Organisers say Gold Coast Marathon course may change in next few years

GOLD Coast Marathon are investigating alternate routes to cater for growth in the main race, with expectation the current course will reach capacity within the next two years.

Thousands of people take part in the 2015 Gold Coast Marathon. Picture by Scott Fletcher

GOLD Coast Marathon are investigating alternate routes to cater for growth in the main race, with expectation the current course will reach capacity within the next two years.

Organisers say at its narrowest points, the current Gold Coast Marathon course could support a maximum of 6000 competitors.

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Events Management Queensland Chairman Kerry Watson said the marathon had seen strong growth in recent years and said while there were no immediate plans to alter the course, organisers were proactively investigating changes to support stronger numbers in the future.

“There’s no lateral movement on Hedges Avenue,” he said.

Thousands of people take part in the 2015 Gold Coast Marathon. Picture by Scott Fletcher

“We fixed the problem a few years back when we extended it. It used to turn around at Nobby’s but we extended it down to Burleigh Heads.

“But we’ve reached the point now where we believe probably within two years we will have to rethink how we move the marathon along the eastern seaboard.”

Kerry Watson.

Mr Watson said he was “acutely aware” of the need to keep Gold Coasters in the loop in planning and the importance of updating locals on the impact to roads during the annual event, so was confident organisers could reach an agreement with authorities that would work for everyone.

Thousands at the start of the 2015 Gold Coast Marathon. Picture by Scott Fletcher

The high-profile major events official said one possibility that would be investigated was the use of the Gold Coast Highway as part of the marathon course on the southern end.

“The reality is we’d probably have to start looking at the utilisation of some of the Highway on the southern end and that will take a fair bit of investigation with the State Government, police, the Gold Coast City Council, all of those,” he said.

Last year the marathon brought around $22 million to the city and Mr Watson said attendance was tracking even better in most categories in 2016.

“The city has to drive its economy and the marathon is part of its economy,” he said.

“We’re very confident with our internationals, it’s all going well.”