Marathon Trip Your trips on every device: sign in, or make a free account when you save one.
Signed in on this browser.
Sign in My marathons Account and dataLocked out? An export link you keep still opens your list in any browser.
No account: email it to me
One email with this trip and a link to open it again. We do not keep the address and send nothing else.
Only a race from our list can be emailed. An account keeps this one.
What we keep, and what we do notCheck your inbox at to confirm it.
Browse the racesEach edition the day it comes out, and nothing else. Off again with one click. How it is kept.
Flat to km 11, a climb of 39 m to km 16, then downhill from km 20 to km 35.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
km 0mile 0
Start and finish line at the north end of the university's central boulevard, read off the organiser's route map; the map draws no scale, so the position is good to about 100 m.
km 1.2mile 0.7
The world's largest university for women, whose campus roads carry the first 10 km and the last 2 km.
km 2.3mile 1.4
On the campus oval's side of the course, passed again at km 3.3 and km 5.2.
km 5.9mile 3.7
The Riyadh Metro station beside the campus boulevard, 127 m from the line; the course passes it at km 5.9 and again at 7.3.
km 6.6mile 4.1
The university hospital at the campus's south end, 165 m from the hook where the course turns back at km 6.6.
km 9.7mile 6
km 23.3mile 14.5
The farthest point from the start, about 6 km west along Anas Bin Malik Street; the course turns back at km 23.3.
km 35.2mile 21.9
Height drawn many times taller than life. Heights: GEDTM30.
Dashed: bridge
Your 5 gels, at the orange marksFor a 4:00 finish, one every 40 minutes
Get them on AmazonAmazon partner link
Riyadh stands on a plateau, and this course has a shape. The first 10 km stay between 624 m and 632 m. From km 10 the road climbs for about 6.5 km, from 631 m to 670 m, gaining 39.5 m at about 0.6% on average.
From km 17 to km 27 the course stays high, between 656 m and 673 m; the highest point is at km 20.3. After that it drops, to 633 m by km 33 and to the lowest point of 618 m at km 35.3, and it finishes at 626 m. In all the marathon climbs 97.3 m, so the middle third is where the pacing is decided.
Measured
The race starts and finishes at the university. The first leg is a hook around the campus, turning at about km 6.6 near the King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz University Hospital. The second runs the long diagonal avenue to the interchange at its south-east end and turns at about km 9.7.
The farthest point comes at about km 23.3, about 6 km west along Anas Bin Malik Street. The last turn is at about km 35.2, at the end of the road running north-east from the north-west roundabout. The organiser’s map is drawn without a scale and its 20 and 25 km marks sit about 1.4 km earlier than the distance along the roads, so these kilometres are approximate. It is the map for the January 2026 race, the last one run.
Measured
For the race on 31 January 2026 the race village opened at 05:30, the elite marathon went at 06:20 and the mass start at 06:25. The half marathon followed at 07:40 and 07:45, the 10 km at 09:00 and the 5 km at 11:30.
The organiser’s FAQ puts refreshment stations every 2.5 km and at the finish line. The chip in the bib is activated at the start and checked every 5 km. Bibs are not handed out on race morning, and the village has luggage storage tagged with the bib number.
Sourced
A twice-run loop through Riyadh starting and finishing at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, one of the newest races on the World Athletics elite calendar.
The Riyadh Marathon is a loop of 42.2 km with 97.3 m of climbing. Its lowest point is 618 m and its highest 673 m above sea level.
Entry through the organiser
Saudi Sports for All Federation, a third party. We take no entries and have no part in the race.
Doha, Qatar
Fri 15 Jan 202742.2 kmClimb 50 m
Climb summed after smoothing the heights over 1 km. The edge is this course's height profile on one scale for every race: 250 m above its lowest point fills it. Photo: Doha, by Francisco Anzola, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Sun 17 Jan 202742.2 kmClimb 13 m
Climb summed after smoothing the heights over 1 km. The edge is this course's height profile on one scale for every race: 250 m above its lowest point fills it. Photo: Burj Khalifa, by Tim.Reckmann, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Luxor, Egypt
Fri 8 Jan 202742.2 km
Photo: Karnak, by Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Prague, Czechia
Sun 2 May 202742.2 kmClimb 98 m
Climb summed after smoothing the heights over 1 km. The edge is this course's height profile on one scale for every race: 250 m above its lowest point fills it. Photo: Charles Bridge, by Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Hamburg, Germany
Sun 25 Apr 202742.2 kmClimb 98 m
Climb summed after smoothing the heights over 1 km. The edge is this course's height profile on one scale for every race: 250 m above its lowest point fills it. Photo: Elbphilharmonie, by Burkhard Mücke, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Ottawa, Canada
Sun 30 May 202742.2 kmClimb 99 m
Climb summed after smoothing the heights over 1 km. The edge is this course's height profile on one scale for every race: 250 m above its lowest point fills it. Photo: Parliament Hill, by David Samuel, User:Hellodavey1902, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.