The Great Australian Run is an annual 15 kilometres road running race which normally takes place in November in Melbourne,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. First held in 2008, it is an international version of the British-based Great Run series. The race featured over 4000 competitors at its inaugural edition, and also succeeded in attracting high-calibre elite athletes such as marathon world record breakers Haile Gebrselassie and Catherine Ndereba, as well as Australian 2008 Olympians Craig Mottram and

Benita Johnson Benita Jaye Willis (born on 6 May 1979 in Mackay, Queensland) is an Australian long-distance runner, who is a three-time national champion in the women's 5,000 metres. Her foremost achievement is a gold medal in the long race at the 2004 IAAF ...

. The competition is broadcast live on Channel Ten. A complementary 10 km wheelchair race first took place at the 2009 competition. The course of the race, which passes the

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

's world record standards,About the Race
. Great Australian Run. Retrieved 2009-11-18. begins and ends in Albert Park and passes many of Melbourne's touristic landmarks, including the Yarra River and Flinders Street station. The course, which follows a double-looped circuit style, heads north from Albert Park before switching back in a south-easterly direction through the Royal Botanic Gardens. It passes the

Fawkner Park Fawkner Park is a popular park in Melbourne's South Yarra and part of the City of Melbourne. It provides recreational areas for teams playing Cricket, Softball, Soccer, Australian Rules Football, Tennis and Rugby. History and layout The park ...

as it heads further south, and finally turns back northwards to complete the circuit in Albert Park. The race has also served as the Australian road running championships, with Collis Birmingham and

Nikki Chapple Nikki Chapple (born 1981) is an Australian long-distance runner who has won events in the 10,000 metres and marathon. On 12 December 2013 in Melbourne she won the 2013–14 Australian Athletics Championships women's 10,000 metres with a time o ...

taking the national titles in 2009.Johnson, Len (29 November 2009)
Weidlinger upstages Wanjiru in Melbourne

. Retrieved 2009-11-29. In 2011, it was renamed City2Bay and took place 9 January 2011. The new course started from Docklands Stadium and ended in St Kilda.

Past winners

Key:

References

External links

Official websiteGreat Run – UK websiteCity2Bay website
{{Great Run Series Athletics competitions in Australia 15K runs Sports competitions in Melbourne Recurring sporting events established in 2008 2008 establishments in Australia Annual sporting events in Australia Running in Australia