Chengdu Marathon

Course & Elevation

The Chengdu Marathon is a large city marathon in the capital of Sichuan, held on a Sunday in late October and hosted by the Chinese Athletics Association and the Chengdu government. The race began in 2017, and a half marathon runs alongside the marathon. The start is at the east gate of the Jinsha Site Museum. The marathon finishes at the Century City New International Convention and Exhibition Center in the south of the city, and the half marathon finishes at the Sichuan University Wangjiang campus. The marathon route passes through the districts of Jinniu, Qingyang, Jinjiang, Chenghua, Wuhou, the High-tech Zone and Tianfu New Area, with turnaround points along the way. In 2026 the first six kilometres added the Du Fu Thatched Cottage, the Sichuan Museum, Qingyang Palace and Qintai Road, while the route kept landmarks such as the Wide and Narrow Alleys, People's Park and Tianfu Square. The marathon then continues south past the Tianfu Panda Tower and the Tianfu International Financial Center to the finish. Runners start in waves from 7:30, and the marathon cut-off is 6 hours 15 minutes after each wave's start. Places are allocated by lottery when applications exceed the field limit, which was 35,000 in 2026: 25,000 in the marathon and 10,000 in the half marathon.