9,000 local spots for BYD Marathon sold out; 5,000 half-marathon places still available

SINGAPORE – More than three months before the race, local entries for the BYD Marathon, the 42.195km flagship race of the BYD Singapore International Marathon (SGIM) presented by adidas, have sold out.

The weekend event will be held from Dec 4 to Dec 6.

All the 9,000 places for Singapore-based runners have been snapped up, while a limited number of the 3,000 spots for international runners still remain.

Among the local participants is Kelvin Chua, who will run his fourth Singapore marathon.

The 48-year-old regional sales director for commercial kitchen equipment, who ran in the virtual and road versions in 2020, 2022 and 2024, said the marathon helped him to “rebuild myself”.

He added: “After the Covid-19 pandemic, I started running and cycling simply to get out of the house and get moving again. I (went) from 82kg to 67kg, and what began as a way to rebuild myself became a passion for endurance racing.

“The marathon in December has become my way of closing the year with one final challenge. I don’t race to win. I race so that my children can see what it means to keep going.”

Chua has been planning his strategy to tackle the 42km race after the organisers announced the route earlier in 2026.

He added: “The training guide (from the organisers) has been very useful, with its week-by-week plan and advice on training injury-free. Pushing your limits is about knowing when to push and when to listen to your body.”

Registration for the adidas half marathon is also nearing capacity, with just under 30 per cent of its 18,000 places available ahead of the Sept 30 entry deadline.

Across the field, close to 40 per cent of marathon participants and half-marathon participants are taking on their respective distances for the first time. Among these debutants, more than 60 per cent are Singaporeans.

The 2026 field also reflects the event’s widening international reach, with runners from 95 countries registered across the race programme.

To help runners with their training, the courses have been confirmed 16 weeks ahead of race weekend, with consideration for alleviating the challenge of running the marathon in Singapore’s hot and humid climate.

The West Coast Highway climb 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, removing the possibility of runners entering the closing stretch of the race in the late morning heat.

At the 36km mark of the marathon and the 16km point of the half-marathon, the Benjamin Sheares Bridge returns as a defining feature of the 2026 course. Participants will be greeted with a “Welcome to Sheares” gantry and can refuel at a specially prepared food zone before they begin their climb.

At East Coast Park, runners will enter via the cycling path and return via the service road for the first time.

The course is also now 99 per cent mono-directional, with the only exception being a 300m stretch across Marina Barrage, easing congestion that can be created by runners making a return on the same part of the course.

Along with the course reveal, an SGIM official training guide, developed with Singapore’s national marathon record holder Soh Rui Yong, was also made available to the public, including to runners not registered for the event.

A Guide To Going The Distance In Singapore, which already has more than 2,000 downloads, covers pacing, heat adaptation, race nutrition, recovery and injury prevention, alongside week-by-week training plans for the four distances from 5km to the full marathon.

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

SG International Marathon chief executive officer Leon Lai said: “Selling out our local places this early tells us how far distance running has come in Singapore. We’ve also made significant changes in our race operations this year, releasing information as early as possible so that runners can better plan and train for race day.

“Our ambition is to pursue a Platinum Label for the marathon, the highest tier in the sport and one that no marathon in South-east Asia has ever held. Reaching that level means continually raising the standard across safety, course operations and the international calibre of the field.

“We have received positive feedback from runners and we will continue to build upon this progress.”