In 2025, the Festival will return with a weekend long celebration of running, music and wellness hosted in the towns of Lorne and Apollo Bay. Whether you want to entertain the family at our kite festival or relax at a yoga session by the beach followed by an afternoon of live music – we have it all. Just make sure you have your Race Bib on you to gain access to all FREE activities.
SHOW YOUR RACE BIB TO GAIN ACCESS
Your Race Bib is your key to access all of the the FREE activities on offer exclusively to the Great Ocean Road Running Festival presented by Melrose participants, including the wellness program, free kites for kids & live music. Ensure that you are registered in one of the nine distances on offer. If registered before April 5th with an Australian address, your Race Bib will be mailed to you. Otherwise, you will need to collect this from either our Lorne or Apollo Bay Race Week Office to collect.
Apollo Bay Festival Hub
Apollo Bay is home to the Start & Finish lines of all Saturday events, and the Finish line of the Marathon events on Sunday- but that’s not all!
Check out the Festival Hub located on the Apollo Bay foreshore for deals on running products, sponsor activations, activities for the whole family, plus more! You will also find the Merchandise Store where you can pick up some Official Event Merchandise.
Visit the Race Week Office in Apollo Bay to pick up your bib, change/register for an event, or for any questions you may have!
DON’T MISS:
Pub to Pub Waiter’s Race
Saturday, May 17 – 1.05pm
Watch the action as local wait-staff battle it out, racing to carry a tray of beer from the Apollo Bay Hotel to the Great Ocean Road Brewhouse and back, trying not to spill a drop! Make sure you’re there to witness history in the making, and find out who will take home the trophy.
Lorne Festival Hub
Participants will be able to get involved in a a range of activities at the Lorne Festival Hub, located on the Lorne foreshore.
Lorne will host the start lines of the 60km Ultra, 44km Marathon, and now the start and finish lines of the Great Ocean Road Walk and High Sierra 12km Trail Runs on Sunday, May 18
Visit the Race Week Office in Lorne to pick up your bib, change/register for an event, or for any questions you may have!
Live Music
APOLLO BAY HOTEL: LIVE ENTERTAINMENT ALL WEEKEND
Discover the charm of Apollo Bay Hotel, nestled in the central hub of the Great Ocean Road, amidst the majestic Otway’s, and conveniently located at the finish line across from the festival hub.
Open from 7 am all weekend, offering a special breakfast menu to fuel up before your event. Starting at 11:30 am, the Apollo Bay Hotel will open a pop-up kitchen serving delicious curries and roast lamb spit alongside the normal pub menu inside. Plus, enjoy the vibrant atmosphere with live music all weekend and celebrate at the finish line. To see the full music schedule and book a table head to the Apollo Bay Hotel website
Kite Festival
A kaleidoscope of kites in all shapes and sizes will take to the skies in Apollo Bay during the Festival. Offering fun for the whole family, dual Kite Festivals will lift off on the spectacular foreshores of both towns all weekend long!
Free Kites for Children
All children who are registered in either the Great Ocean Road Walk, Kids Gallop, 6km Run or 14km Chobani Fit Paradise Run will receive their own kite to decorate & fly. Make sure you’ve got your Race Bib with you to claim your free kite, 10am – 4pm Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 May.
Nominal fee for non-participants.
Indie Spa
delightfully different
Featuring a Rasul and bathhouse, Indie Spa is suited to shared experiences – the more the merrier! While designed with couples and groups in mind, we welcome everyone and we tailor our experiences to each individual. After all, you’re unique.
Indie Spa was brought to life through the creative interior design team at award-winning architects Cera Stribley, realising our vision for a unique ‘non’ spa that goes against the norm.We are located at Sunnymead Hotel in Aireys Inlet. Indie Spa are offering participants at the Great Ocean Road Running Festival presented by Melrose, the below:
Indie Spa – Complimentary ‘Simply Steam’ communal rasul (40 mins) with any full price treatment booked (excludes Bathhouse)
T&Cs – Must show proof of festival registration to redeem. Subject to availability. Not valid with any other promotion or special.
Lux Spa & Wellness
Lux Spa & Wellness offers a sanctuary from the noise of the outside world and has been designed with your every need in mind. Enjoy what we have to offer on your own or together with friends or partner by experiencing one of our Spa Journeys.
Lux Spa & Wellness – Complimentary Infrared Sauna (45 mins) with any full price treatment booked (60 mins or longer)
T&Cs – Must show proof of festival registration to redeem. Subject to availability. Not valid with any other promotion or special.
