My marathons

盐城马拉松 (Yancheng Marathon)

The organiser has not published a date. Yancheng
Yancheng railway station
Yancheng railway station. Photograph by 小书桐, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The course

In 2026 the course started and finished at the Yancheng Olympic Sports Center and linked the Big Bronze Horse, the New Fourth Army Memorial Hall, the Chuanchang River belt and the Chinese Begonia Garden.

The course in short 2 lines
  • From the Olympic Sports Center past the Big Bronze HorseOlympic Sports Center start and finish, bronze horse, memorial hall, river, begonia garden.
  • 42,145 applicants for 15,000 places in 202615,000 places, 42,145 applicants, 75.45% of drawn runners from outside the city.
Course notes 2 short reads on the course
Whole courseGeometryFrom the Olympic Sports Center past the Big Bronze HorseOlympic Sports Center start and finish, bronze horse, memorial hall, river, begonia garden.

The 2026 race, the seventh since 2019, started at 7:30 on 29 March at the north gate of the Olympic Sports Center stadium. The organiser describes a route that begins and ends at the Olympic Sports Center and strings together city landmarks and green spaces: the Big Bronze Horse, the New Fourth Army Memorial Hall, the Chuanchang River scenic belt and the Chinese Begonia Garden.

For 2026 the organiser also removed the steep climbing sections and gave the marathon and half marathon physically separate finishes.

Sourced

Whole courseConditions42,145 applicants for 15,000 places in 202615,000 places, 42,145 applicants, 75.45% of drawn runners from outside the city.

Entry to the 2026 edition was by draw. The organiser reported 42,145 applicants, a record, for a field of 15,000 across the marathon and half marathon, and said 75.45% of the runners drawn lived outside Yancheng.

Since 2019 the race has drawn about 100,000 runners from nearly 30 countries and regions, by the organiser’s count. The organiser offered free public transport, free entry to scenic spots and late hotel check-out to 2026 participants.

Sourced

Race fuel

Energy gel
An energy gel sachet
Illustration · drag to turn

5 gels for Yancheng, plus 1 spare

Finish

One every 40 minutes, by the clock:

  1. km 7mile 4.4
  2. km 14.1mile 8.7
  3. km 21.1mile 13.1
  4. km 28.1mile 17.5
  5. km 35.2mile 21.8

Our pick: SiS BETA Fuel gel, box of 6, strawberry and lime. 40 g of carbohydrate a gel, about twice a usual gel, from two kinds of sugar your body takes up side by side.

Easy to forget on race morning: pack them with your bib the night before.

Get it on Amazon

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In Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Salted Caramel, 24-pack, the best seller there.

Outside the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the UK and Ireland, Spain and Portugal, Italy, the rest of the EU and Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Chocolate Outrage, 24-pack on Amazon.com, the best seller there.

Anti-chafe
Compeed Anti-blister stick
Photo: Compeed

Compeed

Compeed anti-blister stick, 8 ml

Best selling on Amazon amazon.nl, read 2 Nov

An invisible layer before the start keeps seams, straps and shoes from rubbing skin raw.

Put it on before you leave for the start: heels and toes, inner thighs, under a bra or heart-rate strap.

Try it on a long run first, like everything you use on race day.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Number belt
A race number belt
Illustration · drag to turn

Compressport Race Belt

Holds your bib without safety pins through your top, with loops for up to 8 gels.

Clip the bib on the night before, so it goes on with your shorts in the morning.

Keep the number on the front, where officials and photographers can see it.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Electrolytes
A tube of electrolyte tablets
Illustration · drag to turn

SiS Hydro electrolyte tablets, tube of 20

One tablet in a bottle puts back some of the salt you sweat out.

One tablet in 500 ml of water in the hour before the start.

Only if you have used them in training: nothing new on race day.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Blister plasters
Compeed Blister plasters, medium, 6
Photo: Compeed

Compeed

Compeed blister plasters, medium, 6

Best selling on Amazon amazon.nl, read 2 Nov

One in a pocket cushions a blister if one starts.

Put it on clean, dry skin and leave it until it comes off by itself.

Give a couple to whoever comes to cheer, so they are there at the km you need them.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.
distance
42.2 km26.2 mi

Trip

Getting a place

Entry through the organiser

Entry details on the organiser’s site →

The organiser, a third party. We take no entries and have no part in the race.

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