The Course: Out to Cristo Rei and Back, Twice
The race starts and finishes at the Nicolau Lobato Presidential Palace in Bairro Pité, and the course runs along the Dili waterfront to Cristo Rei and back [1]. The half marathon is one out-and-back [2]. On the official maps it heads north to the sea and east along Avenida de Portugal past Motael Church and Dili port, follows the shore through Lecidere and past Sant'Ana, Bekaril and Areia Branca, and turns on the headland below the Cristo Rei statue. The return uses the same road until the last 2 km, which come straight back along Avenida Nicolau Lobato to the palace [3].
The marathon map shows the same line with kilometre markers only up to 21 [3], and the timing splits, taken at 10.55 km, 21.1 km and 31.65 km, point to two laps of the half-marathon course [4]. A pre-race feature by an Australian running site says the same: the marathon uses the coastal circuit twice [5].
The organiser calls the route flat and fast, with minimal elevation change, and says it is World Athletics certified and AIMS accredited [1][2]. It was a new route for 2026, designed to show off the coastline while disrupting less city traffic [2]. The same palace-to-Cristo-Rei half-marathon course was used for the national selection race in May [6].
Aid Stations and Cut-offs
The organiser's aid-station maps show seven paired water stations and medical tents on the marathon and half-marathon route: on Avenida Nicolau Lobato near the start, by the Portuguese embassy, at Sant'Ana, twice along the Metiaut shore, at Areia Branca and near the beach below Cristo Rei [3]. Because the course is an out-and-back, you pass each one going out and coming back. A separate station serves the 5 km [3].
Of a budget of about US$400,000, the organising committee said around US$300,000 would go on publicity materials, transport, and fruit and water for runners, and that every participant would get a medal [7].
No cut-off was published on the official site [2]. The slowest of the 50 marathon finishers took 5:39:14 on the gun, and the last man 5:29:51 [8]. The roads were announced closed from 5am until midday [7], so the results point to a practical limit of about six hours from the 5.30am start.
Roads and Race-Morning Access
The minister chairing the organising committee announced that public roads on the route would be closed from 5am to midday [7]. The organiser's closure map lists 20 junctions, lettered A to T, that police closed or controlled, including the Habibie Bridge roundabout and three blind bends between Areia Branca and Cristo Rei [2]. The national police said they would post officers along the course, especially in higher-risk areas, and use CCTV [7].
Avenida Nicolau Lobato and the streets around the palace close before the first start, and inside the closed area runners must walk to the start. Drivers dropping runners off were given a set approach route, with parking behind the palace [2].
The organiser said crowds lined the roads out towards Cristo Rei and back, and that people had gathered at the palace from 4am [1].
How Fast the Field Is
The marathon was won by China's Bangliu Zhang in 2:25:51, from Sardianus Sanam in 2:30:11 and Joanito Fernandes in 2:32:11 [8], the first Timorese [9]. Jiali Wang won the women's race in 2:45:24, sixth overall; the next woman finished in 3:14:29 [8]. Wang said the Timorese athletes were very strong in the early running, until the pace rose and they fell back [10].
Behind the front the field is very thin. Tenth place in the marathon was 3:16:04 for men and 4:03:13 for women, and the median finisher took 3:57:50. Only 16 of the 50 finishers were women [8]. Nine days before the race the organising committee had 1,930 registrations, 150 of them from abroad and 1,500 of them for the 5 km [7].
The half marathon is faster and deeper. Felisberto de Deus, a Timorese national-squad runner [1], won in 1:10:35 from Australia's Kieren Perkins in 1:11:05; tenth man was 1:17:32. Nefriana Ariance Daik of Indonesia won the women's race in 1:25:38 [11][9]. Perkins said the two ran together until de Deus opened a gap at about 8 km [10]. Only nine of the first 100 half-marathon finishers were women [11], and a woman quoted by the organiser said the number of women taking part was still low [12].
The prize money is large for a field this size. The organiser put the prize fund at US$77,400, split between Timorese and ASEAN+ categories, with US$4,000, US$3,000 and US$2,000 for the top three in each category of the marathon and half, and a passport or national ID needed to prove nationality [13]. Timorese runners placed fourth to tenth got between US$1,500 and US$200 [7]. In the 2026 ASEAN+ women's marathon, second place in 3:34:41 earned US$3,000 and third in 3:35:18 earned US$2,000 [9][14]. Third in the ASEAN+ men's marathon went to a runner in 3:16:04 [9].
Race-Week Logistics
Bibs and packs were collected on 5 to 7 August at the athletics federation headquarters in the GMT Building behind the National University in central Dili, with photo ID; on the Wednesday and Thursday only from 2pm to 5pm, and on the Friday also from 9am to midday [15]. Musters for the marathon, half and para race were at 4.45am [15].
In 2026 international runners paid US$90 for the marathon and US$45 for the half; Timorese runners entered free, and the 5 km needed no registration [15][2].
The Australian Defence Force team flew in on the Qantas direct service from Darwin [16], and Dili also has connections from Bali, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Xiamen [5]. Race week included a tree-planting ceremony on 5 August and an environmental seminar at the palace on 6 August, tied to the 2026 theme, Love Our Forests and Wildlife [7]. The race was carried live on national television [16].
Should You Enter the 2027 Race?
Yes, if you want a small race in a place few runners go, with a friendly national-occasion feel: the EU ambassador ran the half with an EU team [17], and Perkins said the Australian runners hoped to come back [14]. It also suits a strong club runner looking for prize money, and fields have grown: in 2025, 26 people ran the marathon and 221 the half [5].
Think twice if you need company to pace off, a published cut-off, or published entry rules. With 50 marathon finishers spread over more than three hours, expect long gaps between runners on the second lap [8].
The President announced an 11th edition for 2027, with dates and registration details to be published on the official site [1]. Nothing else about the 2027 race had been published when this was written.
Nobody from this site ran the race. This review draws on the organiser's race information, route maps and results, the timing company's full results, and reporting in English, Portuguese and Tetum.