September 2 — September 13, pre-registration for the 2027 Chongqing Marathon will open. The race is scheduled for January 10, 2027, and will offer only the full marathon event.

What’s most worth watching is whether the direct-entry qualifications for mass participants have changed compared with 2026.

According to the official documents, the Chongqing Marathon’s direct-entry quotas this time still use three main categories: performance-based direct entry, series direct entry, and sponsor & partner media quotas. The overall rules are the same as the 2026 Chongqing Marathon registration.

Category One: Performance-based direct entry (10,000 spots): after meeting the qualifying time for the corresponding age group, the top 10,000 athletes are selected by ranking within each age group from fastest to slowest. The fee is 200 RMB per person.

Under 34: full marathon — men 3:00 / women 3:20;
35–39: men 3:10 / women 3:30;
40–44: men 3:15 / women 3:35;
45–49: men 3:20 / women 3:40;
50–54: men 3:30 / women 3:50;
55–59: men 3:40 / women 4:00;
60–64: men 3:50 / women 4:20;
65 and over: men 4:00 / women 4:30

Last year, half marathon results could still be used as materials to compete for direct-entry spots. For the 2027 Chongqing Marathon, the “half-marathon direct-entry” option has been removed from registration (except for the Changjahui half marathon mentioned below). This may reduce the difficulty of earning direct entry, providing more opportunities for runners who have completed a full marathon.

If total qualifiers exceed 10,000, spots will be allocated proportionally by age group and then ranked.

For example: if the under-34 age group has 1,500 qualifiers and total qualifiers across all age groups are 15,000, that age group represents 10% and would have 500 direct-entry spots, which are then taken by fastest-to-slowest results within the group.

For reference, the 2026 Chongqing Marathon direct-entry situation was as follows:

Total pre-registrations for the full marathon were 247,123, and 26,866 people met the age-group qualifying standards and obtained direct-entry eligibility.

After allocating the 10,000 direct-entry spots by age-group proportion, the actual direct-entry rate was about 37%. The remaining 16,866 entrants entered the public lottery.

Among them, in the under-34 age group the men’s actual cut-off full marathon time was 2:49:14 (half marathon 1:19:44); the women’s full marathon cut-off was 3:03:53 (half marathon 1:28:49).

Runners can compare these against their own performances.

Category Two: Series (1,000 spots): the top 500 men and top 500 women in the 2026 Chongqing (Changjahui) half marathon will directly secure a 2027 Chongqing Marathon direct-entry spot.

Category Three: Sponsor and partner media quotas: 2,500 spots.

Next year the Chongqing Marathon clashes with the Xiamen Marathon — which will you choose?

(Photo source: Chongqing Marathon official social media)