The 2026 Race That Did Not Happen
The Kuching Marathon Association (KMA) cancelled the 2026 race on Friday 25 September, two days before its Sunday start, with more than 13,000 runners registered [1]. Kuching had recorded unhealthy air pollutant index (API) readings above 100 for a week, including 158 at 3pm that Friday [2]. KMA said it had monitored API readings, weather and wind, and decided after consulting the authorities and medical advisers [1]. Race director Liew Tang Chieh said the organiser had sought advice from the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee and the police, and had heard from the Kuching Divisional Health Office and the Sarawak Health Department [1].
Liew's main worry was time on the road. The marathon was due to start at 1am and finish by 8am, so a slow runner would breathe the haze for seven hours, and a half marathoner for about four [3]. Liew also said families could take babies in strollers on the 5 km [3]. Liew said the haze could arrive fast: 16 September was clear, but the next day, with the wind from Kalimantan, haze reached Kuching within about six to eight hours [4]. The cancellation was final [3].
The call came while race packs were being collected. Sarawak's sports minister, Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, had visited the collection venue shortly before the announcement without being told of it [5]. Liew said more than 13,000 participants had registered, many from outside Sarawak who had booked hotels, homestays and flights, and acknowledged the criticism on social media [6]. Some participants praised the organisers for putting health first [5].
Refunds, Deferrals and What Runners Got Instead
KMA's statement offered medals and tees, not refunds [1]. The rules say that if the race is cancelled because of haze or hazardous air quality, no registration fees will be refunded [7], and the FAQ for 2025 already said there were no refunds for any reason and no deferrals to the next year [8].
Instead, every registered runner could collect a finisher medal, and marathon and half-marathon entrants a finisher tee, at Plaza Merdeka Shopping Centre on Saturday 26 September from 9am to 9pm and on Sunday 27 September from 8am to 1pm, on showing the physical bib [9]. KMA apologised for the disappointment [1], and Liew said the organiser hoped to hold the race again next year in safer conditions [4].
The Course: A Night Loop Over the Sarawak River
The 2025 marathon was a loop from Padang Merdeka, with what the organisers called an improved route [10]. It crosses the Sarawak River from the old town to the northern side of the city [11], and on the 2025 map passes a water station on Jalan Merdeka at 6.2 km, passes DBKU at 14.7 km, then heads north to a turn at a roundabout on Jalan Akses FAC, between the 18.9 km and 21.3 km stations. It comes back past the State Mosque at 27.8 km and Stadium Perpaduan at 30 km, runs east along Jalan Tun Salahuddin at 34.3 km, crosses back to the south bank near Pending at 35 km, and returns through Padungan at 38 km and along Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman at 40 km to the finish [12].
The half marathon covers the same ground in a shorter loop: over the river to Jalan Merdeka at 6.2 km, then Jalan Tun Salahuddin at 11.5 km, Pending at 13.9 km and Padungan at 16.1 km [13]. The organiser says it passes the Old State Mosque and the oldest Malay kampongs [14], and calls the courses fast, flat and historic, with villagers turning out to cheer with kompang drums [15].
The Weather: Saturated Air, No Wind
Kuching International Airport, about 10 km south of Padang Merdeka, recorded 25°C at 1am on race morning, with a dew point of 24°C, 94% humidity and no wind [16]. It hardly moved all night: 25°C and 89% humidity at the 3am half-marathon start and at the 5am 10 km start, and 24°C from 5.30am to 7am. It warmed to 26°C with 89% humidity at 8am, when the marathon closed, then climbed quickly to 29°C at 9am [16].
A dew point of 23°C to 24°C means sweat barely evaporates, so the flat course is harder than it looks. The upside of the early start is that every cut-off had passed before the temperature rose above 26°C. Pace for the humidity, and use the sponges on the second half.
Aid Stations and Cut-offs
The 2025 marathon map shows 18 water stations on the course, from Jalan Muhibbah in the old town to 40 km, no more than 3.5 km apart between the numbered stations, the longest gap being from 11.2 km to 14.7 km [12]. The organiser promised stations about 2.5 to 3 km apart [8]. Sponges were at 14.7, 21.3, 27.8, 30, 34.3, 35, 38 and 40 km, and the only food on the map was bananas at 30 km [12], so carry your own gels. The half marathon had eight stations, with sponges from 11.5 km and no food station [13].
The marathon had seven hours, the half four hours and the 10 km two and a half hours [11][14][17], and the 5 km an hour and a half [18]. The rules set checkpoint cut-offs along the route that are strictly enforced; runners who miss them are disqualified and taken back to Padang Merdeka by bus. You must start within 15 minutes of your flag-off or be disqualified [18]. Finisher medals go only to those inside the limit, and must be collected on crossing the line [18].
The Roads
The roads are only partly closed. The rules say the partial closures on the marathon route are lifted seven hours after the start, and on the half marathon after four [18]. In 2025 police ran phased closures and diversions from 10pm on Friday 19 September to 10am on race day, at junctions and roundabouts including the Jalan Muhibbah/Jalan Kulas junction, the Mahkamah, Sesco, Stadium and Sri Aman roundabouts and the Jalan Sekama/Pending lights [19]. Expect traffic beside you in the dark, and wear something reflective.
How Fast the Field Is
The front is Kenyan. David Rono won the 2025 marathon in 2:26:21, leading a Kenyan sweep ahead of Hosea Kogei and David Kipsang, and Abigael Jerop won the women's race in 3:15:19 [20]. Kenyans took the top six places in the men's open marathon, and Malaysians the next four [21]. Job Minacho Kamonde won the half marathon in 1:09:31 [20].
Behind them, the field is within reach of good club runners. The fastest Malaysian man in the marathon ran 2:46:04, and every man from seventh to tenth in the open race was Malaysian [20][21]. In the women's open marathon, every place from second to tenth went to a Malaysian [21], and the fastest Malaysian woman, veteran winner Lee Siok Chin, ran 3:18:41 [20]. The women's open half marathon was won in 1:41:58, slower than the 1:27:39 of the women's veteran winner [20]. The 2025 prize pool was RM125,000, paid ten deep in every category except the 5 km [10].
Race Weekend Logistics
The race is big enough to fill the city. By late May 2025, 7,822 runners had registered, 1,103 of them from abroad, and the minister said nearly all budget accommodation in Kuching is fully booked on race weekend [10]. Book early, and in a haze season book rooms and flights you can change.
Bag deposit at the start is free [8]. Everyone who finishes inside the limit gets a finisher medal [18]. The organisers said in May 2025 that 10 km and 5 km finishers would get a finisher tee for the first time [10], but the published rules for 2025 kept the finisher tee for the marathon and half marathon only [18]. Entries cannot be transferred, refunded or deferred [8].
Should You Enter the Next Kuching Marathon?
Yes, if you want a large, well-supported Borneo marathon with a seven-hour limit, 18 water stations and a field you can place in as a strong club runner. The half marathon and 10 km suit runners who want the city at night without the full distance.
Think twice if you are flying in and cannot afford to lose the trip. In 2026 the race was stopped two days out by haze, and the rules give no refund in that case [7]. Watch Kuching's API readings in the final week; the 2026 closures had been announced for 26 roads and junctions days before the cancellation [22], so a published traffic plan is no guarantee the race will go ahead.
The date of the next race had not been published when this was written.
Nobody from this site ran the race. This review draws on the organiser's race pages, rules and route maps, airport weather records, and local reporting in English and Chinese.