Shanghai Marathon 2026: date, entry and training

Can you still enter the Shanghai Marathon 2026?

Not through the general lottery: it ran from April 29 (3 pm) to May 29, 2026 (noon), on the official site shang-ma.com and the Shanghai Marathon app. Results came out on June 30, 2026, and selected runners had to pay by noon on July 20. Entry fees are not given in the official announcement from the city of Shanghai.

Direct entry was reserved for the top finishers of three 2026 Shanghai half marathons (the women's half, the Suzhou Creek half and the Shanghai Half Marathon), within the same registration window. For questions in English, the organizer lists foreigner@shmarathon.com, Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm Shanghai time.

Date, start and format of the 2026 edition

The Shanghai Marathon 2026 starts on Sunday, December 6, on the Bund, at the Bund Bull (Jinniu Square) in Huangpu district. According to the city of Shanghai, capacity grows from 23,000 to 30,000 runners for this 30th edition. Founded in 1996, the race became the first event in China to earn World Athletics Platinum Label status, in 2020.

• — Marathon (26.2 miles): wave starts from 7 am Shanghai time.
• — Wheelchair marathon: start at 6:45 am.
• — Mini marathon: a separate event on Saturday, December 5, 15,000 places, no performance requirement, with entries opening from July.

The official announcement gives neither the finish location nor the time limit: check both in the race guide published by the organizer before you settle on a race pace.

Will the Shanghai Marathon be a Major in 2027?

Possibly, on one condition: passing the assessment on December 6, 2026. Named an Abbott World Marathon Majors candidate in 2024, the Shanghai Marathon must meet strict criteria over three years. Assessed again in November 2025, it passed stage one; if it meets the criteria again in 2026, it will join the Majors in 2027, according to the Abbott World Marathon Majors.

The date of the 2027 edition has not been announced yet. The race is traditionally held in late November or early December: December 1 in 2024, late November in 2025, December 6 in 2026.

How to train for the Shanghai Marathon with Running Workout

For the December 6, 2026 edition, it is too late for a full plan: the Running Workout marathon plan lasts 12 to 16 weeks, and a 12-week plan would have had to start on September 14. If you already have a bib, ask your connected assistant (Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini) to read your recent weeks on Garmin Connect and build the remaining sessions instead: it can create each workout and put it on a date in your Garmin Connect calendar, from where it reaches your watch.

For 2027, the marathon plan builds marathon pace in blocks that get longer week after week and sends every session to your watch through Garmin Connect. For an early-December race, a 16-week plan starts in mid-August, so most of the build falls in late summer and autumn. Plan for the time difference too: in December, Shanghai is 13 hours ahead of New York and 8 hours ahead of London.

Frequently asked questions