Foshan Liangjiang Paddy Field Marathon 2026

Foshan Liangjiang Paddy Field Marathon 2026 is the upgraded edition of Gaoming's established rice-field road race, staged in Foshan's Gaoming District on 22 November. Local official reporting says the event's Gaoming rice-field predecessor has attracted more than 30,000 runners across the past three years. The 2026 field is capped at 10,000 participants, split between 3,000 marathoners and 7,000 half-marathoners. Foshan News describes the event as a Chinese Athletics Association B-class race, while the organiser's current competition regulations still list technical certification as proposed, so runners should treat final certification status as subject to confirmation.

Both races start at 07:00 from Sucun beside Gaoming Sports Center. The published marathon route heads through Xiuli Road, Mingxi Road and Haitian Avenue before reaching rural roads and the area's extensive paddy fields, then continues via Yangxi Avenue North, Chengxi Road, Chengwu Road and Mingwu Road to finish at Mingcheng Square. The half marathon shares the opening roads before returning through Panjiang Road, Huizhi Road, the Hefu Road service road and Xiuli Road to finish back at Sucun and Gaoming Sports Center. The organiser marks both routes as provisional pending final expert measurement and later race-week confirmation.

Entry is first-come, first-served rather than ballot-based, with registration scheduled from 14 August until 18:00 on 16 October, or earlier if capacity is reached. Marathon applicants must be at least 20 and provide a qualifying record from 2024 onward, while half-marathon applicants must be at least 18 and meet the published half-marathon or 10K result requirements. The organiser also strongly recommends a recent medical assessment appropriate for endurance running.

Race-day check-in runs from 05:30 to 06:45, with runners seeded by qualifying performance and released from a single gun start. The half marathon has a three-hour limit and the marathon a six-hour limit. Electronic timing mats are placed at the start, every 5 km, the half-marathon point, turnarounds and the finish. Baggage deposit is available before the start, with collection closing at 11:00 for half-marathon runners and 14:00 for marathon runners. The course includes regular drink, water and food stations, mobile toilets and event medical support.

Race-pack collection details have not yet been published. The organiser states that packs must be collected in person with the same valid identification used for registration; proxy collection and postal delivery are not offered.