Melbourne
Marathon

A marathon course contains a huge amount of information.

Distance, elevation, landmarks, difficult sections, pacing and refuelling points all play a role in how a runner prepares, yet a traditional course map can only communicate so much.

The challenge was to give Melbourne Marathon participants a clearer sense of the journey ahead — helping them understand not just where the course goes, but how it unfolds across 42.195 kilometres.

We transformed the Melbourne Marathon route into a detailed 3D diorama that runners could explore in mixed reality.

Placed directly into the participant's physical environment, the course stretches across Melbourne from start to finish, with recognisable landmarks helping orient them along the journey.

Runners can move around the model, follow the route and explore different sections before ultimately arriving at the iconic finish inside the MCG.

A flat map shows where a marathon goes. Mixed reality can reveal how the entire course fits together.

By bringing the route into 3D, runners can understand elevation, distance and the relationship between different parts of the course in a much more spatial way.

Key information including kilometre markers, pacing, difficult sections and refuelling points can be connected directly to the places where they matter, turning race preparation into something visual and intuitive.

Using Meta Quest passthrough, participants see the Melbourne Marathon course appear as a floating tabletop model within the real world.

They can physically move around the route, following its path through Melbourne and exploring key moments along the way.

Elevation, landmarks and race information add context throughout the journey, giving runners a chance to familiarise themselves with what lies ahead before they reach the start line.

The experience takes information runners would normally absorb across maps, guides and race-day preparation and brings it together into a single spatial view.

By allowing participants to see the complete course before running it, mixed reality creates a stronger sense of orientation and familiarity with the challenge ahead.

It turns 42.195 kilometres from a line on a map into a journey runners can explore before they experience it for real.