Chip Time
4:07:20
Star
No. 3
Date
30 Aug 2026
Finishers
36,255
The Third Star
Sydney goes off at 6:30 in the morning, and the first real landmark is the Harbour Bridge, closed to traffic, thousands of runners crossing it at once, the city coming up on your right. Forty-two kilometres later you finish at the Opera House. There is an argument that it's the best closing kilometre in world marathoning, and having now run it, Denny isn't inclined to argue against it.
The clock said 4:07:20. Three minutes and twenty-seven seconds slower than London, on a course with considerably more climbing in it and after a flight to the other side of the world. Third Major, third continent, third star.
The one nobody saw comingA week before the race, someone noticed the finisher medal had the Allianz Arena in Munich stamped on the back instead of Sydney's Allianz Stadium. Roughly 40,000 medals, already made. Organisers owned it rather than reprinting. “It's a beautiful medal, and now a little more unique,” a Sydney Marathon spokesperson told SBS News. So Denny's third star has a German football ground on it. He's keeping it.
The fastest-growing race in the series
Sydney joined the Majors in November 2024 and the effect has been extraordinary. In 2022 it had 3,453 finishers. In 2026 it had 36,255, with 120,000 people applying for a place. Up front, Addisu Gobena took the course record down to 2:04:42, with the next six men also inside the old mark, and Peres Jepchirchir won the women's race in 2:18:31.
Which is the thing about chasing stars right now: the races Denny is running are getting bigger and harder to get into every year he's in the middle of it.
Race Weekend
Next Major
Berlin
26 Sep 2027 · Ballot · 1 Oct to 12 Nov 2026