Project update December 2025

Event organisers have decided not to proceed with the race in 2026

As part of discussions with the council for the 2026 event, Great Southern Runs proposed new and expanded full road closures of Main Road, McLaren Vale.

We undertook community engagement from 8 October to 2 November to understand any positive or negative impacts our communities experienced during the 2025 McLaren Vale Marathon, and any concerns or potential impacts foreseen for the 2026 event, given the proposed increase in scale and duration of the road closures. We sent letters to 471 properties in the vicinity of the race route and emailed 2,485 registered Your Say members, 3 local emergency services and 2 business and tourism associations.

A second round of community engagement was undertaken in November to target the most impacted businesses.

Staff hand delivered letters to 60 local businesses around the area of Main Road in McLaren Vale that event organisers were proposing to change from a half road closure to a full road closure.

Of the respondents indicating they were impacted by the event through both engagement stages, 79 per cent* reported being negatively impacted by the 2025 event and shared concerns about the proposed changes for 2026. Eighteen per cent* indicated a positive impact, and 4* per cent indicated a neutral or no impact.

Following community engagement, council wrote to the event organiser asking them to revise their planned approach, stating that we would not support expanded closures planned for 2026 due to strong opposition from local residents, businesses and organisations.

Key concerns raised through engagement included reduced economic activity for local businesses, impeded access for emergency service vehicles, and significant disruption for residents.

This feedback was consistent with concerns raised after the 2025 event, which involved only a partial closure of Main Road.

Council did not cancel this event. In fact, our correspondence to the event organiser explained that the council remains open to working with Great Southern Runs on a revised event model similar to previous years, that balances community access with the successful delivery of the marathon.

This feedback was provided to Great Southern Runs to inform their formal event application and traffic management planning.

The City of Onkaparinga was subsequently notified that Great Southern Runs had decided not to proceed with organising a running event in McLaren Vale in 2026.

* Percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number.

Background

The McLaren Vale Marathon has become a popular annual event and continues to grow in participation and scale. In 2025, the marathon route was updated to include sections of Main Road, McLaren Vale.

Event organisers, Great Southern Runs, proposed further changes for the 2026 event.

2025 road closures included:

• Main Road (Kalamata Court to McMurtrie Road): Half road closure for most of the day
• Main Road (McMurtrie Road to Malpas Road): Full road closure
• Malpas Road (Main Road to near Main South Road): Full road closure
• Binney Road, Strout Road, and McMurtrie Road: Half road closures.

Proposed changes for 2026:

• Main Road (Kalamata Court to McMurtrie Road): Upgraded from half road closure to full road closure for most of the day
• Extended road closure times:
  • Most locations: 7:45am to 2:00pm
  • Main Road near Kalamata Court (start/finish line): 4:00am to 4:00pm.

You can see more detail about the proposed road closures using the interactive map below, or by downloading the map.

Council was proposing to issue a permit for the 2026 event and sought community feedback to help shape the permit conditions.

We invited you to share your thoughts on:

• any positive or negative impacts you experienced during the 2025 event
• any concerns or potential impacts you foresee for the 2026 event.

Community engagement was open between 8 October and 2 November 2025.