# The Gold Coast Marathon from Main Beach, with room for the whole crew > The ASICS Gold Coast Marathon returns 3 and 4 July 2027. Contessa's apartments start at 178 m2, with room for the runner, the partner and the grandparents minding the kids, and no deposit taken until 48 hours before you arrive. - Tag: Travel tips - Published: 2026-07-09 --- The **ASICS Gold Coast Marathon** returns on **3 and 4 July 2027**, dates already confirmed by race organisers. Year after year the event makes the same case for itself: a flat, fast coastal course that the organisers call the quickest road marathon in Australia, and a genuine shot at a personal best. What that case leaves out is everyone who travels with the runner. If the trip is a runner, a partner and grandparents along to mind the kids, the deciding factor is not the finish time. It is whether there is room for all of you under one roof. At Contessa, in Main Beach, there is. ## Space is the whole point Contessa's apartments start at **178 m²**. On a marathon weekend that number does real work. There is a separate dining table big enough for the carb-load the night before, a full lounge to stretch out on afterwards, and bedrooms set far enough back from the front door that a 5 am alarm and a quiet exit do not wake the grandparents or the kids. The three-bedroom layouts take a multigenerational group comfortably; a two-bedroom suits a running couple with one set of grandparents on child duty. Every apartment has two bathrooms – both with a bath and a shower – so the pre-race routine and the post-race soak never collide. Contessa is boutique by design. Of 124 residences in the building, only ten are released for holiday stays, and each is booked by its own apartment number with its own photos – you see the exact residence you are getting, wraparound balcony and all. ![Outdoor swimming pool set in landscaped gardens at Contessa](/assets/photos/facilities/outdoor-pool.jpg) ## The two mornings, and getting to the start The race has run over two days for years, and the same pattern is expected for 2027. **Saturday 3 July** would carry the Half Marathon, the 10 km, the other short-distance events and the wheelchair races, along with the compulsory race-pack pickup at the Broadwater Parklands expo. **Sunday 4 July** would carry the **Marathon (42.195 km)** and the **Wheelchair Marathon**, historically away around **6:15 am** from Broadwater Parklands on Marine Parade, Southport, finishing back at the same precinct. The course has long run out and back, crossing the river into Main Beach and south through Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach before turning for home. The full program and course map for 2027 go up at [goldcoastmarathon.com.au](https://goldcoastmarathon.com.au/) as the event gets closer, worth checking before you lock in a schedule. Broadwater Parklands sits a short trip north of Contessa – a walkable distance by the bridge across the river, or a short tram ride. Main Beach tram station is around a fifteen-minute walk, and the same G:link line stops at the start precinct, so race morning is one straightforward ride with no transfers. In past years the tram has shifted to a special race-morning timetable, listed at ridetheg.com.au closer to the weekend. ## A building built for recovery Back at Contessa after the race, the facilities earn their place. There is an indoor heated pool and a large outdoor pool in the gardens, an indoor spa, an outdoor spa and a sauna. The indoor heated pool is the one tired legs will want on a cool July afternoon, and again on the Monday for a gentle swim when running is off the table. The kitchen is fully equipped, so the recovery dinner happens on the wraparound balcony, on your own clock, without a booking. ![Timber sauna interior with wooden bench at Contessa](/assets/photos/facilities/sauna.jpg) ## The day before, and paying for it The calm helps too. Contessa sits on the river side of Main Beach in two acres of garden, a single block back from the sand – a quiet place to keep a runner's nerves in check the day before. Tedder Avenue and its cafes are a five-minute walk for a slow breakfast; the beach is across the road when someone wants a barefoot loosener. One practical comfort for a group trip: Contessa takes no deposit at booking. Full payment comes 48 hours before you arrive, not months out when the marathon entry has already gone on the card. Undercover basement parking is included, no booking required, which matters if you are driving down from Brisbane. ## Book for marathon weekend **3 and 4 July 2027**, confirmed. Check-in 2 to 5 pm, check-out 8 to 10 am. With only ten holiday apartments in the building, the marathon weekend is a small inventory in real terms, so reserve as soon as your entry confirms. [**Check availability and reserve your apartment**](/accommodation/), or browse the [apartments by number](/accommodation/) to find the one that fits your group. Registration and the course map, once published, are on the official [ASICS Gold Coast Marathon](https://goldcoastmarathon.com.au/) site; sign up there before arranging the stay.