Gyeongju International Marathon

The Gyeongju International Marathon is an annual road race through Gyeongju, South Korea, the ancient capital of the Silla dynasty, first held in 1993 and organized with newspaper sponsor Dong-A Ilbo. The 2026 edition starts at 8:00 AM on Saturday, October 17 from Gyeongju Civic Stadium, with runners gathering by 7:00 AM. Three distances run together: the full marathon (42.195 km), half marathon (21.0975 km), and 10K. The course was re-routed in 2012 to remove uphill sections, making it flat and fast, and it passes UNESCO-listed historic sites including Bulguksa Temple, the Cheomseongdae Observatory, and Geumjangdae Pavilion, set against autumn foliage. Time limits are 5 hours for the full course, 2 hours 30 minutes for the half, and 1 hour 30 minutes for the 10K. Entry is first-come, first-served through the Dongma Club platform, with a standard 'general' tier and a cheaper no-shirt 'mania' tier for each distance; capacity is 9,000 general and 7,000 mania entrants. Overseas participants register separately through the event's English-language site.