Course Map
Route based on 2025 course — may differ slightly from this year.
About this Race
The Beijing Marathon is China's oldest and most prestigious road race, beginning in the vast expanse of Tiananmen Square beneath the portrait of Mao and the gates of the Forbidden City. The course is largely flat, running out through the capital's grand boulevards and modern districts on wide, fast roads with only gentle variation. Staged in autumn for cooler air, it is one of the country's most coveted lottery entries and carries deep national significance. Conditions and air quality can be the great variables, more so than the forgiving terrain. It suits runners who want a historic, ceremonial start in the symbolic center of China and a flat course that rewards steady pacing.
Course Insight
Beijing opens with grandeur, launching from the vast expanse of Tiananmen Square down broad, arrow-straight ceremonial boulevards before working toward the Olympic Park and its landmark stadium. It's a flat, fast course on wide roads with little to disrupt a steady cadence. With so few natural brakes, the discipline to hold back early is entirely self-imposed. Autumn timing generally brings cooler, drier conditions suited to quick times. Treat the imposing open straights as a rhythm exercise rather than an invitation to surge, and the flatness pays you back in the closing kilometres.
Difficulty Breakdown
A fast, runner-friendly course.
Course Details
- Course type
- Point-To-Point
- Elevation gain
- 100m
- Elevation loss
- 110m
- Highest point
- 62m
- Lowest point
- 41m
- Net elevation
- -10m
- Start
- Tiananmen Square
- Cutoff time
- 6h 15m
Course Records
- Men's
- 2:07:06 — Mathew Kisorio (Kenya), 2019
- Women's
- 2:19:39 — Sun Yingjie (China), 2003
Race History
The Beijing Marathon was first held in 1981, making it one of the oldest marathons in China, beginning in the symbolic vastness of Tiananmen Square. For its early decades it was primarily an elite men's race before opening into a mass event of enormous popularity. It grew into China's most prestigious marathon and one of the country's most coveted lottery entries. Run each autumn, it now draws tens of thousands of runners through the heart of the capital.
Plan Your Trip
Everything you need to know to get there, get settled, and get to the start line.
- Nearest airport(s)
- Beijing Capital (PEK) and Beijing Daxing (PKX)
- Best area to stay
- Wangfujing and Dongcheng for central hotels near the Tiananmen start, the Chaoyang CBD for modern upscale stays, and the Olympic Green area for proximity to the finish.
- Getting to the start
- The start is at Tiananmen Square; take the Subway to Tiananmen East/West or Qianmen early, as the square requires security screening and roads close.