Airlie Beach Triathlon Festival 2026

Welcome to the

13th Annual Tassal Airlie Beach Marathon Festival

to be held on the 18th and 19th of July 2026

The award-winning Tassal Airlie Beach Marathon Festival will be run over very similar courses to 2025 with minor adjustments at the beginning and turn around points. The festival is a member of the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS) and the 42.2, 21.1, 10 and 5km courses have all be formally measured by a B grade measurer. This means any world, country or state records can be recognized.

The Tassal North Queensland Championship Marathon is a unique four lap off road (run on concrete footpaths and boardwalks) standard marathon that provides your support team with the opportunity to cheer you on several times at one location.

The program this year will include a mixed relay (minimum of 1 female in a 3 person team) with each competitor running 1km.

The McDonald’s Airlie Beach Foreshore Magic Mile will be run the day before on Saturday 18 July at 4:00pm.

The Tassal Airlie Beach Marathon Festival is not possible without the support of our main sponsors and we encourage you to support them. We thank them for their support and you can go to their websites by clicking on their logos on our Sponsor page.

Why choose the Tassal Airlie Beach Marathon Festival?

Airlie Beach is a beautiful tropical holiday destination in the Whitsundays, Northern Queensland, Australia and the home to two marinas and a local airport that provides easy access to the 74 Whitsunday Islands and the Great Barrier Reef. It is the launching pad for tourists to visit iconic destinations like Whitehaven Beach, Hill Inlet and Heart Reef.

It is located in Queensland approximately 150km north of Mackay and 300km south of Townsville.

The scenery and climate in Airlie Beach during July is ideal for competing in the marathon festival.

The region is serviced by three airports (Proserpine – Whitsunday Coast, Hamilton Island and Mackay) with daily flights to Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne and close to the Bruce Highway that runs from Brisbane to Cairns.

WHITSUNDAY TRAIL FEST

Event Information

Event Information The Whitsunday Trail Fest will celebrate its 20th year in 2026, originating from the Mackay Road Runners' introduction of the 28km trail event in 2005. Now organized by the Whitsunday Running Club for the past decade, this event has expanded significantly. Participants can choose from the WTF Accom Whitsunday Ultra 58km, the WTF 28km Whitsunday Trail, the WTF 11k Honeyeater Shokz Challenge, and the Kids Beach Run, all taking place along the beautiful Airlie Beach foreshore. The Whitsunday Running Club is celebrating its 11th year hosting the event.

The Whitsunday Trail Fest

Event date is Sunday, 13th September 2026

Pre Race Information: Saturday 12^th September - Race Precinct (Airlie Beach Saturday markets)

• 7:00 AM - Airlie Beach Parkrun - Coral Sea Marina

• 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM - Whitsunday Trail Fest Race Precinct Registration/Late Entries/Race Pack collection from the race precinct; Airlie Beach Foreshore, Airlie Beach; QLD - SoundStage

Event Date Sunday 13^th September - Race Precinct

(Airlie Beach Foreshore - Sound Stage )

• 4:30 AM - Competitors for WTF58 (ages 18 plus) meet at race precinct.

• 4:45 AM - Race briefing for WTF58 (ages 18 plus)

• 5:00 AM - START – WTF58 Accom Whitsunday Ultra Trail Competitors

• 5:15 AM - WTF28 runners arrive to board the bus

• 5:30 AM - WTF28 bus 1 departs from Race Precinct to Brandy Creek

• 5:45 AM - WTF28 bus 2 departs from Race Precinct to Brandy Creek

• 6:45 AM - WTF28 Whitsunday Trail race briefing at Brandy Creek (ages 18 plus)

• 7:00 AM - START – WTF28 Whitsunday Trail from Brandy Creek

• 8:30 AM - Race Briefing for Honeyeater Shokz Challenge

• 9:00 AM - START – Honeyeater Shokz Challenge 11k (ages 15 plus)

• 10:20 AM - Bendigo Community Bank KIDS BEACH BASH RACE BRIEFING

• 10:25 AM - Mascot Race

• Beach Bash races start following the Mascot Race

• 10:30 AM - START – Bendigo Community Bank Beach Bash (ages 8 +) 1 Mile

• 10:45 AM - START – Bendigo Community Bank Junior Kids Beach Bash (ages 4 +) 700m - Following the Kids Beach Bash ( kids be ready at 10:30am)

• 12:00 PM - Presentations commence for the top 3 female and male winners of the Kids Beach Bash, WTF 11k, WTF28k & WTF 58k

• 3:00 PM - END of all races

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FOR YOUR ENTRY FEE:

Your 2025 RACE BAG for the WTF58, WTF28, Honeyeater 11k, and Kids Beach Bash events will include:

• Whitsunday Trail Fest event shirt**guaranteed for those who enter by 30th June

• Whitsunday Trail Fest finishers medal upon completion

• Whitsunday Trail Fest numbered bib and pins

• Kids Beach Bash and Survivors Beach Bash finishers medals may vary.

PLEASE NOTE: The included Whitsunday Trail Fest event singlet is only guaranteed for those who enter by 30th June 2026. After this date, shirts are not guaranteed. Enter early to avoid disappointment!