The 2026 Race: A Late Date, Floods and Rain
The Laotian Times described the race as held every July, and the 2025 edition was on 19-20 July [1]. In 2026 it was pushed back after the city's tender for an organiser failed, when the only bidder did not appear before the evaluation committee on 21 May; the city re-ran the tender and aimed for 26-27 September [2]. Thailand Tri-League organised the race on those dates [3].
Demand held up. Officials said entries filled within about two hours, with 21,727 runners from 58 countries, 13,470 men and 8,257 women; 10,964 were entered for Saturday's 10 km and 4.5 km, and 10,763 for Sunday's marathon and half [4]. Officials called it the third-largest running event in Thailand by entries [4][5].
The weather nearly got in the way. A strong low-pressure system brought flash flooding to Pattaya on 23 September, and the Chonburi governor and Pattaya mayor inspected the city the next day. The mayor said all parties, including the World Athletics representative and the organiser, agreed to go ahead in full, with a contingency plan for storms, gusts or flooding on the course [5]. Both race mornings ran in continuous rain with wind at times, and the roads were wet throughout [6][7].
The Course: Beach Road, Jomtien and Sukhumvit
Every race starts and finishes at the Dolphin Roundabout on North Pattaya Road, in front of the Terminal 21 mall [3]. The marathon runs south along Pattaya Beach Road to Walking Street, cuts inland on Pattaya Sai 2, passes under the Pattaya Sai 3 flyover and takes Thappraya Road over to Jomtien at 4-6 km. It follows Jomtien Sai 2 to about 10 km, then joins Sukhumvit Road, goes north through the Pattaya Klang underpass to a U-turn before the motorway junction at 20 km, and comes back down Sukhumvit to about 28 km [3][8].
The second half is the scenic part: the length of the Jomtien beach road from about 29 km to 34 km, Thappraya Road again at 35-37 km, and Pattaya Beach Road from 38 km, before a short out-and-back on Pattaya Sai 2 past the Tiffany's show theatre to the finish [3][8].
The organiser does not publish an elevation profile. Its own description is that after the beach the course turns rolling, flat stretches mixed with gradual rises, which it calls the key test, with heat on Sukhumvit and wind on the Jomtien beach road [3]. The Thappraya Road section runs on the Khao Phra Tamnak side, and marathoners cross it twice [3][8]. The 2025 women's half-marathon winner described a bumpy course that needed careful footing [1].
The half marathon shares the first 9 km, turns at 10 km, comes back along the Jomtien beach road and over Thappraya at 14-16 km, and finishes along Pattaya Beach Road; it skips Sukhumvit entirely [9]. Saturday's 10 km stays in the north of the city, with an out-and-back on North Pattaya Road, a loop up to Naklua and a run down the beach road [3].
The Weather: Saturated Air, Then Heavy Rain
U-Tapao airport, about 30 km south of Pattaya [3], recorded 27°C at the 3.30am marathon start, with a dew point of 27°C, 100% humidity, a 12-knot wind and light rain [10]. Nothing changed for four hours: still 27°C and 100% at 7am. Rain set in again from 7.30am, turned heavy at 8.30am, and the temperature fell to 25°C with winds of up to 19-20 knots; at the 10.30am cut-off it was 26°C with light rain [10].
A dew point equal to the air temperature means sweat cannot evaporate at all. For most of the race the rain did the cooling instead, and slower marathoners had the coolest air of the morning in their last two hours. Saturday was similar: 26°C and 100% humidity with rain from 4am to 9am, moderate at the 6am-6.30am mark [11].
Do not count on rain next time. At the July 2025 race, the women's half-marathon winner said the weather was extremely hot and still very humid despite the wind from the beach [1].
Aid Stations and Cut-offs
The organiser promised water and electrolyte drinks about every 2 km and a Cool Zone after the finish [3]. The official marathon map shows 22 stations, from 2 km to the finish, with bananas at seven of them and a 'Hit the Wall' station at 32.2 km [8]. The half marathon has 12 stations, with its 'Hit the Wall' station at 11.6 km [9].
