The Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport Marathon weekend is set to take flight this weekend (3-4 May) with a packed program.

The action kicks off from 1:00pm on Saturday at the Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport with the Runway Mile, Runway Relays, and Grand Central 5km, offering a unique experience of racing on an active airport runway.

Supercar champion and local hero Will Brown will be on site from 11:30am for a meet and greet with fans outside the terminal before donning a bib himself for both the 5km and Runway Mile events.

Hundreds of participants will take part in Saturday’s events, including Toowoomba Region Mayor Geoff McDonald and three councillors who’ll step onto the tarmac for the Runway Relay.

The Queensland Road Mile Championships will also make their debut, featuring a high-calibre elite field of over 30 men and women.

Sunday’s racing moves into the heart of the city, starting from 6:15am on Margaret Street beside the Toowoomba Sports Ground.

The Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport Marathon, ASICS Half Marathon, and Visit Toowoomba Region 10km all finish at the Sports Ground.

Ones to Watch

Marathon

• Jamie Lacey – defending male champion with a marathon PB of 2:27:32 from the 2023 Noosa Marathon.
• Kathryn Parkinson – defending female champion. Her marathon PB is 2:40:52 from the 2023 Gold Coast Marathon.
• Ben MacCronan – 3^rd place at the 2024 Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport Marathon. His marathon PB is 2:23:19 from the 2019 Melbourne Marathon. Ben works as a Plant Operator for the Toowoomba Regional Council.

Half Marathon

• Melanie Magarey – defending female champion.
• Jane Hoskin – ran 1:22:10 at the 2024 Gold Coast Half Marathon and her half marathon PB is 1:21:30.
• Aidan Hobbs, last year’s winner will be a favourite in the half marathon despite running the full marathon in Ballarat last weekend.
• Thomas Anderson (3^rd in the 2024 Toowoomba Half Marathon) will also be lining up alongside Digby Simpson and half marathon debutant Logan Baxter.

10km

• Brielle Erbacher, last year’s women’s 5km race winner, is the hot favourite over the 10km distance with a 33:59 PB.
• Georgia Sloss was 2^nd in the 2024 Toowoomba 10km and is back, hoping to go one better than last year.
• Kotaro Nihei will be a hot contender in the men’s race with a 32:59 PB from the 2024 Bridge to Brisbane, so he knows about running the hills.

5km

• Tess Hannigan (18) is the women’s favourite with a 16:54 5km PB. Meg Reeves, Megan Storm and Layla Magarey will also be in the elite field.
• The men’s race is wide open, and we could also see a men’s teenage winner with 17-year-old Matthew Hoey (17:16 PB), 14-year-old Riley Morris (17:33 PB) and 12-year-old Frankie Webster (17:44 PB) all lining up in the elite field.

Elite Mile

• There are currently 25 men in the elite field with juniors, opens and masters (from 13 to 71 years) all meeting the sub 6:00 minute qualification time (or equivalent).
• There are currently 10 women in the elite field again a mix of ages (from 14 to 48 years) who all have met the sub 7:00 minute qualification time (or equivalent).
• All these entrants are from Queensland, so they are all eligible for the inaugural Queensland Road Mile Championships (in addition to the overall titles and prizemoney).
• About half the field are making their debut of the mile distance (many have qualified based on 1500m times).
• On paper in the women’s race the favourites look like Nyree Hamilton, Georgia Langford and Zoe St John. It would be great to see a sub 5:00 winning time.
• On paper in the men’s elite race the favourites are Aidan Hobbs, last year’s 5km race winner Timothy Hogno, Connor Whittet, Edan Katene, Blade Rose, Alex Butler and James Johnson.