Singapore Marathon

Along the 2026 route, the road starts at 4.1 m and finishes at 3.6 m. About nine tenths of the distance lies at or below 10 m. The highest reading is 20.9 m at km 12.8, and almost as high a crest, 20.4 m, comes at km 5.5; the lowest is just below sea level at km 27.8.

Those two crests are where the early kilometres earn their climbing. From km 14 the ground never passes 8 m, so everything after it, along the waterfront and round Marina Bay, is the flat part.

The 70 m counts only the sustained rises, so a watch that adds every short rise, ramp and bridge approach will show more.

Measured

The organiser describes the marathon as a run through “winding streets” against “a backdrop of iconic skylines and cheering crowds”. Along the 2026 route that skyline comes in two pairs of passes.

The first pair is downtown. The route runs by the Esplanade at km 3.9, the Merlion at km 4.3, Lau Pa Sat at km 5.0 and the former Tanjong Pagar railway station at km 5.7, then passes the Tanjong Pagar station again at km 12.7, Lau Pa Sat at km 13.3 and the Merlion at km 13.6.

The second pair is round the bay. Gardens by the Bay is at km 15.5 and the Marina Barrage at km 16.5; the route returns past the Marina Barrage at km 33.7 and Gardens by the Bay at km 34.7. After that come the Benjamin Sheares Bridge at km 37.5, with the giant observation wheel at km 37.6, beside the Pit Building where the race began.

Measured

The organiser lists the 2026 marathon flag-off as 4:30am from the Pit Building, and describes the course as one where “heat and humidity test endurance”. Starting before dawn is the answer to that, but the first kilometres are still warm and damp.

The cut-off is 7 hours. The rules measure it “from the last starter to cross the start line”, not from the gun, so anyone who crosses the line before the last starter has a little more than seven hours. The letter beside the bib number gives the pen, set from the finish time predicted at registration, and it cannot be changed afterwards.

The organiser’s 2026 plan has complimentary early MRT trains every 15 minutes from 2:30am on marathon morning, and the last free ones leaving Bukit Batok, Jurong East, Tanah Merah and Serangoon at 4:30am. Light rain does not stop the race; the organiser reserves the right to delay, suspend or cancel it for thunderstorms or haze.

Sourced

The organiser’s race details name the start line as the Pit Building and the finish line as the National Stadium, and call the marathon a World Athletics Gold Label race. Bag deposit, if bought at registration, is at the start and the bags are collected at the finish, so the two ends are not the same place.

Sourced