Riyadh Marathon

Course & Elevation

The Riyadh Marathon is a road marathon in the Saudi capital, run by the Saudi Sports for All Federation with the support of the Ministry of Sport and the Saudi Arabian Athletics Federation. It was first held on 5 March 2022 and the organisers describe it as the first official full marathon in the Kingdom. The 2026 edition took place on a Saturday in late January, alongside a half marathon, a 10 km run and a 5 km fun run. All distances start inside the campus of Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University in northern Riyadh and finish there. The 5 km and 10 km races stay on the university's internal roads, while the half marathon and marathon go out onto major roads in northern Riyadh, including Prince Badr bin Abdulmohsen bin Abdulaziz Road, Anas Ibn Malik Road, Uthman bin Affan Road and Thumamah Road. The marathon is a loop of roughly half-marathon length that runners complete twice, and the start and finish lines are a few hundred metres apart. The race has carried World Athletics Elite Label status since its first edition, and it is a professional event with Ethiopian and Kenyan winners among the men and a course record of 2:06:27 set in 2022. Race week also includes a free public festival at the university.