Countdown to the Haidian Marathon 2026
36
Days
16
Hours
57
Minutes
39
Seconds
INNOVATE FORWARD
LIVE IMAGES
HIGHLIGHTS
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Race Apparel
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Finisher Medal
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Finisher Cloak
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“Haidian Marathon Gifts” Cultural and Creative Merchandise
The Haidian Marathon course is located in northern Haidian, passing through Cuihu National Urban Wetland Park, Daoxiang Lake Park, and the Jingxi Rice Conservation Planting Area, connecting the four towns of Xibeiwang, Shangzhuang, Wenquan, and Sujiatao. Along the way, runners are surrounded by forests, water birds at play, and rolling waves of rice—an immersive experience of Haidian’s ecological tapestry of “mountains, waters, forests, fields, lakes, and grasslands.” Cuihu National Urban Wetland Park is Beijing’s only national-level urban wetland park, where grey herons call and ruddy shelducks frolic—this is the “migratory bird playlist” belonging to runners. At the 38-kilometer mark, the over 300-year-old Jingxi Rice Fields surge with golden waves, carrying the faint aroma of rice.
This 42.195-kilometer course is gradually revealing its one-of-a-kind soul—it is a racing course, an ecological course, and even more so a cultural course. The full 42.195 kilometers is renowned for being “flat and open, with few turns and gentle elevation changes,” with most sections nearly “a level plain.” In 2025, the second Haidian Marathon saw 2,749 runners achieve personal bests (PB), with nearly one-third of participants shattering their personal records. Men’s champion Cao Tianxiang broke the race record with a time of 2: 18: 22. Since then, Haidian Marathon has earned another name: “PB Holy Land.”
Along the course of the two editions of Haidian Marathon, over 30 mass cultural performance programs are spread out in a staggered arrangement—Cao’s kites dance in the sky, Jingxi shadow puppets flicker with light and shadow, dragon and lion dances stand majestic and imposing, flower stick and waist drum performances are passionate and unrestrained... They are not mere embellishments along the race course, but a flowing “cultural corridor.” Every time runners pass a spot, they turn a page of Haidian’s story.
In 2026, this course that runners call “a track where you can take deep breaths” remains online—you are not running through city roads, but every step is a gift of scenery. In 2026, the cultural experience is comprehensively upgraded. Rooted in Haidian’s unique gene as an “education highland,” Haidian Marathon is launching the “Haidian Marathon Alumni Association” for the first time. The finisher’s cape is specially designed in the style of an academic gown—the moment you cross the finish line, you are not “finishing,” but “graduating.” This 42.195-kilometer course is the distance from “enrollment” to “graduation,” a road paved with Haidian’s distinctive scholarly temperament.