Guides · Tue 27 Oct 2026
Taipei Marathon weekend: Sunday 20 December 2026, planned properly
The Taipei Marathon, a World Athletics Gold Label race, starts at City Hall Plaza at 6.30 on Sunday morning, 20 December 2026, with about 28,000 runners across the full and half. Entry for 2026 was by lottery and is closed, so this guide is for entered runners, their supporters, and anyone planning a running trip around the weekend.
The short answer: The Taipei Marathon 2026 runs on Sunday 20 December 2026, organised by the Taipei City Government with the Chinese Taipei Athletics Association and the Chinese Taipei Road Running Association. The marathon starts at 6.30 in the morning and the half marathon at 7.00, both from Taipei City Hall Plaza, which the regulations call Civic Plaza. The official regulations cap the fields at 9,000 for the marathon, 19,000 for the half marathon and 30 for the half marathon wheelchair group, about 28,000 runners in all. Entry was by lottery in mid 2026 and is closed, and there is no entry on the day. What follows is the weekend as the organiser's published regulations set it out.
The race, as published
The marathon assembles at 6.00 for a 6.30 start, with a time limit of five hours thirty minutes. The half marathon assembles at 6.30 for a 7.00 start, the wheelchair half at 6.55, with a three hour limit. Entry fees in the regulations were NT$2,200 for the marathon and NT$1,600 for the half. The marathon is run under World Athletics road race label rules, and the race holds Gold Label status. Runners who miss the cut off are directed to the sweeper vehicle as the roads reopen, which the regulations state plainly and visiting runners should take seriously: this is a fast, fully closed city course, run to international standards.
The course in outline
The marathon leaves City Hall Plaza west along Renai Road, crosses the presidential quarter on Ketagalan Boulevard and Zhongshan South Road, runs north over the Zhongshan Bridge into the Dazhi riverside, follows the Keelung River parks east on the riverside expressway and park paths, and comes back into the city on Nanjing East Road to finish inside Taipei Stadium. The half marathon shares the start and the central city section, then turns back over the Maishuai Bridge to finish on Nanjing East Road, short of the Jiankang Road junction. For supporters, the practical viewing points follow from that shape: the start plaza in the dark, Renai Road or the Ketagalan Boulevard area in the first hour, and the Nanjing East Road finish straight for the rest of the morning. Road closures follow the course across the centre of the city all morning, so crossing the route by car or taxi is a plan to abandon until the roads reopen.
Race week: collecting the pack
There is no collection on race day, and the regulations are explicit that runners who have not collected cannot start. In person collection runs at the Marathon Expo at the Taipei Expo Park exhibition hall in Yuanshan on Thursday 17 and Friday 18 December, 1pm to 8pm, and Saturday 19 December, 11am to 6pm. Bring the registration receipt and identification; a friend can collect for you with both parties' identification and a signed collection. Runners who chose delivery should have their pack by Wednesday 16 December, and the association's office handles late collection in the week after the race for runners who missed out, without the race day items. Saturday is therefore a short day by design: collect in the morning if you have not already, and keep the rest of it quiet.
The weekend around the race
Taipei in the third week of December is in its winter season: cool, often dry, and dressed for Christmas. The weekend's other anchor is across the river in Banqiao, where Christmasland in New Taipei City fills the civic plaza and station squares with light installations and concerts from 13 November to 27 December 2026. For a supporter, Saturday evening at Christmasland and an early night is a workable shape; for a runner, it is a lot of standing the night before a 6.30 start, and the expo plus an early dinner is the better plan. Monday is the day to spend: the city's hot spring district at Beitou, a long lunch, and the observation deck are all kinder to tired legs than a Sunday night flight home.
If you are planning to run a future edition
The 2026 entry pattern is the guide to 2027. Guaranteed entry went first to runners with qualifying times at certified races, who registered in late June; the general marathon lottery opened for registration in early July, with the draw in mid July, and the half marathon lottery followed in late July and August. A limited first come entry tier for the marathon sold alongside. In other words, a Taipei Marathon entry is decided by August, not in the autumn, and international runners should work to the same calendar: watch the official race site from June, register inside the window, and book travel only once the draw confirms a place. More running listings are under sport.
Sources: the official 2026 Taipei Marathon regulations published by the organiser at taipeicitymarathon.com, for the date, start times, field caps, fees, time limits, course descriptions, pack collection times and venue, and the entry timetable; the Tourism Administration listing for Christmasland in New Taipei City 2026, for its dates of 13 November to 27 December 2026. Checked 27 October 2026.
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