Ten Runners Complete New York City Marathon as Indigenous Marathon Project Marks 17th Year
Ten Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander runners completed the New York City Marathon on November 1, 2026, marking the 17th year of the Indigenous Marathon Project and the end of six months of training that included leadership education and formal qualifications.
Ten Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander runners from the 2026 Indigenous Marathon Project squad completed the 42.195-kilometre New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 1, marking the 17th year of the program. The project was founded by former world champion marathon runner Rob de Castella, and this year’s squad ranged in age from 18 to 30, with runners from communities across Australia including Minjilang in the Northern Territory and Moree in New South Wales.
They arrived at the start line after six months of intensive training that included leadership education and nationally recognized qualifications in health, coaching, and public speaking. That is a broader preparation than a marathon block alone. The race is the final, visible test, but the program also carries formal credentials in health, coaching, and public speaking — skills that remain useful after the finish line.
The New York City Marathon gives the squad a prominent stage, but the program’s 17-year history is the more telling detail. A single marathon finish can be a remarkable personal achievement; a program that has reached its 17th year has had time to build a repeatable process. The elements described this year — six months of training, leadership education, and nationally recognized qualifications — point to a structure in which the race is the endpoint of a sustained program rather than a one-off event.
The details are specific enough to resist the usual inspirational blur. Ten runners. Ages 18 to 30. A 42.195-kilometre course. Communities including Minjilang and Moree. A preparation period of six months. Those facts are modest, but they describe a program operating at a human scale: small enough that communities such as Minjilang and Moree are named, structured enough that the training includes formal qualifications rather than only mileage.
The finish line in New York is the moment that will be recorded, but the more durable result may be the qualifications and leadership training the runners carry home. The Indigenous Marathon Project has now been running for 17 years, and this year’s squad completed the distance. That is the story: ten runners, a six-month preparation, and a program that uses a marathon as one part of a longer effort.