The Course: Point to Point Across the Old City
The marathon starts on Phaya Thai Road beside MBK Center and finishes at Sanam Luang, beside the Grand Palace. On the 2025 map it loops around Lumpini Park in the first 9 km, heads north to Victory Monument at 12.2 km and past the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall at 17 km, and crosses the Rama VIII Bridge at 19 km. From about 22 km to 35 km it runs out and back along Borommaratchachonnani Road towards Taling Chan, turning at about 29 km, then recrosses the bridge at 38 km and finishes past the Golden Mountain at 40 km, Democracy Monument and the Grand Palace [1].
The half marathon starts with the marathon and follows its route for the first 16 km or so, past Victory Monument and the King Rama V Monument, then turns south past the Golden Mountain and Democracy Monument to the finish, skipping the bridge and the western out-and-back [2][3]. The organiser calls its courses fast and flat [4].
This route has only been used since 2024; from 2018 to 2023 the race ran from Rajamangala Stadium to Democracy Monument [3]. A Sports Authority of Thailand executive said the move was forced by work on the Orange Line subway and that a return to Rajamangala will be considered once it is finished [5]. One marathoner who also ran in 2024 said a small change after the start in 2025 improved the route [6].
The Weather: A Cool, Dry Night
Don Mueang airport, about 20 km north of the start and finish, recorded 21°C at 2am, with a dew point of 16°C, 73% humidity and a 4-knot wind [7]. It cooled to 20°C by 4am and stayed there until 7am, then warmed to 22°C at 8am, 24°C at 9am and 25°C at 9.30am, when the marathon closed, with humidity falling to 50% [7].
A dew point of 15°C to 16°C is comfortable running air: sweat evaporates freely, and the heat cost is small. With a median marathon time of 4 hours 54 minutes and a typical 15-minute wait to cross the start line [8], a typical marathoner finished at around 7.10am, when it was 20°C to 21°C [7]. Both course records fell that morning [3]. This is one night's reading, so check the forecast in race week before you set a pace.
Aid Stations and Cut-offs
The 2025 marathon map shows 21 water stations: every 2 km to 10 km, then at 12.2, 14, 16.5, 18, 20, 22, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, 36, 38, 40 and 41 km and the finish, each with a medical point. There were bananas at 10, 18, 29 and 40 km and at the finish, and a sponsor's Hit The Wall station at 29 km [1]. The half had 11 stations [2].
In practice one marathoner said full-marathon runners had no water at 40 km: after the Rama VIII Bridge a fence separated them from the half-marathon lane, where the station was, so the last water they could reach was at 38.5 km. The same runner said the bottles were hard to open, and some women could not open them [6].
The listed cut-offs were 9.30am for the marathon, 6am for the half, 8.30am for the 10 km and 7.45am for the 4.5 km [9]. The organiser's 2026 rules explain the marathon limit: seven hours, counted from the last runner to cross the start at 2.30am [4]. In 2025 no marathon finisher is listed after 9.30am, but the results include 1,002 half-marathon finishers who crossed the line after 6am [8], so the half limit appears not to have been applied to the published results.
What Went Wrong: Crowds, Toilets, Bags and Shirts
With close to 48,000 entries, space was the main complaint. One marathoner said the early blocks could run freely but the later blocks filled the road, making passing hard [6], and the results show the median marathoner crossed the start line about 15 minutes after the gun and the last about 35 minutes after it [8]. A 10 km runner who took the MRT at 4.30am wrote that the train was full, that they underestimated how long it would take to reach the start, and that they still started right at the back [10].
The marathoner also said 10 km runners walked across the finishing straight before 6am to reach their own start, getting in the way of marathon finishers; that the city's toilet trucks by the start and finish could not be used; and that the baggage queue was very long because the bag trucks arrived late, with no signs to find them. They scored the race 7 out of 10, down from 9 the year before, while still running their best time since Covid [6].
After the race, runners criticised the finisher-shirt handout: staff did not mark bibs when shirts were collected, some runners went round twice and resold the extras, and many later finishers got none. The organiser took their names and promised to send shirts later [11]. Before the race, runners had complained that the race shirts ran 2 to 3 inches larger than the size chart [12].
Several men also raced on women's bibs they had bought and won women's age-group places; the organiser later re-ranked the categories [11], and the published results flag 14 entries as having run in the wrong gender category [8].
How Fast the Field Is
Ethiopia's Agunafr Bekele won the marathon in 2:14:27, ahead of Tariku Abdi in 2:19:15 and Poland's Krzysztof Hadas in 2:19:24. Kenya's Eunice Muchiri won the women's race in 2:39:27, from Ethiopia's Hajer Kahsay Berhe in 2:43:49 and Meseret Yedaw in 2:47:55 [8]. Both winning times are the course records [3]. Prize money totalled 2,488,500 baht, with 227 age-group trophies [13].
The depth drops quickly. Tenth place was 2:30:55 for men and 3:01:10 for women, only 82 marathoners broke three hours and 1,164 broke four, and the median time was 4 hours 54 minutes. The half was won in 1:05:29 by Japan's Itsuki Yumoto and 1:21:03 by Ethiopia's Yanet Oli Erena, and the 10 km in 29:07 and 33:23 [8].
Queen Suthida started the marathon and half at 2am and ran the half beside Eliud Kipchoge, finishing in 2:26:40 [14].
Race Weekend Logistics
Marathon entry cost 1,400 to 1,800 baht depending on when you entered, the half 1,300 to 1,700 and the 10 km 750 to 1,000, plus a 50-baht service fee. Race packs, with a Nike race shirt, were collected at Royal Paragon Hall in Siam Paragon from Thursday 27 to Saturday 29 November, and finishers received a medal and an e-certificate [9]; marathon and half finishers also got a finisher shirt [11].
Bangkok's governor said the BTS and MRT would run extended hours for race night [13]. The marathon and half started beside MBK Center, the 10 km and 4.5 km in front of the Supreme Court on Ratchadamnoen Nai Road, and every race finished at Sanam Luang, which served as the meeting point, food area and shuttle-bus stop [13]. The 2025 map directed marathon and half runners to the start from Siam BTS station, and 10 km and 4.5 km runners and finishers to Sanam Chai MRT station [1].
Should You Enter the 2026 Race?
Yes, if you want a night marathon through central Bangkok's landmarks with a big field, a seven-hour limit and a competitive front end. The 10 km and 4.5 km suit first-timers and visitors.
Think twice if you hate crowded roads or queues, or if you count on the cool air of 2025: one night's weather is not a guarantee.
The 2026 race changes shape. The half marathon moves to Saturday 28 November, starting at 4am from MBK Center with a three-and-a-half-hour limit. On Sunday 29 November the marathon starts at 2am, the 10 km at 6am and the 4.5 km at 6.45am, all from in front of the Supreme Court at Sanam Luang. The organiser says the split is for better management and that roads will be fully closed on both days. Marathon fees are again 1,400 to 1,800 baht, and race packs move to the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center from Thursday 26 November [4]. Check the 2026 route map before race day, since the marathon start has moved.
Nobody from this site ran the race. This review draws on the official route maps, the organiser's 2026 race information, the full results, airport weather records, Thai and English press reports, an event listing, and two runners' own accounts.