Athletes registering into The Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon have the option to enter into the event in an open category, or submit an application to pre-qualify to run in a qualifying Start Group.
To qualify for a preferred Start Group, athletes must be able to run the below times:
| Qualifying Times | Seeded | Preferred | Blue Start | Orange Start |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men + Women |
Sub 75 mins | Sub 85 mins | Sub 105 mins | Sub 120 mins |
IMPORTANT: If you would like to register for a qualifying Start Group, please submit your application prior to registering to the event. Athletes cannot be moved between Start Groups once registered so please follow the official process below.
Pre-qualification applications are now closed. All applications submitted prior to 4pm 6 May will be processed.
How can I qualify?
2023 prequalifying information will be released prior to 2023 entries opening.
For reference, the below is 2022 pre-qualifying info ONLY.
There are three ways to qualify for a pre-qualifying Start Group.
Athletes pre-qualified for the 2020 or 2021 Sydney Morning Herald Half marathon do not need to resubmit their application, all 2020 and 2021 requests will be honoured.
If you have competed in the 2020 or 2021 City2Surf Virtual Run and ran the required qualifying time, you will automatically qualify into a 2022 pre-qualifying Start Group. No further action is required. When registering, you will be able to automatically select your pre-qualifying Start Group.
If you did not compete in the above events, you will need to fill out the Pre-Qualification Form prior to entering and provide proof via weblink or certificate of you running the qualifying time at any official race, anywhere in the world, but the race must have been completed within the last 2 years and be longer than 10km in distance.
If you have not competed in an official race in the past 2 years, you will need to fill out the Pre-Qualification Form prior to entering and provide proof of you running the qualifying time using your Garmin, Strava, or MapMyRun results web link to qualify. We will accept times from these resources anywhere in the world, within the past 6 months that are 10km or more in distance. Please ensure your account is set to public for us to be able to see and assess your Pre-Qualification request, if your account is private your request will be automatically declined.
Please allow 5 business days for your request to be processed.
