The Course: City Loops, Then 20 km of Elevated Highway
The 2025 race was split over a weekend: the 10 km (6am) and 5 km (7.45am) on Saturday 4 October, and the marathon (3.30am) and half marathon (4.45am) on Sunday 5 October [1]. The organiser says 42,000 people registered, including 3,300 from abroad, and that close to 25,200 ran the marathon and half on the Sunday [2].
With Dataran Merdeka closed for upgrading works, the 2025 race started on Jalan Raja Laut, with the start pens running from Bandaraya LRT station up to SOGO, and finished on the track inside Stadium Merdeka [3].
The first 12 km of the marathon are a tour of the city: up Jalan Raja Laut and down Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, along Jalan Sultan Ismail, a loop through Bukit Bintang and Jalan Imbi, past the Petronas Twin Towers on Jalan P. Ramlee at 9 km, then out along Jalan Ampang to Jalan Jelatek at 12 km [4]. From there the course climbs onto the AKLEH elevated highway, runs west to a U-turn and back east, joins the MRR2 at 23 km and then follows the DUKE highway from 24 km to 34 km, before dropping onto Jalan Kuching and Jalan Kinabalu for the run to the stadium [4][5]. The half marathon shares the first 12 km, then takes the AKLEH back into the city and finishes the same way, without the DUKE [6][5].
Nobody calls it flat. The men's Malaysian winner, Yeow Ni Jia, said the course was challenging because of the rolling hills KL is known for; the overall winner, John Nzau Mwangangi, called it a balanced mix of flat and hilly sections [2]. A half marathoner found the first few kilometres flat and then nonstop hills from about 12 km [7]. A marathoner found the highways cooler and wider than the city but full of rolling hills [8], and a 10 km runner described an 800 m climb near Jalan Dato Onn [9]. The women's Malaysian winner, Chua Khit Yeng, said the route was of normal difficulty and well marked [2].
The finish catches people out. Yeow said that after passing Dataran Merdeka, the old finish, there were still three to four kilometres to go, and that the ending was torturous [10]. The last stretch is uphill, with a U-turn just before the stadium entrance [8].
The Weather: Wet Air From the Gun
Subang airport, about 16 km west of the start, recorded 26°C at 3am on race morning, with a dew point of 24°C, 89% humidity and a 5-knot wind [11]. It held at 26°C, with 84% humidity and almost no wind, from 5am to 8am. Then it warmed quickly: 29°C at 9am, 30°C at 10am and 32°C at 11am [11].
A dew point of 23°C to 24°C means sweat barely evaporates, so the hills cost more than they would in dry air. Yeow said it was more humid than the cooler days before the race [10]. One marathoner saw runners already soaked in sweat on the start line [8], and a half marathoner said it turned scorching from about 7.45am, with no shade at Stadium Merdeka [7]. A 10 km runner found the Saturday morning breezy and cool, unlike the heat and humidity of the Sunday [9].
A four-hour marathoner finished around 7.30am in 26°C air. Runners near the 10.45am cut-off finished in 30°C or more, in sunshine.
Aid Stations, Medics and Cut-offs
The marathon map shows 18 stations. The first is at about 4.5 km on Jalan Sultan Ismail; after that they come roughly every 2 km to 41 km. Every station has water and a medic, about every other one has 100PLUS isotonic, and there are bananas at 35 km, energy gels at about 26.5 km and 37 km, splash zones at 24, 29, 33 and 37 km and muscle-rub stations at 20, 29, 33 and 37 km [4]. The half has eight stations, with gels at 10 km and bananas at 14 km [6].
Runners found them busy but well stocked. The first station was crowded but well-manned, with cold water and isotonic [12]. One marathoner remembered cendol drinks, muscle rub and bananas late in the race [8].
Medical cover was heavy: the organiser promised an ambulance, a mobile outrider or a first-aid point at every kilometre, plus 80 medics running in the field [3], and Sin Chew reported that the running medics included doctors, nurses and paramedics carrying defibrillators [13]. A half marathoner saw them moving through the field with first-aid kits and spray bottles [12].
