The 2026 Harbin Marathon gun went off at 7:30 AM on September 13, with half-marathon runners starting at 7:45.The event's total scale was 30,000 participants,15,000 each for the full marathon and the half marathon.
Although this year's Harbin Marathon lost its World Athletics Gold Label designation, it still offered plenty of highlights.
In the half marathon,Li Meizhen is competing in Harbin's half for the fourth consecutive year; last year she realized her dream by taking the title in 1:15:20,This year she's targeting a successful defense and using the race as a tune-up to build toward the Beijing Marathon.。Tang Xiaofenwill also run the half—will she be a challenger to Li Meizhen's title defense? On the men's side, Yang Kegu, Fang Bo and Ma Wenliang will vie for the championship.
In the full marathon, Peng Jianhua made a comeback, andHong Yue, Li Dalinand a host of other men's elites are entered; on the women's side,Pan Sufang and Huang Xuemei will go head-to-head. Who will ultimately take the championship?
01
Race progress
0-10km
Before the start gun light rain fell at the venue; at the gun the temperature was 14–15℃ with humidity at 71%.
24-year-old Heilongjiang native Li Dalin took the leadwith Hong Yue close behind in the men's lead group. At the 4km aid station the men's lead pack all took on fluids; interestingly, Li Dalin chose not to drink. The men's lead group hit the 5km checkpoint in 16:15.
On the women's side, five international runners formed the lead group, with Pan Sufang chasing hard; at 5km Pan Sufang's time was 17:44, temporarily the top domestic runner.
©Harbin News Eye live footage
In the half-marathon, Ma Wenliang, Yang Kegu and Fang Bo are in the lead pack; on the women’s side, Li Meizhen is leading—5 km split 17:54, 45 seconds off the women’s half-marathon course record. It looks like Li Meizhen is not only defending her title today but also aiming for the course record?
10-20km
On the downhill section before 10 km the leading men began to push the pace; 10 km split 31:54, an average of 3:11 per kilometer.
The women’s lead pack is only about 800 m behind the men’s lead pack. Pan Sufang remains the top domestic runner—10 km split 35:36, averaging 3:33 per kilometer, 1:11 behind the women’s leader.
At 15 km, Pan Sufang was fifth overall and first among domestic runners; Huang Xuemei was temporarily fifth among domestic runners with a time of 55:12.
20-30km
At 20 km, the men’s lead group split was 1:03:31.
For the first 15 km, each 5 km segment for Pan Sufang was about 1 minute faster than in 2023.
©Harbin News Eye live footage
At 22.5 km, Ethiopian runner Dadi Yami began to surge; Hong Yue quickly reacted and held close. At 25 km Hong Yue was temporarily leading the race.
30-40km
At 30 km, Hong Yue’s time was 1:37:34—first among domestic runners and third overall; Li Dalin and Wang Hongwei were provisionally second and third domestically; Pan Sufang successfully passed a foreign runner to move up to third overall among the women, and her 30 km total was 5:31 faster than in 2023.
After 35 km the battle among the men’s leaders entered a white-hot phase. Hong Yue continued to lead, and following him wasDadi Yami; the men’s marathon gold and silver will be decided between the two of them.
©Harbin News Eye live footage
02
Domestic athletes' results
Half-marathon:
Li Meizhen comfortably defended her title in 1:13:20.Tang Xiaofen finished second; in the men’s race, Ma Wenliang overtook Yang Kegu to win the men’s half-marathon in 1:05:50, Yang Kegu took second, Fang Bo third.
©Harbin News Eye live footage
Marathon:
Men's race,Hong Yue 2:12:41 won the domestic men's title, second overall, only behind the championDadi Yami by less than 3 seconds. Li Dalin was second among domestic runners, third overall; Wang Hongwei third domestically; Peng Jianhua finished in 2 hours 34 minutes.
Women's race,Pan Sufang 2:34:15 won the domestic women's title, fourth overall, Deng Chunyan 2:36:08 was second domestically, fifth overall; Huang Xuemei 2:38:30 was third domestically, seventh overall. This year at the Harbin Marathon, the "champion couple" Hong Yue and Pan Sufang both claimed the domestic men's and women's full-marathon titles.
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Text/Editor: MP
Photo sources: Paoye Big Bang / Harbin Marathon official website / Harbin News Eye live broadcast
Visuals: Max
