, start, cut-offs and aid stations | Organiser marathon page, 2026; the start time is marked as based on 2025 and subject to change | 2026-10-08 |
| Entry fees and close | Organiser entry page, 2026 | 2026-10-08 |
| Start transport | Organiser transport page: chartered ferries and buses, booked in advance | 2026-10-08 |
| History and timeline | Organiser: "Facts and Figures from 30 Years" and "1992 Origin Story" | 2026-10-08 |
| Course certification | AIMS-certified according to the organiser; its certificate link was broken on this date | 2026-10-08 |
| Steepest-kilometre place names | OpenStreetMap via Nominatim reverse geocoding (ODbL) | 2026-10-08 |
| Photography | Unsplash: Daniel Wang (Harbour Bridge), Sulthan Auliya (skyline), Dan Freeman (Viaduct), Andreia Costa (Mission Bay), Josh Tere (Devonport), Raquel Moss (Westhaven) | 2026-10-08 |
Until the Auckland Marathon · 1 Nov 2026
— days
— hrs— min— sec
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