Dalian Marathon

Dalian Marathon has been contested along China's Bohai coast since 1987, making it one of the country's oldest marathons and a race in World Athletics' Elite Label category, recognized by AIMS. The route starts and finishes in the Donggang Business District, tracing Gangpu Road, Zhulian Street, Changjiang East Road, Renmin Road, and Zhongshan Road before reaching the waterfront promenade at Xinghai Bay — a mix of modern harbor skyline and seaside scenery that draws roughly 30,000 runners across the marathon, half marathon, 10K, and a 4.2 km fun run. The 2026 edition ran on April 26, 2026, with the marathon priced at CNY 180 and the half marathon at CNY 150 under a pre-registration-then-lottery entry system; the next edition, Dalian Marathon 2027, is confirmed for April 25, 2027, though the 2027 registration window and fees have not yet been announced. Course records stand at 2:09:44 for men (Edwin Koech, Kenya, 2018) and 2:26:12 for women (Wang Jiali, China, 2011), and the race has drawn primary sponsorship from ICBC and, more recently, Mengniu.