The time limits were seven hours 15 minutes for the marathon, four hours for the half and two hours for the 10 km [3]. The marathon had checkpoints at 20 km (7.25am), 24 km (8.05am) and 34 km (9.50am) before the 10.45am finish; the half had one at 16 km (7.55am) [4][6]. Miss one and you are disqualified and taken by sweeper bus to near the stadium, without finisher items [3]. Even pace for the full limit is about 10 minutes 20 seconds per kilometre, so the finish line is the real deadline. At 10.45am the gates were shut, and later runners came in through a separate entrance with no medal or tee [12].
What Went Wrong: Crowding at Both Ends
The start was congested. A marathoner in the third pen could not reach the four-hour pacers before 10 km because of the crowd [8].
The end was crowded too. Marathoners rejoined the half-marathon field, including walkers, late in the race, around 38 km by one runner's estimate [8]. Near the stadium, supporters stood in the road and cut the two-lane course to one lane for a stretch [8], and on the Saturday a cheer zone outside the stadium slowed the 10 km field in its last stretch [9].
On the Saturday, a technical error cut the 800 m Kids Dash to 400 m; the organiser said it would refund all 800 m entrants [14].
Police announced staged road closures from 3am to 10am on the Sunday, covering the city roads and the AKLEH and DUKE highways [15]. The organiser said traffic control ends when the marathon's time limit runs out, and that anyone still on the course then must board the sweeper bus [3].
How Fast the Field Is
The front is professional. Kenyans took the first eight places in the men's marathon, led by Mwangangi in 2:17:28, with eighth in 2:21:22. Truphena Chepchirchir of Kenya won the women's race in 2:41:36, ahead of Ethiopia's Almaz Negede Fekade in 2:41:50; eighth was 2:47:42 [16]. Mwangangi's prize was US$15,000 [2], but only runners accepted into the High Performance category, which requires a qualifying time, can win prize money [3].
The Malaysian categories are within reach of a strong club runner. Yeow won in 2:36:13 from Tan Huong Leong in 2:37:05, and fifth was 2:44:56; Chua won the women's race in 3:05:40, and fifth was 3:18:12 [17]. The national champions each took RM20,000 [10]. Fifth place among Malaysian veterans was 3:10:29 for men and 3:33:55 for women [17].
In the half marathon, the open races were won in 1:11:08 and 1:23:55, and the Malaysian titles in 1:14:13 and 1:34:44 [16][17]. The 10 km was won in 32:26 and 39:23 [16].
Race Weekend Logistics
Entries go fast. The marathon cost RM139 for Malaysian residents and US$90 for others, the half RM124 or US$75, plus 8% SST [19]. Fees are not refundable, and you cannot change category [3].
Race packs were collected at Hall 6 of the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre from 2 to 4 October; marathon and half-marathon runners had until 6pm on the Saturday [20]. Official results went up on the website within 48 hours [20].
For a 3.30am start, the organiser arranged free LRT and MRT rides from 1.30am, every 15 minutes on the LRT and every 20 on the MRT, though not every station was served [5]. There was no shuttle between the start and the finish; a bag-transfer service from start to finish cost RM10 plus SST with the official gear bag [3]. The organiser asked runners to be in their start area at least 20 minutes before their flag-off [1]. One runner staying near Petaling Street walked about 2.1 km to the start [12].
At the finish, runners got a medal, water, a can of 100PLUS, a pear and a banana, and friends could watch from the stadium stands [7]. Every finisher gets a medal and a certificate; only marathon finishers get a finisher tee [3].
Should You Enter the 2026 Race?
Yes, if you want a big, well-supported city race and have trained on hills in the heat. The generous time limit, the medical cover and the free early trains make it a sound first marathon for a patient runner, and Malaysians chasing a national ranking should note that the 2026 race is the preliminary selection event for the SEA Games 2027 marathon [21].
Think twice if you want a flat personal best, a quiet field or cool air: the highway climbs, the humidity and the crowding at both ends all cost time.
The 2026 race returns to Dataran Merdeka for the start and finish [22], with the marathon at 3.30am and the half at 4.45am on Sunday 4 October, and the 10 km and 5 km on Saturday 3 October [23]. The published 2026 marathon map still uses the AKLEH, MRR2, DUKE and Jalan Kuching, and still has a 10.45am finish cut-off [24], so expect the same hills with a different ending.
Nobody from this site ran the race. This review draws on the organiser's race information, route maps and results, airport weather records, reporting in English, Malay and Chinese, and four runners' own accounts.