2026 Du Xiaoman Xi'an Marathon

The 2026 Du Xiaoman Xi'an Marathon is one of Xi'an's major annual road races, bringing 36,000 runners to the Shaanxi capital on Sunday, 18 October. The field comprises 24,000 marathon places and 12,000 half-marathon places. Both races start beside Yongning Gate, one of the best-known entrances through Xi'an's ancient city wall.

The route links the historic centre with the modern eastern districts. Runners head through South Street and the Bell Tower area, then continue past the city wall towards the Daming Palace and Chanba districts. The marathon continues through the river and international-port corridor to finish inside Xi'an Olympic Sports Center Stadium. The half marathon finishes at Xi'an International Convention and Exhibition Center. Official city material highlights the Ming city wall, Bell Tower, Daming Palace National Heritage Park, Chanba River ecological corridor, convention centre and Olympic Sports Center as key parts of the race experience.

For 2026 the event uses a three-gun start system, with waves scheduled at 07:30, 07:40 and 08:00 CST. Marathon and half-marathon runners use disposable electronic timing chips, with timing mats at the start, every 5 km, the half-marathon point, turn points and the finish. Missing mandatory timing points can result in disqualification.

Entry used pre-registration followed by a ballot and waitlist. Public applications ran from 4 August until 17:00 CST on 20 August 2026, with ballot results released on 31 August. Applicants also needed qualifying race results for their chosen distance.

The event is designed as both a competitive road race and a showcase of Xi'an. Organisers have announced more than 40 themed cultural cheering stations featuring local performance traditions along the course. Exact 2026 race-pack collection arrangements were not yet clearly verifiable from the current official pages reviewed for this listing, so travelling runners should check the official event website and mini-program before race week.