2026 Hangzhou Marathon registration opens at 10 AM tomorrow

2026 Hangzhou Marathon officially opened registration at 10:00 AM on June 23,The race will gun off at 7:00 on November 1, expanding the participant field to 36,000 (marathon 22,000, finish at Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center; half marathon 14,000, finish at Hangzhou Civic Square).

This year the Hangzhou Marathon has optimized and upgraded the course, with the Shangcheng District section extended by 5 km compared to previous years and a brand-new Jianghehui landmark added. Runners will pass landmarks including West Lake, Bagua Field, the Qiantang River, Jianghehui, and the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center.

At the same time, the Hangzhou Marathon has made multiple adjustments to prize distribution, result certification, and registration mechanisms. Not only has it significantly increased incentives for local athletes, it has also optimized entry requirements and quota allocation.

Prize money for placings lowered,Significant increase in the total special prize pool for Chinese athletes:First, in the prize structure, the organizing committee moderately lowered the prize money for placings in the marathon and significantly tilted resources toward domestic participants,

The total special prize money for Chinese athletes has been increased from ¥480,000 to ¥712,000,an increase of nearly 50%;

At the same time, the race's bonus for breaking records has also been raised from ¥25,000 to ¥60,000, encouraging more elite runners to set new records on the Hangzhou Marathon course.

The qualifying-time direct-entry mechanism has also been relaxed:

For this edition of the Hangzhou Marathon, finishing results from A, B and C category races that are searchable on the China Marathon official website within the specified qualifying period are recognized,

If proof from the official website can't be provided, you can also submit certificates of results from World Athletics-labelledraces or AIMS-certified races.This means more runners will have the opportunity for direct entry.

More regular entry slots and earlier registration: The organizing committee has also put a lot of effort into the registration experience.

On one hand, the number of automatic entry slots has been moderately reduced, while 2,000 regular entry slots have been added to both the full marathon and half marathon events, so the probability of being drawn in the lottery is expected to increase;

On the other hand, start registration earlier and introduce a second lottery draw, effectively activate vacant slots created by withdrawals, and allow more runners to realize their Hangzhou Marathon dreams.

In addition, deepen the development of the Smart Hangzhou Marathon and launch digital features, deploy new technology equipment to provide differentiated, customized race materials for different runner categories, making the entire process from packet pickup to the finish more convenient and more considerate.

Are you ready for this year's Hangzhou Marathon? The press conference didn't mention the platinum label.

Text: Xiaoxun / Editor:MP

Image:Trail Running Big Bang / Visual:MAX

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2026 Hangzhou Marathon registration opens at 10 AM tomorrow — what’s changed this year?