The marathon has six time limits: 12 km by 5.35am, 20 km by 6.50am, 28 km by 8.10am, 33 km by 9am, 37.5 km by 9.45am and the finish by 10.30am, seven hours after the start [8]. The half closes at 8.40am, three and a half hours after its start, with checks at 11.6 km (7.10am) and 16.5 km (7.55am) [9]. The 10 km allows two hours [3]. You must start in the block printed on your bib, and anyone who starts more than 15 minutes after the gun is disqualified [3].
The published results list 17 marathoners and 236 half marathoners whose gun times were over the limit, the slowest half at 4:24:58 [12].
Closed Roads and Safety Cover
The city arranged a full closure of the course to traffic: on Sunday from midnight to 11am for the marathon and half, and on Saturday morning for the 10 km and 4.5 km [4]. The organiser's schedule reopened roads at 9am on Saturday and 11am on Sunday [3].
The organiser listed more than 300 safety staff on the course, motorcycle teams and rescue units including a sweep behind the last runners, and medical teams along the route and at the finish [3].
How Fast the Field Is
Overall places are decided on gun time [3]. Ethiopia's Keress Tesfaye Tsegaye won the marathon in 2:32:47, from Thailand's Thanathip Dichim in 2:35:56 and Anuchit Jiw in 2:36:35. Kenya's Fridah Jepkoech won the women's race in 2:47:39, more than 16 minutes clear of Linda Janthachit in 3:04:06 [12][6]. The half marathon went to Poland's Krzysztof Tomasz Hadas in 1:09:31 and Thailand's Pareeya Sonsem in 1:23:39 [12][6]. Kenya's Nicholas Bor Kipchirchir won Saturday's 10 km in 31:24 and came back to finish second in Sunday's half [7][12].
Behind them the field thins fast. Tenth place in the marathon was 2:54:42 for men and 3:46:47 for women, and in the half 1:21:10 and 1:35:22 [12]. Only 14 of the 2,198 marathon finishers broke three hours on net time, 312 broke four, and the median was 5:10:32 [12]. The field is overwhelmingly Thai: 1,919 of the marathon finishers [12].
Prize money runs five deep in the marathon, from 50,000 baht for the winner to 9,000 for fifth, with a Thai-only category paying 15,000 to its winner and 5,000 baht to each age-group winner [3]. Fast runners can apply for Block A, just behind the elites, with a recent marathon under 3:40 for men or 4:15 for women [3].
Race Weekend Logistics
Race packs were collected at Terminal 21 on Thursday 24 September from noon to 8pm and Friday 25 September from noon to 10pm, and on Saturday 26 September from noon to 8pm for marathon and half runners only [3]. There is no postal delivery and no race-day collection; a friend can collect with your confirmation slip, a letter of authorisation and a copy of your ID [3].
Free parking was offered at Terminal 21, Central Marina, Lotus North Pattaya and Pattaya City Hall, and the organiser advised allowing at least 75-90 minutes for travel on race morning because of the closures [3]. Baggage drop opened at 2.30am on Sunday [3]. Pattaya is 147 km from Bangkok, about two hours by car [3].
Entry is cheap. In 2026 the marathon cost 800 baht for the first 1,000 entries and 950 baht after that, the half 750 or 900 baht and the 10 km 500 or 600 baht, all plus a 50 baht system fee; the 4.5 km family run was free [3]. There are no refunds, and bibs cannot be sold or transferred [3]. Marathon runners get a race singlet at the expo and a finisher T-shirt only if they finish inside the cut-off [13]; the half works the same way [14].
Should You Enter Next Year?
Yes, if you want a big, fully closed-road marathon with a seaside finish, an easy trip from Bangkok and a low entry fee [3][4]. A 2:55 marathon or a 1:21 half made the top ten in 2026 [12], so good club runners can race for places and age-group prize money.
Think twice if you want a personal best. The air was saturated from start to finish in 2026, the Thappraya section comes twice [10][8], and the half-marathon winner of the July 2025 race called the weather extremely hot [1].
The date of the next race had not been published when this was written, and it moved by two months between 2025 and 2026 [1][2]. Entries filled within hours in 2026 [4], so watch for the announcement.
Nobody from this site ran the race. This review draws on the organiser's race information and maps, the full results, airport weather records, English and Thai news reporting, and a winner's account of the 2025 race.