Abu Dhabi Marathon

Course & Elevation

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.