Inaugural Toowoomba Marathon a $1.1 million boost for region

The inaugural Toowoomba Marathon will return in 2025, with new details revealed about what it did for the Garden City’s economy.

Competitors jostle for position at the start of the Toowoomba Marathon. Picture: Kevin Farmer

The Garden City has more than a million reasons to welcome the 2025 return of the Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport Marathon.

Held on May 5 this year the inaugural running festival boosted the regional coffers by more than $1.1 million.

With distances from the 2km junior dash through to the headline half and full marathons – the festival drew in more than 2000 runners from across Australia and as far as Malaysia and Singapore.

“The Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport Marathon was a fantastic event for our community, showcasing our city in a different way and providing an opportunity for everyone to participate and enjoy a well organised, fun event,” Toowoomba Regional Council mayor Geoff McDonald said.

“I was proud of the volunteers from our region who supported the event and loved seeing many familiar faces from our city cross the finish line.

“The visitor nights and boost to the economy speak for themselves and we look forward to working with the team at Events Management Queensland to grow this initiative to become a signature attraction on our annual event calendar.

Kathryn Parkinson, running with her daughter Madison Jones, is the first female to finish the Toowoomba Marathon. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Toowoomba Marathon winner Jamie Lacey collected his one-year-old son Jackson Lacey before crossing the finish line. Picture: Kevin Farmer

“The EMQ team has extensive experience across almost every major multi-sport event in the world. They are keen to share their expertise with our team and support the Toowoomba community to evolve an event that celebrates this city and entices participants from near and far.”

Starting in Toowoomba’s iconic Queens Park the marathon route tested the limits of runners as it took in the large sections of the hilly Range Escarpment before finishing at Toowoomba Sports Ground.

Events Management Queensland CEO Ben Mannion said they were delighted with the success of inaugural event and planning is already underway to make the 2025 festival a showpiece attraction.

Toowoomba residents voice their disappointment in road closures during the event and Mannion and said they are already working with the community to make the next event more enjoyable.

“The economic impact of $1,134,479 will only increase as the event grows into the future with the opportunity to attract more people from outside the region forming part of our ongoing marketing plans,” Mannion said.

“We have also taken into consideration community feedback received following this year’s event and look forward to working with the local business community and the Toowoomba Stakeholder Group to deliver an even better event in 2025.”

Nominations for the 2025 event open on October 9.

Visit toowoombamarathon.com.au for more information and to nominate.