Otway Fly Treetop Adventures
Located 20 minutes from the Great Ocean Road, Otway Fly Treetop Adventures features a breathtaking Treetop Walk. The 600m long, 25m high elevated walkway provides unrivalled views of the unique beauty of the region’s flora and fauna, from the rainforest floor up into the towering heights of the treetops. Visitors can also climb the 45m tall Spiral Tower and the cantilever perched above Young’s Creek, which is a truly exhilarating experience as you gently sway with the rainforest canopy.
Visitors can also enjoy the first Zipline Tour in Victoria, a unique eco-wilderness adventure. Participants zip from one ‘cloud station’ to another connected by cables up to 30m above the forest floor. This exciting adventure lasts 2.5 hours and is guided by experienced guides. Guides will provide you with an insight into the forest’s history and its features and provide you with an experience you won’t forget! Visitors will see the trees and forest in a new light and learn about this growing and vibrant rainforest.
Treetop Walk – 2 for 1 offer
Participants registered in a Great Ocean Road Running Festival presented by Melrose event can take advantage of this 2 for 1 offer on entry to the Treetop Walk by showing your Race Bib upon arrival at the Ticket Office. Bookings not necessary.
Zipline Tours – 20% off
Participants registered in a Great Ocean Road Running Festival presented by Melrose event can take advantage of a 20% discount on Zipline Tours.
Present your Race Bib at the time of booking to receive a 20% discount on entry. Offer valid Thursday 12 May – Tuesday 17 May to coincide with the Great Ocean Road Running Festival presented by Melrose weekend. For more information on the Otway Fly and to plan your trip, head to the Otway Fly website.
Wildlife Wonders
Are your mob looking for something to do while you’re out running?
Treat your Run Fest crew support crew to a special 15% off tour voucher at Wildlife Wonders and allow them to experience the wild side of the Great Ocean Road. Wildlife Wonders is a wildlife sanctuary like no other: a spectacular bushland setting where the forest meets the sea; where a predator-proof fence protects a thriving Otways ecosystem allowing you to experience what the Otways were once like before cats and foxes arrived.
Your conservationist guide will take you on a 75-minute restorative walk, revealing all of nature’s intimacies and intricacies, and rekindling your wonder. Koalas in towering eucalypts, potoroos digging in fern gullies, wallabies sampling the woodlands, kangaroos on grasslands overlooking the ocean. It’s the Otways as it should be.
Just 10 mins drive from Apollo Bay, your crew can visit the sanctuary and be back in time to cheer you over the finish line!
OR better still, use your special discount code to book a tour for everyone before or after the festival weekend. This incredible experience deserves to be shared with you and all your crew!
Your special GORRF 15% tour voucher code* is RUNFEST24
*Offer valid now until 26th May 2024, for bookings until 31 December 2024.
Live Wire Park
Offering electrifying outdoor experiences in the heart of Victoria’s Great Ocean Road Region, Live Wire Park is the first completely off-grid elevated adventure park in Australia.
Nestled among the towering Otway treetops, Live Wire Park is powered by nature. The park has been thoughtfully designed to have a minimal impact on the environment. Fuelled by solar power, paired with all water being collected, used and treated on site, makes Live Wire Park a sustainable business. Live Wire Park is a family-owned business, run by locals who are passionate about the environment and sharing the natural wonders of the Surf Coast of Australia with the rest of the world.
Present your Race Bib upon entry/booking to receive a 15% discount, Offer valid for bookings from Thursday 16 – Tuesday 21 May to coincide with the Great Ocean Road Running Festival presented by Melrose weekend.
To learn more and book, visit https://livewirepark.com.au/book-now/
Great Ocean Road Gin
Great Ocean Road Gin is a small batch craft gin company producing gins that are inspired by the beauty and botanicals from the Great Ocean Road.
Gin Tasting Room & The Gin Kitchen
Great Ocean Road Gin has a showcase tasting room where you can experience & buy our signature coastal gins, or you can enjoy lunch or dinner in our new restaurant – The Gin Kitchen located right next door in the picturesque coastal town of Aireys Inlet.
Walks and Waterfalls
Go chasing waterfalls along the Great Ocean Road! Explore a great variety of distances and environments. There are more than 70 bush and coastal walks in the Surf Coast region. Some are only short but, in 10 minutes or so, they can take you to a spectacular coastal lookout, waterfall or forest.
Apollo Bay Walks and Waterfalls
