A tight pack of runners in the opening kilometres of the marathon, 1988.
Certified · Bunbury, Western Australia

The Course

An inlet, a bay and an ocean, joined by one line. Start and finish at the Bunbury Runners Club on Ocean Drive.

Aerial view over Koombana Bay, yachts moored in the foreground and Bunbury's city centre behind, with Koombana Bay on the left, the Leschenault Inlet behind it, the Indian Ocean on the right and the black-and-white lighthouse on Marlston Hill between them.
All three waters in one frame. Koombana Bay on the left, the Leschenault Inlet behind it at top left, the Indian Ocean on the right — and the checkered lighthouse on Marlston Hill in between.
Where the water changes — one lap
OCEAN DRIVE · START BIG SWAMP BACK BEACH LIGHTHOUSE · ZIG-ZAG WHALEBONE BRIDGE DOLPHIN CENTRE MANGROVE BOARDWALK FINISH 0 KM 5 10 15 21.1
Inland — Big Swamp Indian Ocean Koombana Bay Leschenault Inlet
Marathon runners run this twice. The lighthouse climb and the zig-zag down off it arrive at 8–9 km, and again at 29–30 km on the second lap.
Elevation — one lap
LIGHTHOUSE THE ZIG-ZAG — DOWN 0m 20m 40m 0 KM 5 10 15 21.1
Indicative profile. One climb up to the lighthouse, the zig-zag straight back down off it, and the rest flat coastal path.
The lap, in order

What happens where

  • 0 kmOcean Drive. The gun goes at 6:30 and it is still dark. Headlamps are not required but plenty of people wear one for the first twenty minutes.
  • 1–4 kmBig Swamp Nature Reserve. South and inland through the wildlife sanctuary, a kilometre from the city centre. Birds, and almost no one else awake.
  • 4–8 kmBack Beach. North along the Indian Ocean. This is where the wind lives. First light arrives somewhere around here.
  • 8–9 kmThe lighthouse, then the zig-zag. The only real climb on the course goes up to the checkered lighthouse on Marlston Hill — the “checkered bastard”, as it has been known to runners here for about forty years. The zig-zag is what takes you back down off it — steep, switchbacked, and hard on the quads. On the second lap it comes at 29–30 km.
  • 9–12 kmJetty Road and Whalebone Bridge. Down off the hill and across into Koombana Bay. The crowd starts here.
  • 12–15 kmKoombana Bay and the Dolphin Discovery Centre. Sheltered, turquoise, and home to a resident pod of wild bottlenose dolphins. They do turn up.
  • 15–19 kmLeschenault Inlet and the mangrove boardwalk. Still, brackish, glassy. The quiet kilometres.
  • 19–21.1 kmKoolambidi Woola and home. Back past the skate park to the finish on Ocean Drive. Marathon runners turn here and do it again.
On course

Aid, cut-offs and support

Aid stations

Every 5 km on The Full Three and The Three, with water, electrolyte and fuel. The Ocean has one at 5 km with water and electrolyte; The Drive one at 2.5 km with water. Cups, not bottles.

Personal nutrition

The Full Three and The Three only, for stations 1 to 4. Hand it in at bib pick-up on the Saturday, or on race morning strictly by 5:45am. Label it with your bib number and a colour or ribbon you’ll recognise instantly.

Marathon checkpoint

Rocky Point car park by 11:00am. Miss it and you'll be asked to stop — this is a safety cut, not a judgement.

Medical

St John Ambulance on site and mobile on course. They have been part of this race since 1986.

Bag drop

In the Runners Village at the start. Open from 5:30am.

Lead cyclist

The lead bike has led this race since 1988, when the club decided a truck couldn't go everywhere the runners could.