Is Sydney the Toughest Marathon Major? Our On-the-Ground 2026 Preview
About this episode
The episode provides a comprehensive preview of the 2026 Sydney Marathon, featuring insights from the race director and discussions on elite competitors and race strategies.
Our complete 2026 Sydney Marathon preview, reported from the ground in Sydney, plus the full interview with race director Wayne Larden (38:37). The course and how to race it, start times and how to watch, and the deepest elite field Australia has ever hosted. Katelyn and Alex are in Sydney for race week, Michael joins from Toronto. They break down a men's race led by Sisay Lemma, world champion Alphonce Simbu, and defending champion Hailemaryam Kiros, with a debut from track star Hagos Gebrhiwet, and a women's race that looks like Peres Jepchirchir's to lose. Plus the Harbour Bridge climb, the drop bear conspiracy, and our winner predictions. Then race director Wayne Larden on Sydney's second year as a World Marathon Major: the interactive race-day map, how to run the course smart (mind the hill at 41K), where to travel after the race, and why to enter the 2027 ballot. We'll host a live watch-along on our YouTube channel during the race (4:30 p.m. ET Saturday) and drop an instant reaction episode after the finish. Newsletter: https://marathonhandbook.com/newsletter
People in this episode
Hosts: Katelyn, Alex
Guest: Wayne Larden
Topics covered
- Sydney Marathon
- race preview
- elite runners
- course strategy
- live watch-along
- interview with race director
Keywords
- Sydney Marathon
- Wayne Larden
- elite runners
- race strategy
- live watch-along
- 2026 preview
Mentioned in this episode
Places: Sydney, Harbour Bridge
More episodes of Marathon Handbook Podcast
- How to Balance Easy Miles & Threshold Training
- What Happened at the Sydney Marathon? | Our Instant Reactions
- How to Peak for a Marathon (Our EXACT Peak Weeks)
- 2026 NYC Marathon Elite Field Preview
- More Miles or More Speed? How to Actually Get Faster as a Runner
- Should You Switch Running Shoes Mid-Long Run?
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