43rd Zengwen Reservoir Marathon 2026

The 43rd Zengwen Reservoir Marathon returns to Tainan on Sunday, 13 December 2026, continuing a race first staged in 1983 and described by Tainan City Government as Taiwan’s oldest marathon. The event is co-organised by Tainan City Government and the Chinese Taipei Athletics Association, with the full-marathon course recognised in the official regulations as a World Athletics-certified route.

The programme has four official distances: 42.195K marathon, 21.3K Challenge, 12K Road Run and 3K Healthy Leisure Run. Starts are staggered from the Zengwen Reservoir office area at 07:00, 07:10, 07:20 and 07:30 respectively. Published limits are 6 hours 30 minutes for the marathon, 3 hours 30 minutes for 21.3K, two hours for 12K and 50 minutes for 3K. Field limits are 500, 1,000, 1,500 and 800 runners.

The fully closed road course starts beside the Southern Region Water Resources Branch and runs through the reservoir landscape. Longer races pass Zengwen No. 3 Bridge, the riverside recreation area, Zengwen No. 4 Bridge, the Eye of Zengwen and the dam crest. Marathoners repeat sections of this corridor through three turnarounds before returning to the Water Resources Branch. The 21.3K uses the same main reservoir corridor to its first turnaround, while the 12K turns at the dam crest and the 3K uses a shorter route to the Dongkou cycling recreation area.

Online registration ran from 30 June until 23:59 on 2 October 2026 and is now closed unless the organiser announces otherwise. Marathon, 21.3K and 12K runners use disposable bib-mounted timing chips; the 3K is untimed. Participant materials can be sent by post within Taiwan, with the regulations stating they are scheduled to arrive about one week before race day. Organised race-day shuttles are offered from Taipei, Taichung/Changhua, Kaohsiung and Tainan, and baggage storage opens at the venue from 05:00.

Participant benefits vary by distance but include an event singlet or shirt, bib, insurance, finisher medal, post-race meal and electronic certificate. Marathon and 21.3K finishers also receive a towel and ZW shoe bag. Marathon aid stations are scheduled to provide water, sports drink, chocolate, bananas and seasonal fruit. The prize programme includes overall and age-group awards, led by NT$50,000 first-place prizes for both the men’s and women’s marathon.