Your plan in four answers
Perth Marathon has not announced its next date, so we have estimated October. Change the date below once you know it.
- Distances
- 10K, Half marathon, Marathon
- Terrain
- Flat
Course
The Perth Marathon course
Perth's marathon now runs as part of the Perth Running Festival, starting at 6:00 am at Optus Stadium in Burswood and finishing on the turf inside the stadium. The route takes in Burswood Park and the Swan River foreshore, crossing the river twice and passing the Crown precinct, with the city skyline across the water for much of the morning.
Read the full course notes
The organisers describe it as fast and flat, and no total elevation figure is published. Aid stations come roughly every 3 km, from 4.6 km to 40 km. The 2026 map was carried over from 2025 and is subject to change, so check the next edition's route when it is released.
- Terrain
- Flat
- Distances
- 10K, Half marathon, Marathon
- Weather on race day
- October is spring in Perth and usually pleasant at the 6:00 am start, around 11–15 °C, though sunny mornings warm quickly toward the low 20s. Rain is unlikely, and dry, sunny air means you lose fluid faster than you feel it, so drink to a plan from the first aid station. Wind can build along the river as the morning goes on.
What to train for
A flat river course suits steady, even pacing, so put most of your harder work into marathon-pace running: long runs to 32–35 km with the last 10–12 km at goal pace.
Practise fuelling every 30–40 minutes so you can use the aid stations without breaking rhythm.
Add a few runs in the warmth of the day in your final month so a warm finish feels familiar. The race ends inside a stadium, so finish some long runs with a strong final kilometre on tired legs.
Sample week
A sample Perth Marathon training week
A week from the middle of the build, about six weeks out. Your plan sets the real distances and paces from your own fitness and adjusts them every week as you train.
- Monday
- Rest, or 20 minutes of mobility
- Tuesday Key session
- Intervals: 5 × 1.5 km at 5K to 10K effort, easy jog between
- Wednesday
- Easy run, 10–11 km
- Thursday Key session
- Goal-pace run, 16 km with 10 km at race pace
- Friday
- Recovery run, 6 km, or cross-train
- Saturday Key session
- Long run, 26–29 km, the last 6 km at race pace
- Sunday
- Easy run, 6 km, then 6 relaxed strides
Taper
Tapering for the Perth Marathon
Start the taper two to three weeks before race day. Cut your weekly volume by about a third, then by half in race week, and keep a few short efforts at race pace so your legs stay sharp. The course is flat, so pacing decides the day: rehearse your goal pace in short segments during race week.
Also in Claude
Ask Claude for this plan
Add AthleteSpace to Claude once, then paste this prompt and put in your own numbers.
Build me a training plan for the Perth Running Festival (Marathon) in October. I run [distance] a week, [days] days a week, easy pace [pace].
Perth Marathon training questions
How long should I train for the Perth Marathon?
Most runners give a marathon sixteen to twenty weeks of focused training on top of an existing base. The plan above counts back from your actual race date, so if you have less time than that it builds the best plan the remaining weeks allow rather than pretending you have longer.
Is the Perth Marathon course hilly?
Flat. Perth's marathon now runs as part of the Perth Running Festival, starting at 6:00 am at Optus Stadium in Burswood and finishing on the turf inside the stadium.
What is the weather usually like at the Perth Marathon?
October is spring in Perth and usually pleasant at the 6:00 am start, around 11–15 °C, though sunny mornings warm quickly toward the low 20s. Rain is unlikely, and dry, sunny air means you lose fluid faster than you feel it, so drink to a plan from the first aid station. Wind can build along the river as the morning goes on.
When should I start tapering for the Perth Marathon?
Start the taper two to three weeks before race day. Cut your weekly volume by about a third, then by half in race week, and keep a few short efforts at race pace so your legs stay sharp. The course is flat, so pacing decides the day: rehearse your goal pace in short segments during race week.
Do I need an account to get a Perth Marathon training plan?
No. The plan above builds in your browser with no account, no email, and no card. Make a free account only if you want to keep it, log your runs against it, and have the coach keep adapting it as your training goes.