Nanjing Marathon

The Nanjing Marathon is an annual World Athletics Gold Label road race held each November in Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu Province, China. The 2026 edition marks the race's 10th anniversary and is scheduled for Sunday, November 22, 2026, with a 7:30 AM start from the East Gate of the Nanjing Olympic Sports Center. For the first time, the course finishes at Yanzi Gorge (Yanzijiu) Riverside Park rather than looping back to the start, threading through six core districts of the city -- Jianye, Yuhuatai, Qinhuai, Xuanwu, Gulou, and Qixia -- past the Qinhuai River and sections of the historic Ming city wall along the way. For 2026 the event offers the full marathon only; the companion Mini Health Run held in prior years is not being staged. The field is capped at roughly 26,000: about 24,000 lottery-selected marathon entrants plus around 1,000 guaranteed charity/public-welfare bibs. New for this edition, applicants must show proof of one full marathon or two half marathons completed within 24 months of the registration deadline, and lottery odds are tiered by recent qualifying performance across A/B/C bands (20%/30%/50% of slots). The race is organized by the Nanjing Municipal People's Government together with the Jiangsu Provincial Sports Bureau and the Chinese Athletics Association, with Bank of Nanjing continuing as title sponsor (the record is kept sponsor-neutral since Chinese marathon title sponsorships change frequently). Registration opened July 28, 2026 and runs through August 28, 2026, with lottery results announced September 4 and payment due by September 15. Entry fees are 200 CNY for the standard lottery entry and 1,600 CNY for a guaranteed charity/public-welfare bib, which bundles the 200 CNY entry fee with a 1,400 CNY public-welfare donation.