The 2026 Race: A Railway Anniversary Run From Tugu Adipura
About 3,000 people ran the Locomotive Half Marathon in Bandar Lampung on Sunday 20 September 2026. It was staged by the Tanjungkarang regional division of the state railway, PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI), for the 81st anniversaries of both KAI and the armed forces (TNI) [1][2]. KAI calls it an evolution of its earlier Locomotive Run, and staged it with the local organiser RAW Organizer (Runaway Lampung), which also worked on the 2025 Locomotive Run [3]. Places were open to the public and to KAI group staff [3].
The field was mixed: members of the public, staff of state companies, ministries and local government, business partners, running communities and railway enthusiasts, plus invited disabled participants in a separate 3 km category [1].
The army promoted the same morning as its own anniversary fun run. The regional command's invitation listed 5 km, 10 km and 21 km races, with Tugu Adipura as the start and finish for all of them [4]. Army-side reports put the turnout at 2,800 [5] and at about 4,000 [6]. The regional army commander flagged the runners off from Tugu Adipura, in the heart of the city, and the race went out along Bandar Lampung's main roads [5].
Start Times and Cut-offs
The 21 km went first, at 5am, followed by the 10 km at 5.30am and the 5 km at 5.45am; the 3 km for disabled participants started at 6am [1]. The cut-offs were four hours for the 21 km, 2 hours 45 minutes for the 10 km and 90 minutes for the 5 km [7]. Counted from the start times, that closes the half marathon at 9am and the 10 km at 8.15am.
Four hours for 21.1 km is a pace of about 11 minutes 22 seconds per kilometre, so walkers and first-time half marathoners can finish inside the limit.
Every entrant was promised a jersey, a chip-timed bib, a race pack and a finisher medal, with podium awards for the fastest in each category [7]. The army's side of the event added prize draws and an entertainment stage at the finish [5].
The Weather: Mild at the Start, Hazy by Six
Radin Inten II airport, about 20 km north-west of Tugu Adipura, recorded 25°C at 5am on race morning, with a dew point of 22°C, 83% humidity and a 1-knot wind [8]. It stayed at 25°C until 6.30am, then warmed to 27°C at 7.30am, 29°C at 8am and 30°C at 9am, when the half marathon closed, with humidity down to 59% [8].
A 22°C dew point with no breeze means sweat evaporates slowly, so the first hour feels warmer than 25°C suggests. A half marathoner finishing in two and a half hours was done by about 7.30am, before the sharp rise; a four-hour finisher ran the last hour at 29°C to 30°C.
The airport also reported haze from 6am. Visibility there fell from 7 km at 5am to 3.5 km at 6am and 2 km at 6.30am, then recovered to 6 km by 8am [9]. In the fortnight before the race, ash from the erupting Anak Krakatau volcano had fallen on the city: on 9 September residents were again limiting time outdoors because of ash [10], and on the afternoon of 13 September the city's air was rated unhealthy, at 104 on the US AQI scale from IQAir [11]. By 14 September the weather agency BMKG put Bandar Lampung's air-quality index back in its moderate band [12].
Entry, Rules and Roads
Entries were sold on TipTip from 18 July to 4 August 2026, in a first phase priced at Rp175,000 for the 5 km, Rp250,000 for the 10 km and Rp350,000 for the 21 km, each Rp15,000 more with a long-sleeved jersey [3]. Entries were final, with no cancellations, refunds or transfers to another runner. The organiser kept the right to change the schedule or the route, and the medical team could stop any runner it judged unfit to continue [3].
The race used city roads. Three days before, KAI apologised in advance to residents for disruption on the roads along the route, asked them to plan around the traffic arrangements, and pointed to its Instagram account, @locomotive_half_marathon2026, for details [13]. KAI said it worked with the relevant authorities on safety and security [2], and the army's report said the whole event ran in an orderly and safe way [6].
Should You Enter the 2027 Race?
Yes, if you are in or near Lampung and want an early, organised half marathon with a generous limit, or a 5 km or 10 km that friends and family can join. The 5am start gets most half marathoners home before the heat of the morning.
Think twice if you would travel from elsewhere for a fast time. No route map, elevation profile, aid-station plan or results for the 2026 race had been published by 29 September 2026, so there is no public record yet of how the course or the water stations worked.
No date for a 2027 race has been announced. Watch the organiser's Instagram account for the route and the entry phases, and remember that 2026 entries could not be refunded.
Nobody from this site ran the race. This review draws on the organiser's statements and registration page, local reporting in Indonesian, and airport weather records.