Chenzhou Marathon 2026 - Hunan, China

The Chenzhou Marathon 2026 (2026郴州马拉松) takes runners through the green hills and urban landscapes of Chenzhou in Hunan Province, China. The third edition starts at 07:30 on Sunday 8 November 2026 from Wuling Square (五岭广场), Beihu District. Organisers are planning for 12,000 competitors, comprising 3,000 marathoners and 9,000 half marathoners. The city's marathon has established a reputation for combining serious road racing with scenic routes through the region's 'city in the forest' setting.

Course and race-day schedule

The two advertised distances are a 42.195 km full marathon and a 21.0975 km half marathon. The 2026 official race regulations specify staggered starts by allocated assembly zone; the precise wave arrangements will be confirmed in a final participant notice. Runners should use the organiser's current route maps rather than previous-year maps: the published competition regulations initially referred to the 2026 start, finish and full route details as forthcoming.

Race-day check-in is scheduled for 06:00-07:20 (China Standard Time, UTC+8). Participants should arrive at least 60 minutes before their scheduled start, bring and visibly wear their assigned race bib, and report to the correct starting zone. The organiser's stated limits are 6 hours for the marathon and 3 hours for the half marathon, measured from the applicable starting gun, with intermediate cut-offs. Water and support stations are planned along the course, with medical points, AED responders and marshals.

Eligibility and participant requirements

Marathon entrants must be aged 20 or older by 1 January 2026; half-marathon entrants must be 18 or older. For the marathon, the 2026 rules require evidence of an eligible full-marathon result or two eligible half-marathon results within the previous 24 months, or an accepted qualification-test result. The half marathon also requires appropriate recent half-marathon or longer-distance running evidence. Entrants aged 65 or older require a guardian or legal representative's signed declaration. Participants should read the official health and safety requirements, not just the headline distance.

Registration and refunds

Standard applications closed at 18:00 China time on 9 October 2026. Where applications exceeded the quota, ballot results were scheduled for 14 October. The original individual entry fees were CNY 180 for the marathon and CNY 150 for the half marathon. These prices are historical details for this edition, not an offer of currently available entries. Refund and distance-change requests closed with the 9 October deadline. Entrants who did not secure a ballot place were eligible for refunds through the original payment channel under the organiser's published terms.

Race pack and practical arrangements

The organiser says race packs must be collected personally using the identity document supplied during registration; it does not permit proxy collection or postal delivery. Exact 2026 collection dates, times and venues should be checked against the later official collection notice. The registration fee includes a race T-shirt, disposable timing chip, on-course supplies and event insurance. Competitors can use the designated baggage deposit area from 06:00 to 07:15; the organiser states half-marathon baggage retrieval closes at 11:30, and marathon retrieval at 14:30. Runners should not leave valuables in checked bags.

The first eight finishers in each men's and women's marathon and half-marathon divisions have published cash-prize scales, subject to race rules and applicable tax. Results and downloadable completion certificates are handled through the First Track (第一赛道) running platform.

Official information: Chenzhou Marathon website, especially its 2026 competition rules and 2026 registration guide. For the latest collection notice, transport restrictions, wave assignments and course map, consult the official Chinese-language WeChat account '郴州马拉松'.