Event Summary
Client:
Tata Consultancy Services
Project:
TCS Sydney Marathon 2026
Location & Venue:
Sydney, 42.2 km course from Macquarie Street to the Sydney Opera House
Timing:
August 2026
Scale & Format:
40,000 runners. TCS VIP start line, Sydney Running Show and TCS Clubhouse (finish line)
Services:
Event Management
Event Overview
TCS ANZ engaged Peanut Productions to deliver its guest experience program for the 2026 TCS Sydney Marathon, presented by ASICS, working alongside event organiser Pont3. For the third consecutive year, Peanut delivered the TCS Clubhouse at the finish line, but 2026 marked a genuine step up in scope. For the first time, Peanut was engaged to activate across three separate locations: the Sydney Running Show at Sydney Olympic Park, the TCS VIP start line at North Sydney, and the TCS Clubhouse on Bannelong Lawn in the Royal Botanic Garden, overlooking the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge. Each site carried its own council approvals, regulatory requirements and bump-in schedule, and each needed to feel like part of one continuous experience for the 40,000 runners taking part in the race.
Our Approach
Peanut treated the brief as a single guest journey told across three chapters rather than three unrelated activations. From bib collection through to the finish line celebration, every touchpoint was designed to connect to the next: a custom arch at the VIP start line echoed the arch that welcomed runners into the Clubhouse, and the visual language carried consistently from Expo through to the final celebration. Delivering that continuity across sites that were kilometres apart, each with different regulations, different councils and different physical constraints, took close coordination with Pont3’s event teams and the more than 30 suppliers Peanut brought together to bring the program to life. The relationship underpinning that coordination has been built over three years of working with the same specialist suppliers, with each year’s learnings feeding directly into the next.
Experience Design
At the Sydney Running Show, Peanut created the TCS Fast Lane: a personalised, premium bib collection zone where every team TCS runner’s name appeared on the booth, staff in full uniform welcomed guests with merchandise, and runners bypassed the general public queue entirely. A 15 by 12 metre stand nearby used hero imagery from TCS’s running history alongside two AI-powered photo booths, generating personalised images of guests crossing the finish line, running across the Harbour Bridge or standing on a podium.
At North Sydney, a private 50 by 10 metre VIP precinct gave TCS runners their own start line experience, with recovery essentials, a barista cart, light catering and premium amenities, all styled to feel distinct from the public start line just metres away.
At the finish, runners were guided away from the crowd to a concierge desk for their medals, cold towels and refreshments, then made their way to Clubhouse by branded buggy or on foot. Clubhouse itself was built from bare lawn: a 16 metre diameter modular pavilion, reused and rebuilt each year for sustainability and rated to withstand winds of 80 kilometres per hour, housing a central bar, full AV, a 12 metre back-of-house kitchen, self-serve barbecue and acai stations, a massage tent and a dedicated recovery zone.
Event Execution
Bringing three sites to life in one weekend required a six-day build, from a one-day start line install to a four-and-a-half day Clubhouse construction, followed by a day and a half of bump-out. Operating inside the Royal Botanic Garden added a further layer of complexity: nothing could be positioned beneath a tree’s drip line, nothing could be staked into the grass, and every site was swept with magnet rollers after bump-out to protect the gardens. Around-the-clock security, dedicated safety officers and detailed risk assessments supported the delivery across all three locations, alongside sustainability measures including the reusable pavilion structure and charity donation of runners’ discarded clothing.
“Three years in, what I’m most proud of isn’t how much the scope has grown, but how much the trust has. That trust gives us the freedom to keep pushing the experience further and creating something better together each year.” – Michael Mastrodimos
Event Outcomes
The 2026 TCS Sydney Marathon program became Peanut’s largest public event in New South Wales outside of Sydney’s New Year’s Eve celebrations, expanding a three-year partnership with TCS ANZ into a genuinely end-to-end guest experience spanning Expo, start line and finish. By designing one connected journey rather than three isolated activations, Peanut reinforced the trust that underpins the relationship and set a strong foundation for the program to continue growing in the years ahead.
