2026 Amazing Thailand Pattaya Marathon Sept. 26-27

PATTAYA—As a seaside resort known for cooling off, the City of Pattaya will see thousands of citizens and visitors take to the streets and endure the heat on Sept. 26-27. Rather than enjoy the refreshing waters of the Pattaya Bay, they will be sweating and grunting their way over a 42-kilometer plus course during the 2026 Amazing Thailand Pattaya Marathon.

Since its inauguration 33 years ago, the two-day event has seen its largest crowds ever in recent years, with thousands of runners entered from across Thailand and around the globe. Over 20,000 people have participated in the two-day event over recent years in some form as runners, spectators, or organizers.

Amazing Thailand Pattaya Marathon is an annual international marathon race that is usually held on the 4th Sunday of September in Pattaya. As a World Athletics International Standard Road Race, it has grown significantly since its inaugural race in 1993—and the last year’s event attracted a total of 20,250 entrants for all categories. There are five categories of competition: the full marathon, the half marathon, the 10-km. run, the 4.5-km. wheelchair race, and the 4.5-km. Family Run Race.

But the runners won’t be taking on the heat just for the fun of it. There is over 0.76 million Thai baht in prize money, including 50,000B for the grand prize winners.

This year the event will take place on North Pattaya Road and Beachfront Road. The organizer is Thailand Tri-League, one of the most successful road running event promoters in the nation.

The Pattaya marathon is the most popular mass participation event in the city each year. The course distances 42.19 km., 21.1 km., 10 km., and 4.5 km. The runners will need to deal with many challenging conditions such as rising street temperatures on flat and rolling roads, the sun-baked Sukhumvit highway, and sea winds along the Jomtien and Pattaya beach front roads.

 The event also consists of various family, social, sporting, and entertainment activities for people of all ages.

Last year’s Amazing Thailand Pattaya Marathon featured national and international runners. Tariku Abdi from Ethiopia won the men’s full marathon with a time of 2:25:03. Ethiopian runners dominated the field, placing in the top three of the full marathon event. For the women’s full marathon, Haruna Takano from Japan won with a time of 2:49:45.

The top three finishers in last year’s full marathon (men and women) were as follows—Men’s Podium (Full Marathon 42.195 km):

First Place: Tariku Abdi (ETH) – 2:25:03, Second Place: Alemu Miko (ETH) – 2:33:13, Third Place: Kindu Tiruneh (ETH) – 2:35:00. Women’s Podium (Full Marathon 42.195 km): First place: Haruna Takano (JPN) – 2:49:45, Second Place: Ling Wu (CHN) – 2:51:46, Third Place: Yesheemebet Taso (ETH) – 2:55:47.

The Tourism and Sports Office of Pattaya manages the event with a goal of maintaining the city’s marathon competition on an international level. The event also serves as a boost for tourism and athletic opportunity, enhancing Pattaya’s reputation as a “Sports City.” Also, the department wants to encourage young people and the general public to engage in physical activities and promote a healthy lifestyle.

The heat will be on but the effort will be well worth it for all participating in the 2026 Amazing Thailand Pattaya Marathon!

Thanks to PI-YA-WAT-CHA-RA for his great photos taken at last years marathon.