Training plans for famous Australian running races
TERUN doesn't build a separate plan per race — it builds one sized to the distance, paced from your own running data, and periodized to your start date.
Whether it's City to Surf, a local parkrun or a marathon-festival support race, the training principle is the same: pick the plan for your race's distance below, and TERUN fills in the paces, the build-up and the taper from your current fitness.
5K
- Fun Run for Charity series — multiple cities, 5K/10K.
- Mother's Day Classic — nationwide, multiple cities, 4K/8K, in aid of breast-cancer research.
- parkrun Australia — a free, weekly 5K held every Saturday at hundreds of locations nationwide.
- Sun Run — multiple regional cities, 5K/10K.
- New Year's Eve/Day Fun Runs — multiple cities, 5K/10K.
- Sri Chinmoy Yarra Boulevard series — Melbourne, VIC, half/10K/5K.
- Run La Trobe — Bundoora, VIC, 10K/5K.
- Col Junner Spring To It Run — WA, 5K/10K.
- Sydney Striders series — Sydney, NSW, various 5K/10K events.
All of these are a straight match for the adaptive training plan — there's no separate 5K page, so set 5K as your goal distance there.
10K
- Bridge to Brisbane — Brisbane, QLD, 10K/5K.
- Run Prix — Albert Park, VIC, 10K/5K.
- VMA 10K Road Race — Melbourne, VIC.
- Coffs Harbour Running Festival — NSW.
- Kieser Maribyrnong River Run — Footscray, VIC.
- Yarra River Running Festival — Templestowe, VIC.
- Geelong Grammar School 10km — VIC.
- Hobart Point to Pinnacle — Tasmania, an uphill 10K.
The 10K training plan is built for exactly this: short and intense, with paces that have to be right.
Half marathon (with 5K/10K support races)
- Run Melbourne — Melbourne, VIC, half/10K/5.5K, July.
- Sydney Running Festival (Blackmores) — Sydney, NSW, half/10K/5K, September.
- Australian Running Festival — Canberra, half/10K/5K, April.
- Sri Chinmoy Yarra Boulevard series — Melbourne, VIC.
- Carman's Fun Run — Sydney/Melbourne, 21K/10K/5K.
Going for the half? The half marathon training plan is built for that. Starting with the shorter support race instead, use the plans above.
Part of a marathon-festival weekend
Not ready for the full marathon yet? These festivals' shorter distances run alongside it:
- Melbourne Marathon Festival (Nike) — Melbourne, VIC, 10K/5K/3K side races, Australia's largest running festival with over 40,000 participants across all distances.
- Gold Coast Marathon Weekend — Gold Coast, QLD, 10K/5K side races.
- Adelaide Marathon Festival Weekend — Adelaide, SA, 10K/5K side races.
Training for the full marathon instead? See the marathon plan from your data.
Other well-known distances & race series
- City to Surf — Sydney, NSW, 14 km, August, roughly 85,000 runners — one of the largest street races in the world.
- City2Surf (Perth) — Perth, WA, 4 km/12 km.
- HBF Run for a Reason — Perth, WA, 12 km/4 km.
- Darwin City to Surf — NT, 12 km/6 km.
- Bay Run — Sydney, NSW, 9 km around Iron Cove Bay.
Same principle, every distance. TERUN doesn't look at your race's name — it looks at your own pace and heart-rate data and how much time is left until your start date. Pick the plan closest to your race's distance and it periodizes toward it automatically.
More countries
Racing outside Australia? See the same kind of guide for famous US races, famous UK races, famous Canadian races, famous German races, famous Spanish races or famous Italian races.