Compiled and fact-checked by Tommo, Verus founder · Last verified August 2026 · Spot an error?
Running · Marathons
7NEWS Cairns Marathon 2027
- Race day
- Sunday, 11 July 2027
- Location
- Cairns, Queensland
- Distance
- 26.2 mi / 42.2 km
Cairns Marathon: 11 July 2027, 5:45am from Fogarty Park. Tropical north Queensland in the dry season — a tight 5h45 cut-off, entry and the Atlas Majors medal.
7NEWS Cairns Marathon Race Timeline
304 days to go
More than 84 days out — a good window to build a consistent base before marathon-specific training ramps up.
7NEWS Cairns Marathon 2027: quick answers
When is 7NEWS Cairns Marathon 2027?
7NEWS Cairns Marathon 2027 takes place on Sunday, 11 July 2027, starting at 5:45am — the earliest marathon start in Australia, and in the tropics it needs to be..
What time does 7NEWS Cairns Marathon start?
7NEWS Cairns Marathon starts at 5:45am — the earliest marathon start in Australia, and in the tropics it needs to be. from Fogarty Park, Cairns Esplanade.
Where does 7NEWS Cairns Marathon start and finish?
7NEWS Cairns Marathon starts at Fogarty Park, Cairns Esplanade and finishes at Fogarty Park, Cairns Esplanade.
How many miles is 7NEWS Cairns Marathon?
7NEWS Cairns Marathon is 26.2 miles (42.2km).
How much does 7NEWS Cairns Marathon cost to enter?
Entry includes a race bib personalised up to six weeks before, a timing tag, a finisher’s medal and an event t-shirt subject to availability. General entries for the 2026 race were exhausted, leaving charity places.
How can I track a runner at 7NEWS Cairns Marathon?
The event publishes results and offers iTAB personalised medals.
Key Race Metrics & Overview
- Date
- Sunday, 11 July 2027
- Distance
- 26.2 miles / 42.2km
- Location
- Cairns, Queensland
- Start Point
- Fogarty Park, Cairns Esplanade
- Finish Point
- Fogarty Park, Cairns Esplanade
- Start time
- 5:45am — the earliest marathon start in Australia, and in the tropics it needs to be.
- Surface
- Sealed road and the Cairns Esplanade, flat throughout
- Cut-off time
- Five hours forty-five minutes overall — one of the tightest marathon cut-offs in Australia.
- Age requirement
- Minimum age 17.
- Tracking app
- The event publishes results and offers iTAB personalised medals.
Direct Entry Summary
Entry includes a race bib personalised up to six weeks before, a timing tag, a finisher’s medal and an event t-shirt subject to availability. General entries for the 2026 race were exhausted, leaving charity places.
Ballot Policy
No ballot — entry is direct through Atlas Events, and it sells out.
7NEWS Cairns Marathon Race Day Weather
A real forecast appears here once one exists for race day — usually about a week to ten days out. Nothing is shown until then, because a made-up forecast is worse than none.
7NEWS Cairns Marathon Route Map & Elevation Profile
Starting at Fogarty Park, Cairns Esplanade and finishing at Fogarty Park, Cairns Esplanade. Total elevation gain is not published for this event, and Verus does not estimate one.
Is 7NEWS Cairns Marathon flat?
Yes. The Esplanade and the coastal roads around Cairns are flat, which is just as well given the 5 hour 45 minute cut-off — that limit only works on a course with nothing in it to slow you down. No official elevation figure is published, so Verus does not state one.
7NEWS Cairns Marathon Course Profile
Elevation change not published for this event.
Tap a point on the course for details.
Fogarty Park, Cairns Esplanade
Start line.
Where 7NEWS Cairns Marathon starts and finishes
7NEWS Cairns Marathon starts at Fogarty Park, Cairns Esplanade and finishes at Fogarty Park, Cairns Esplanade. We haven't been able to place those on a map accurately enough to show one — a pin in the wrong place is worse than no pin.
These are the start and finish points, not the route. Verus doesn't hold course files for this race, and drawing a line between two pins would be a guess you might end up training on. The official course map is the one to use: view it on the organiser's site .
Full 7NEWS Cairns Marathon Route Breakdown
A flat marathon on the Cairns Esplanade and the roads around it, run in the middle of the tropical dry season and started at 5:45am because that is what the latitude demands. It is the northernmost marathon of any size in Australia, and the July date is the whole reason it works: Cairns in July is dry and mild, and Cairns in January is not a place to run 42km at all.
7NEWS Cairns Marathon Pace Calculator & Splits
7NEWS Cairns Marathon Pace Calculator
Enter a target finish time to see your pace and projected splits.
Average pace / mile
9:10
Average pace / km
5:42
7NEWS Cairns Marathon Pace Chart
Split markers calculated for standard checkpoints — no official pacers are confirmed for this event.
