Gold Coast Marathon 2018: Organisers examine course change in bid to increase numbers

GOLD Coast Marathon organisers are examining ways to increase numbers in the signature event after Sunday’s race became the first in the event’s 40-year history to sell out.

GOLD Coast Marathon organisers are examining ways to increase numbers in the signature event after Sunday’s race became the first in the event’s 40-year history to sell out.

More than 6500 runners will tackle the 42.2km route on Sunday and marathon chief executive Cam Hart said planning had already begun on route changes that will be needed to increase capacity in the future.

That could happen as soon as next year if demand for a place in the IAAF gold label race remains high.

Expansion issues surround a bottleneck that can occur on Hedges Ave as lead athletes cross paths with the main pack of runners on the one-way street.

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Gold Coast Marathon organisers are looking at changes to ensure bottlenecks to not occur when runners on the way to the turnaround at Burleigh pass the lead athletes on narrow roads.

“The challenge is when we have the lead runners coming back from Burleigh and the big bunch groups — the three-and-a-half hour to four-and-a-half hour groups coming along Hedges Avenue, when they clash,” Hart said.

“The lead group have vehicles with them that take up the full width of the road.

“If it was just runners, we could probably get by, but because we need vehicles on the course, that’s where the clash is.”

Discussions on a slight course change, have been held with key stakeholders including the Department of Transport and Main Roads, police and council’s traffic management planning officers for “a couple of years” already.

“We have in-principle approval to do some course changes to help overcome that issue on Hedges Avenue,” Hart said.

“We’re going to review our numbers and look at what we need to get up to so we can implement that plan and go from there.

“But we’re already thinking ahead for what we need to do so we can expand those numbers.”

While a course change could be in place as soon as next year, if necessary, an influx of entrants has actually led to a slowing of average race times, meaning the biggest group of runners on course is not currently clashing badly in the problem 2km stretch around Mermaid Beach.

The presence of vehicles with lead runners could force a course change for the Gold Coast Marathon. Photo: David Clark

“What we’re finding is with the influx of international runners, some of them aren’t as fast as the domestic runners, so it’s changing the time when we get the clash on Hedges Avenue.

“We really need to sit down after this year’s event — particularly with the increase of runners out of the Asian market, who are traditionally a little bit slower — at where those clashes are.

“We might be able to put that off for a year or two.”

But Hart believes the desire of people to take part in a race that has produced the nine fastest marathons ever run in Australia, will only increase.

“If we can get the course change through, we can grow it.

“We think something around the 8000 mark would be achievable.”