Lace up your sneakers: Western Sydney Airport’s runway is about to become the city’s most epic fun run – no boarding pass required.
The new Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport isn’t scheduled to open for business until later this year, with passenger flights officially set to take off in October 2026.
While you won’t be able to fly from the new runway this April, they’re hosting a special fun run to raise funds for Sydney Children’s Hospital, allowing keen runners to race on the tarmac while also getting a sneak peek at the city’s brand new airport.
One lap of the runway equates to about 3.7km, and the combination of zero traffic and completely flat tarmac makes it the perfect course to chase a PB. Plus, you’ll have the bragging rights to tell everyone catching a flight here that you ran this very runway, before a single plane had even taken off.
The races
The 2026 Runway Run/Walk will take place on Sunday, April 26, with five different events taking place across the day from 6am to 4:30pm.
The day kicks off with the 4km run at 7 am, a single, exhilarating stretch down the runway. At 8 am, the half-marathon takes off, sending runners on three full laps of the tarmac. The 14 km race follows at 9 am, with the 7 km starting at 10:30 am. The festivities wrap up with a relaxed community walk, running from 1 pm to 4:30 pm, which will see over 10,000 walkers flood the runway.
Can I still enter?
Unfortunately, entry to the runway fun run filled up pretty quickly (Sydney is a running-obsessed city after all). You can still sign up for the waitlist for the event here, and hope that some of the signed-up participants will pull out.
Entries for the half-marathon start from $110, with the 4km event setting you back $22. Some of the money raised from entry fees will go towards the Sydney Children’s Hospital Foundation.
How to get to the Western Sydney Airport fun run?
Event parking is now fully booked for the fun run.
There will be a designated Ride Share, Uber and carpool drop-off and pick-up zone, located on Warami Dr. This location will be registered across Google Maps, Waze and Uber for easy navigation.
A shuttle bus service will also operate continuously between Penrith Station and Western Sydney Airport from 5am to 5pm.
You must book your shuttle bus before the event, as no booking means no seat. Each ticket is valid for one seat, and all passengers, regardless of age, must have a confirmed booking in advance. For adults (age 17 plus), the bus costs $10, with children’s tickets (3–16) costing $5. Children under three will travel for free. You can book your shuttle bus ticket here.
The official opening of Western Sydney Airport
The first official international flight at Western Sydney International (WSI) Airport will be operated by Air New Zealand on October 26, leaving Auckland at 6:15am and arriving at WSI at 7:50am, with the return flight departing at 9:05am and arriving at 2:20pm.
The airline will then continue to operate three trans-Tasman return services per week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
Other notable airlines that will operate from the airport later this year include Singapore Airlines, which will launch daily non-stop flights to Singapore from November 23.
Qantas and Jetstar are also expected to launch services later this year; however, their routes are yet to be revealed.
