Gyeongju Marathon 2026

Gyeongju Marathon 2026 is one of South Korea's established autumn road races, bringing elite and mass-participation running to the former capital of the Silla kingdom. The event has roots dating to 1993, is a full member race of AIMS and is listed as a World Athletics Elite Label event. Its setting gives the race a distinctive destination character: Gyeongju is renowned for Silla-era heritage, archaeological sites and a historic city landscape.

All three main races use Gyeongju Civic Stadium as the event base. The marathon is a city loop that returns to the stadium after passing through central Gyeongju, including sections around Oreung, Cheomseongdae, the Gyeongju Historic Areas, the Hwangnyongsa temple site and riverside roads. The half marathon and 10K use shorter versions of the same city network. Participants assemble from 07:00 KST, with the full marathon and half marathon starting in assigned pace groups from 08:00, followed by the 10K. Timing is measured by net time from the start mat.

Traffic restrictions are tied to strict race limits. The marathon has a five-hour limit, the half marathon two hours 30 minutes and the 10K one hour 30 minutes. The official participant guide states that water and sports drinks are provided every 5 km and at the finish, sponges are available from 7.5 km at roughly 5 km intervals, and nutrition is supplied at two points on the course. Changing rooms and baggage storage operate at the assembly area.

Domestic participant packs, including the bib, disposable timing chip and commemorative items, are delivered before race day. Overseas participants instead collect their items from the event information booth at Gyeongju Civic Stadium on race day. General entry includes the commemorative event T-shirt, while the lower-priced Mania entry does not. Finishers receive a finisher medal onsite.

Registration for the 2026 edition opened in late May and closed in early June after the available field filled. Runners travelling to Gyeongju should use the official participant guide for final traffic, start-group and race-day instructions, as operational details can still be updated by the organiser.