On April 29, 2026 at 15:00, the Shanghai Marathon, marking its 30th anniversary, opens registration for the full marathon.This year the Shanghai Marathon is in thesecond stage of candidate qualification assessment for joining the World Marathon Majors, so the registration procedures and details have been adjusted.
2026 will be the first year the Shanghai Marathon splits the full marathon and the Health Run across two days, the full marathon category will start on December 6 (Sunday), and the Health Run is scheduled for December 5 (Saturday).
For runners, this means you will have the opportunity to register for and take part in both the Health Run and the full marathon (Health Run registration opens in July). Of course, that will take some luck, won't it?
The Shanghai Marathon has long been one of China's marathons with the largest number of international participants. This year, the Shanghai Marathon's registration system has implemented stricter identity verification requirements for registrants. Runners from mainland China can only use their ID card; military officer IDs and other document types are no longer accepted.
In addition, the personal identity information provided during registration must exactly match the information on the valid documents the participant uses to collect their race kit and to present on race day. Be careful when selecting your country and region during registration.
If you select “Foreign” but your valid documents (Chinese passport and ID card) are Chinese, you will not be permitted to compete.
Applicants who select “Foreign” must hold valid documents consistent with their registration information (such as a foreign passport),permanent residence permits or green cards cannot be accepted as valid registration documents.
A particularly important point during registration is: if you're selected in the lottery, be sure not to forget to pay the registration fee. Lottery results will be announced on the afternoon of June 30, the final payment deadline is 12:00 on July 20. Failure to pay by the deadline will be considered a forfeiture of registration, and there is no other way to obtain a spot in the 2026 Shanghai Marathon.
Finally, let's take a look at how the Shanghai Marathon is aligning itself with the World Marathon Majors.
This year, for the first time the Shanghai Marathon requires registrants to submit an estimated finish time, and it also created an Abbott World Marathon Majors event profile to obtain age-group world rankings. It's unclear whether the race's corral placements will be based on the estimated finish times submitted by registrants.
However, if I had to name the biggest change at this year's Shanghai Marathon, it would be that the Shanghai Marathon app hardly ever "glitched"!
Don't want to be the unlucky one this year and looking for some good luck? Then hurry and Claim your 2026 Shanghai Marathon lucky charm.
How many times have you run the Shanghai Marathon? How many times have you missed out in the lottery?Have you registered for the 2026 Shanghai Marathon?
