Olympic champions Kipchoge and Hassan headline world’s seventh major

What does Sydney have that other major marathon host cities New York, London, Tokyo, Berlin, Boston and Paris, don’t have? Loads of hills.

The Sydney Marathon was first opened to the public in 2001 as a way for your average Joes to get a chance to complete the course that the best athletes in the world had run at the 2000 Olympics. It’s changed in the years since, but will still feature some of the original course, including its most appealing features.

Highlights will include running across the Harbour Bridge, the gruelling final uphill lap to Mrs Macquaries Chair, and a finish in front of the Opera House. The trade-off for getting these landmarks all in one course, is elevation, with runners gaining 253 more metres than they do in the Tokyo Marathon.

Race director Wayne Larden said the course was “as you’re going to get in Sydney. Obviously, Sydney is a hilly city”.

It’s a fact which is sure to test even the best, as Hassan herself said on Thursday that she was “not good at hills”. More on Hassan soon.

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