2026 BYD S’pore Marathon: 9,000 local entries sold out 3 months before race

Local entries for the full 42.195km event of the BYD Singapore International Marathon 2026 presented by adidas are sold out.

This is three months before the race weekend from Dec. 4 to 6.

The full marathon event has a field of 12,000 runners: 9,000 Singapore-based runners and 3,000 slots reserved for international runners.

Registration for the half marathon has slightly under 30 per cent of its 18,000 places available ahead of the Sep. 30 entry deadline.

First-timers

First-timers are making their presence felt in this race.

Close to 40 per cent of the marathon and half marathon participants are taking on their respective distances for the first time.

More than 60 per cent of participants are Singaporeans.

Runners from 95 countries have registered.

Among those first-timers is Ethan Sam, 18.

His mother, Joy Tam, said: “When my 18-year-old son told me he had signed up for his first marathon, I was proud that he had taken up the personal challenge, but I won’t deny that I had some worrying thoughts. While he is athletic, I don’t know if his body could handle running 42km at a stretch.”

Tan also shared that she sent him “all the race information” to “read carefully and be well prepared”.

Daryl Yeo, deputy chief executive officer of development at Sport Singapore, said no more vacancies for local entries “three months before race day shows the popularity of running within the local community”.

“Sport Singapore has worked closely with SGIM (Singapore International Marathon) to improve runner experience and safety from course design to runner preparation," he added.

Others will also return to the full marathon this year.

Kelvin Chua, 48, will run his fourth Singapore marathon in December.

“I don’t race to win; I race so my children can see what it means to keep going. After Covid, I started running and cycling simply to get out of the house and get moving again. I lost 15kg, and what began as a way to rebuild myself became a passion for endurance racing,” Chua said.

He also added that the marathon in December was a way of “closing the year with one final challenge”.

Route

The routes for all categories have been revealed 16-weeks ahead of the race weekend.

The West Coast Highway climb, which fell at the 32km mark in 2024, has been moved to around the 8km mark, placing it in the cooler, darker early hours of the morning.

This removes the possibility of runners having to enter the closing stretch of the race in the late morning heat.

The course is also mostly mono-directional, with the only exception being a 300-metre stretch across Marina Barrage, easing congestion caused by runners making a return on the same part of the course.

At East Coast Park, organisers have secured permission, for the first time, to incorporate both the cycling path and service road into the route.

Runners will enter East Coast Park via the cycling path and return via the service road.

Meanwhile, the Benjamin Sheares Bridge returns for both the full and half marathon.

“We want Benjamin Sheares Bridge to become that badge of honour for runners here,” Leon Lai, chief executive officer of SG International Marathon Pte Ltd said, regarding the decision to incorporate the section of the route.

Recognising the challenge, runners will be greeted with a “Welcome to Sheares” gantry and can refuel at a specially prepared food zone before they begin their climb.

Extending beyond standard race fare of isotonic drinks and race gels, runners can expect local snacks served in easy-to-consume portions.

Carbonated soft drinks will also be provided.

Volunteer cheer crews will also be positioned along the approach to motivate runners.

The half marathon follows much of the same route, but avoids the Marina Barrage crossing, making it mono-directional from start to finish.

Training guide

An official training guide, developed alongside Singapore’s national marathon record holder Soh Rui Yong, is available to the public.

The guide, “A Guide to Going the Distance in Singapore”, covers pacing, heat adaptation, race nutrition, recovery and injury prevention, alongside week-by-week training plans for all four distances, from 5km to the full marathon.

To date, it has recorded more than 2,000 downloads.

Registration information, the full 2026 route and the official training guide are available at https://singaporeinternationalmarathon.com/.

Event schedule

The full marathon event will flag off at 4:30am on Dec. 6.

The half-marathon event will flag off at 4:30am on Dec. 5.

The 5km and 10km events will flag off at 9:30pm and 8:30pm respectively on Dec. 4.

The events will begin at the starting line at the F1 Pit Building and conclude at the finishing line at the National Stadium.

The 1.6km and 600m events for children will flag off on the morning of Dec. 4.

Both events will start and end at the Great Eastern Promenade.