Registration for the 2026 Guangzhou Marathon officially opened today (September 2) at 10:00 AM. Registration closes at 18:00 on September 11.

What’s different about this year’s Guangzhou Marathon?

The race is scheduled for Sunday, December 20, one day earlier than last year, and will use a four-gun, nine-zone staggered start:

07:00 — elites and zones A/B

07:10 — zones C/D

07:20 — zones E/F

07:30 — zones G/H

There is one full marathon event; the start remains at Tianhe Sports Center and the finish is at Haixinsha.

The cut-off time has been adjusted to 6 hours, and a national marathon record prize has been added (RMB 120,000 for each of men and women).

The field has been expanded to 30,000 participants, an increase of 4,000 from the past two years’ 26,000.

In 2024 the Guangzhou Marathon field was 26,000, with 112,987 applicants and a lottery acceptance rate of 23%;

In 2025 the field remained 26,000, with over 140,000 applicants and a lottery acceptance rate of about 18%.

With the increased spots, will this year’s registrations set a new record? Will it break the 200,000 mark?

The entry fee is 180 yuan per person, up from 160 yuan in previous years (an increase of 20 yuan).

2026 Guangzhou Marathon automatic-entry requirements:

1. Guangzhou Marathon loyal runners

Runners who have completed a total of 10 editions of the Guangzhou Marathon (any event) will receive automatic entry. Last year the requirement was participation in 11 consecutive editions.

2. Guangzhou Marathon elite runners

The 2026 Guangzhou Marathon allocates 5,000 elite runner slots. If your submitted time meets the qualifying standard for your age group, you will receive automatic entry.

If the total number of qualifiers does not exceed 5,000, all qualifiers will receive automatic entry.

If there are more than 5,000 qualifiers, the actual number of automatic entries per age group will be calculated by taking each age group’s share of total qualifiers and multiplying by 5,000, with final selections made by ranking times within each group.

Note: Only A-class marathon results between September 11, 2024 and September 11, 2026 are valid (in 2025 the elite runner criteria were participation in any of the most recent five Guangzhou Marathons, plus additional half-marathon standards):

Under 34
Men 3:00:00; Women 3:20:00

35–39
Men 3:10:00; Women 3:30:00

40–44
Men 3:15:00; Women 3:35:00

45–49
Men 3:20:00; Women 3:40:00

50–54
Men 3:30:00; Women 3:50:00

55–59
Men 3:40:00; Women 4:00:00

60–64
Men 3:50:00; Women 4:20:00

65 and over
Men 4:00:00; Women 4:30:00

Are you planning to register for this year’s Guangzhou Marathon?