Race Categories
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Race Clothing - Disposable Timing Chip
- Race-Day Supplies
- Event Insurance
- Race Clothing
- Disposable Timing Chip
- Race-Day Supplies
- Event Insurance
Event Detail
The 2026 China Wanda Group · Yellow River Estuary (Dongying) Marathon returns to Dongying, Shandong, on 18 October with a 30,000-runner field split between 13,000 marathon places and 17,000 half-marathon places. The long-established event is associated with World Athletics Gold Label status and is one of the major road races in eastern China.
Both races start from New Century Plaza at 07:30 local time and finish back at the plaza. The marathon follows a broad city route along Fuqian Avenue, Fuzhou Road, Huanghe Road, Dongyi Road and Beiyi Road before continuing through western Dongying and returning via Binhe North Road, Weihe Road and Dongsan Road. The half marathon heads east from the same start, turns near the south gate of Dongying Vocational College and returns along Fuqian Avenue. The course setting reflects Dongying's identity at the Yellow River estuary, with urban boulevards and the city's wetland landscape forming the wider race backdrop.
Marathon check-in is scheduled from 06:00 to 07:15, while half-marathon check-in runs from 06:20 to 07:35. Runners are assigned to start zones using eligible certified race results, and the event uses wave starts. The marathon has a six-hour overall cut-off and the half marathon has a three-hour cut-off, with additional intermediate road-reopening cut-offs. Timing mats are positioned at the start, every 5 km, the half-marathon point, turnaround points and the finish. Baggage may be deposited in the designated start-area storage using the official race bag.
Entry for the mass field used a pre-registration and ballot system. Pre-registration ran from 26 June to 6 July 2026, with the main ballot announced on 12 July and a second-chance ballot announced on 25 July. Marathon applicants must meet the published age and recent race-experience requirements, while half-marathon applicants have separate qualifying requirements. All entrants are also required by the organiser to complete the specified medical examination within the preceding 12 months.
What's Included
- Race clothing
- Disposable timing chip
- Race-day supplies
- Event insurance
Prizes
Course record bonus: USD 10,000 to the first man under 2:05:52 and first woman under 2:18:09. Chinese athlete marathon awards and half-marathon overall awards are published through 8th place.