Start
7:30am, Bunbury Runners Club, 1 Ocean Drive
Half Marathon · 21.1 km
The Three
One certified lap, all three waters. The signature distance and the biggest field of the weekend.
Cut-off
12:30pm — the course closes
Field cap
800 Opens 1 Oct
Minimum age
16 years on race day
Entry
$90 incl. GST
2026 field
418 finishers — up from 344 in 2024
Pacers
1:30 and 2:00 — from the WA Running Podcast team
Nutrition drop
Bring your own gels or bottles and hand them in at bib pick-up on Saturday, or on Sunday strictly by 5:45am. Label them with your bib number and a colour or ribbon you’ll spot at a glance — someone else’s gel is a mistake you only make once.
Prize money
1st $1,500 · 2nd $500 · 3rd $200 — for the first three men and the first three women. Same money, both fields.
If you only run one thing at 3 Waters, run this. It is the full signature lap with none of the repetition — every kilometre of it is different water.
The half has been on the programme since the very first year, when twenty-two people ran it and the winner was written into the official results under the wrong name. It has quietly become the heart of the event: 418 people finished it in 2026, and the women's field is now close to half the total.
You go out at 7:30, an hour behind the marathon, which means you catch the back of their first lap around the inlet and everybody runs together for a while. The lighthouse climb comes at 8–9 km, early enough that you still have the legs to enjoy the view from the top, and the zig-zag drops you straight back down onto a long fast run home along the water.
The record
| Record | Time | Year | Holder |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's half | 1:07:28 | 2025 | Dean Menzies |
| Previous, held 36 years | 1:08:59 | 1989 | John Hambelton |
| Women's half | 1:16:01 | 1991 | Karen Gobby |