What Training Support and Special Guests Are Featured by the Nike Melbourne Marathon Festival?

The Nike Melbourne Marathon Festival pairs a year-round Training Hub with a headline guest appearance by Eliud Kipchoge, plus a sold-out Pacesetters evening on Friday 9 October. The Training Hub is the practical support: it is positioned to help runners reach the start line whether they are running a first race or chasing a personal best. The guest elements are the occasion around race weekend: Kipchoge is coming to Melbourne as Guest of Honour, and the Pacesetters event brings together Australian and international distance runners for an evening of stories, insights and conversation.

Training Hub: support from first race to personal best

The Festival describes its Training Hub as the place where the journey to the start line begins, and states it is committed to getting runners to the Start Line "this year more than ever." The Hub is framed around two broad runner profiles:

• First-time racers — people preparing for their first race at the Festival.
• Personal-best chasers — runners training to beat an existing PB.

The site presents the Training Hub as an access point rather than a single fixed programme, so the useful next step is to open it and see what applies to your distance and current level. If you are weighing up which event to train for, the Festival lists a distance for everyone: the 42.195KM Nike Melbourne Marathon and Nike Wheelchair Marathon, the 21.1KM Nike Half Marathon, and the 10KM, 5KM, 3KM and 1KM events across the weekend.

Eliud Kipchoge as Guest of Honour

The Festival states that Eliud Kipchoge, described on the site as the greatest marathon runner of all time, has chosen the Nike Melbourne Marathon Festival as his next destination. He appears as Guest of Honour for the Pacesetters event. For runners, this is a spectator and inspiration element of race weekend rather than a training service — it adds a reason to be in Melbourne around the event and a focal point for the distance-running community.

Pacesetters: an evening with Kipchoge and friends

Pacesetters: An Evening with Eliud Kipchoge & Friends is scheduled for Friday 9 October. The Festival describes it as a rare evening of stories, insights and conversation with some of the greatest names in Australian and international distance running, headlined by Kipchoge.

One important status note: the Festival's page states the event is now officially sold out. If you were planning around it, treat attendance as closed unless the Festival announces otherwise, and check the Pacesetters page for any updated information.

How these pieces fit around race weekend

Read together, the Training Hub covers the months of preparation, while Kipchoge's visit and the Pacesetters evening shape the atmosphere of race weekend itself. If your priority is running well, start with the Training Hub and confirm your event distance. If your priority is being part of the occasion, note that the headline evening is already sold out, so plan around the race-day experience instead.

What to check next

• Open the Training Hub on the Festival site and match its guidance to your chosen distance.
• Confirm which event you are entering, since training needs differ across the marathon, half marathon and shorter Saturday distances.
• Check the Pacesetters page for any change in availability, given the sold-out status.
• Watch the Festival site for further announcements about Kipchoge's appearance and the 2026 event format, which the site describes as the most significant transformation in two decades, with redesigned courses, improved amenities, enhanced spectator flow and a new two-day festival format.