Petra Desert Marathon

The Petra Desert Marathon is a bucket-list desert race organized by Albatros Adventure Marathons (Copenhagen), starting in the heart of the ancient city of Petra — a UNESCO World Heritage Site — before dawn, when the site is closed to the public. Runners pass rock-carved tombs, mountainside facades, and the iconic Treasury (Al-Khazneh) via the Siq before the course opens into the vast, lunar-like terrain of the Jordanian desert, with sand, gravel, and asphalt surfaces and challenging climbs. The event is run as a multi-day travel package for international entrants (with hotel stays at the Dead Sea and Petra/Wadi Musa, guided excursions, and a celebration dinner) and as a standalone local entry for Jordanian residents. A 25 km 'Ultra Half Marathon' runs alongside the full 42.2 km marathon; both start together at 06:30 to beat the desert heat, with a 7-hour overall time limit and an intermediate course-closure checkpoint at 31 km (14 km for the 25 km distance) five hours after the start.