Mad Max Marathon 2026

In July 2026 the fourth Mad Max Marathon Running Festival will be held in Broken Hill, NSW after successful events in 2023, 2024 and 2025.

This event joins a suite of companion events in regional Australia, all organized by Brian Haddy of Marathon Adventures.

These other events include the inaugural Dimboola Dash on 12th April 2026 (www.dimbooladash.au); the Mildura Riverfront Marathon Festival on 6th June 2026 (www.mildurariverfrontmarathon.com.au); and the Horsham Running Festival on 13th September 2026 (www.horshamrunningfestival.com.au)

The aim of the Mad Max event is threefold – to attract runners from all over Australia to this unique heritage town; to encourage more local children and adults to get into the running ‘habit’; and to raise funds and awareness of the work of the Maari Ma Health Aboriginal Corporation that provides
quality Primary Health Care services and Community Programs for the Aboriginal communities of far western NSW. Read more about their incredible work here. All entrants are encouraged to add a donation to their registration fee to support Maari Ma.

The Mad Max Marathon Festival presents a unique opportunity to explore outback Australia and the historic city of Broken Hill and its link to the Mad Max film franchise. All abilities and ages are catered for - from the elite marathon runner to the weekend jogger or walker on a course that is flat, flat, flat. The event starts and finishes at the Broken Hill Racecourse, home to the spacious Gary Radford Pavilion and nearby camping facilities for those seeking a real outback adventure - https://www.brokenhilleventscentre.org.au/camp ) to book your powered or unpowered campsite. There are many other accommodation options in Broken Hill which you can explore at https://www.visitnsw.com/destinations/outback-nsw/broken-hill-area/accommodation

The marathon, half-marathon, 10km and 5km events all start with the Broken Hill Racecourse parkrun loop (https://www.parkrun.com.au/brokenhillracecourse/ ). The longer events then involve varying distances on flat dirt tracks alongside Racecourse Road and then a left turn onto the Silver City Highway. The Marathon event involves a second lap of the half-marathon course. The 10km, half-marathon and marathon events all finish with a 2km lap of the racecourse - this is a very different and slightly crazy event.

Members of the Broken Hill Rotary Club staff the various water stations on course, making this very much a community event.

An iconic medal will be awarded to all 5km, 10km, half marathon and marathon finishers and a very cool event t-shirt is now available to purchase.

There is also a 10km WALK category to encourage greater involvement in the event.

For Mad Max tragics, feel free to add extra touches to your running or walking outfit and encourage your supporters to do the same!

For those keen to spend the weekend in the region why not run the Broken Hill Racecourse parkrun at 8.00am on the Saturday morning, visit the Mad Max 2 Museum at Silverton (just 20kms from Broken Hill) and have lunch on Saturday at the quirky Silverton Pub. On Saturday or Sunday nights, you can have dinner at the iconic Palace Hotel, where scenes of the legendary Priscilla, Queen of the Desert film were made.