| Target | Pace /mi | Pace /km | 5K | 10K | Half Marathon | 30K | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3:00 | 6:52 | 4:16 | 21:21 | 42:41 | 1:30:04 | 2:08:04 | 3:00:00 |
| 3:15 | 7:27 | 4:37 | 23:07 | 46:15 | 1:37:34 | 2:18:44 | 3:15:00 |
| 3:30 | 8:01 | 4:59 | 24:54 | 49:48 | 1:45:05 | 2:29:25 | 3:30:00 |
| 3:45 | 8:35 | 5:20 | 26:41 | 53:22 | 1:52:35 | 2:40:05 | 3:45:00 |
| 4:00 | 9:10 | 5:42 | 28:28 | 56:55 | 2:00:05 | 2:50:46 | 4:00:00 |
| 4:15 | 9:44 | 6:03 | 30:14 | 1:00:29 | 2:07:35 | 3:01:26 | 4:15:00 |
| 4:30 | 10:18 | 6:24 | 32:01 | 1:04:02 | 2:15:06 | 3:12:06 | 4:30:00 |
| 4:45 | 10:53 | 6:46 | 33:48 | 1:07:36 | 2:22:36 | 3:22:47 | 4:45:00 |
| 5:00 | 11:27 | 7:07 | 35:34 | 1:11:09 | 2:30:06 | 3:33:27 | 5:00:00 |
| 5:30 | 12:36 | 7:50 | 39:08 | 1:18:16 | 2:45:07 | 3:54:48 | 5:30:00 |
| 6:00 | 13:44 | 8:32 | 42:41 | 1:25:23 | 3:00:08 | 4:16:08 | 6:00:00 |
| 6:30 | 14:53 | 9:15 | 46:15 | 1:32:30 | 3:15:08 | 4:37:29 | 6:30:00 |
| 7:00 | 16:02 | 9:58 | 49:48 | 1:39:37 | 3:30:09 | 4:58:50 | 7:00:00 |
7NEWS Cairns Marathon Finish Time Estimator
Enter a recent 5K, 10K or Half Marathon time to estimate your 7NEWS Cairns Marathon finish time.
Your 5K time
Estimated 7NEWS Cairns Marathon finish
3:59:36
An estimate only, based on Pete Riegel's race-time prediction formula. Real marathon performance depends on endurance, training specificity, pacing and race-day conditions — not just your speed over a shorter distance.
Training for a different distance? Try the full pace calculator, race time predictor or pace chart.
Got your target time? Save it to your profile.
Tag 7NEWS Cairns Marathon, set your goal pace, and let Verus track your countdown, training and fundraising in one place.
Start Your Verus Journey7NEWS Cairns Marathon Race Day Checklist
Tap items to mark off your race-day readiness.
- A realistic look at the 5:45 cut-off, which is the tightest thing about this race
- Entry in early enough for a personalised bib and your t-shirt size
- A 5:45am start planned backwards from — that is a 3am breakfast on the usual three-hour rule
- Sun protection for the second half; the tropical sun arrives quickly after dawn
- A meeting point agreed at Fogarty Park, where the start and finish share a line
Training Strategy for 7NEWS Cairns Marathon
16-20 weeks is the target window for first-time marathoners; 12-16 weeks is solid if you're already maintaining a baseline mileage. Arrive with your longest run behind you in training, not on race day itself.
This is a largely flat course, so most of your long runs can mirror that — flat and steady, building time on feet rather than hill strength.
Reduce overall mileage across the final 2-3 weeks while preserving short race-pace bursts. Arrive at Fogarty Park, Cairns Esplanade fresh, energized, and primed — not fit, fresh.
Lock in your target pace using the interactive splits calculator below — no official pacers are confirmed for this event, so a pace band on your watch is the more reliable option.
Test your race-day fuel and hydration plan on your long training runs, not for the first time on race day — check the Race Day Checklist below for what's actually on this course.
Marathon Nutrition & Fueling Plan
A deliberate increase in carbohydrate over the two to three days before the race is the practical approach at marathon distance.
A 5:45am start makes the usual three-hour gap a 3am breakfast. Either eat small and early or rehearse a compressed version on a long run — do not improvise it in the tropics.
The event publishes its own nutrition and hydration information ahead of race day. Fluid matters more here than at a southern marathon even in the dry season.
The first hour after finishing is when carbohydrate and protein do the most for recovery.
7NEWS Cairns Marathon Charity Places 2027
Charity places are the published route into a sold-out race, applied for through the event itself.
Lead with your personal story — explain why the charity matters to you. Personal connection generates 3x more support than a generic link broadcast.
Share key training milestones on Instagram (first 10-miler, peak week, race week) with your fundraising link in bio. Publicly thanking donors prompts secondary gifts!
Running 7NEWS Cairns Marathon for charity?
Link your JustGiving page to Verus and show up right here alongside other 7NEWS Cairns Marathon fundraisers — goal, progress and story, all in one place.
Add Your Fundraiser to VerusWhere to Stay for 7NEWS Cairns Marathon
Cairns Esplanade
Walk to the start and finish, with the airport minutes away and the whole course outside the door.
Books out for race weekend and again for Ironman in June.
Cairns CBD
Cheaper, still walkable to Fogarty Park, and everything open for a pre-race meal.
Slightly further on a 5:45am start.
Palm Cove and the northern beaches
A better place to spend the week, and the base for anyone combining this with a reef or Daintree trip.
Half an hour from the start, in the dark.
Travel & Logistics
Cairns Airport is a few minutes from the Esplanade with direct flights from every Australian capital. The Queensland Rail line north from Brisbane also terminates in Cairns.
Closures along the Cairns Esplanade and the surrounding roads. Changed traffic conditions are published in advance.
Spectator & Cheer Guide
The Cairns Esplanade, where the start, finish and much of the course sit within a walk.
Everything is on the Esplanade, which is also where the Ironman run course goes — Cairns is unusually easy to spectate.
The event publishes results and offers iTAB personalised medals.
7NEWS Cairns Marathon Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know for race weekend.
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Race details independently compiled and fact-checked by Tommo against the official 7NEWS Cairns Marathon site , last verified August 2026. Always confirm official timings and policies directly prior to race day.