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Dec 12, 2026
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The ADNOC Abu Dhabi Marathon is a road marathon in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, held on a Saturday in December and organised by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council with ADNOC as title sponsor. The eighth edition, on 12 December 2026, starts at 06:00 on the Corniche, the city's waterfront, and the event's marathon village is at ADNOC Headquarters Park along the Corniche. Alongside the 42.195 km marathon there is a two-person marathon relay and races over 10 km, 5 km and 2.5 km. The route has changed between editions. In earlier years the marathon began and ended at ADNOC Headquarters, ran southeast to Wahat Al Karama, returned past the World Trade Center Abu Dhabi to the Corniche and finished with a stretch of about 5 km along the waterfront. The first edition was held on 7 December 2018, with more than 10,000 competitors from 121 nationalities across all races, and the fifth edition in 2023 drew more than 25,000 participants from 168 nationalities across all distances. The race has produced fast times: Marius Kipserem won the first edition in 2:04:04, Reuben Kipyego won in 2:04:40 in 2019, and the women's course record is 2:19:15, set by Brigid Kosgei in 2023.
Typical climate for the race month — an estimate, not a forecast or a race-day record
In December Abu Dhabi averages a daytime high of about 26°C and a low of about 16°C, with rain on only two or three days of the month; the race starts at 06:00, before the day warms up.
The Race
Abu Dhabi
The first ADNOC Abu Dhabi Marathon took place on 7 December 2018, with more than 10,000 competitors from 121 nationalities across its races. Marius Kipserem of Kenya won the men's race in 2:04:04, 12 seconds ahead of half marathon world record holder Abraham Kiptum, and Ethiopia's Ababel Yeshaneh won the women's race in 2:20:16. The fast winning times led to speculation in the running press that the course might have been short.
In 2019 the Kenyan Reuben Kipyego was hired as a pacemaker and was expected to drop out around 30 km. When the leaders slowed and he still felt good, he kept running and broke the tape in 2:04:40, a minute and 41 seconds ahead of Joel Kimurer, and collected the $100,000 first prize.
On 16 December 2023 Brigid Kosgei of Kenya won in 2:19:15, breaking the women's course record of 2:20:41 that Bahrain's Eunice Chumba had set in 2022. She pulled away from the field in the final 10 km in warm conditions of around 23°C and earned a $30,000 bonus for the record. The same day Amare Hailemichael Samson of Eritrea won the men's race in 2:07:10.
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