The Course: Around Surabaya's Monuments
The Surabaya ISOPLUS Marathon was held on Sunday 19 October 2025, the first time the ISOPLUS Run Series offered a full marathon [1]. The series had run a shorter-distance race in Surabaya in 2024 [2]. The race village was at Balai Kota, Surabaya's City Hall [1], and the start line was in front of the city parliament (DPRD) building [3]. Racing began at 4am, according to the 2025 race listing [4], and the roads stayed under traffic control until 10am [5].
The organiser said the route passed Tugu Pahlawan (the Heroes Monument), Jembatan Merah, Hotel Majapahit and the Siola museum on the city's main roads [1]. The city government's list adds the Bambu Runcing monument, Surabaya Zoo and the Kota Lama old town [3]. The city resurfaced some of the roads on the route before race day and said it wants this to become a fixed, standard route [2].
The route published for 2026 is a set of out-and-back legs from City Hall: east to a turn after 7 km, south to a turn near 16 km, west to a turn at 24.5 km and north to 38 km, before returning to the finish [6]. It is a city-centre course with several U-turns rather than a single loop [6].
The Weather: Saturated at the Start, 33°C at the Cut-off
Juanda airport, about 14 km south of City Hall, recorded 27°C at 4am on race morning, with a dew point of 26°C, 94% humidity and a 6-knot wind [7]. From 4.30am to 6am it was 26°C to 27°C at 100% humidity, with haze reported [7]. Then the sun took over: 30°C at 7am, 31°C at 8am, 32°C at 9am and 33°C at 10am, when the six-hour marathon limit ran out [7].
A dew point of 26°C to 27°C is about as humid as a race gets: sweat barely evaporates, so the body struggles to cool even before sunrise. A marathoner finishing in five hours ran the last hour at 31°C to 32°C [7].
The organiser took it seriously. After the national weather agency, BMKG, warned of extreme heat, the race director said runners were told by email and social media not to push themselves, to keep drinking and to know the signs of heat stroke [1].
Aid, Cut-offs and Medical Cover
The 2025 cut-offs were six hours for the marathon, three and a half hours for the half, two hours for the 10 km and 90 minutes for the 5 km [4]. At the launch the race director promised longer cut-offs and more water stations than usual, with doctors and nurses at water stations and medical tents, and defibrillators [8]. On race day the medical cover included cardiologists, anaesthetists, general doctors, nurses, first-aiders at the water stations, ambulances, a mini ICU and mobile response teams [2].
The 2026 marathon map marks a water station roughly every 2 to 3 km, each with isotonic drink, water and a medic, plus sponge, fruit and cooling stations [6]. The 2026 rules set cut-off points at 10.7 km (5.30am), 24.5 km (7.35am) and 35 km (9.10am) in the marathon and at 10.7 km (6.20am) in the half [9]. The first is the tightest: 10.7 km in 90 minutes is about 8:25 per km, against roughly 8:30 per km for the six-hour finish. Runners who miss a cut-off must stop and board a sweeper vehicle, and get no medal, finisher shirt or certificate [9].
The Roads: Closed Near City Hall, Shared Further Out
The transport department diverted traffic from midnight to 10am [5]. Seven streets around City Hall were closed: Jalan Walikota Mustajab, Yos Sudarso, Sedap Malam, Jaksa Agung Suprapto, Panglima Sudirman, Genteng Kali and Ngemplak. Some other sections were shared routes, where vehicles could still pass in limited numbers under the control of officers [5].
On the shared sections, keep inside the coned lane: the 2026 rules allow the organiser to take away a runner's race for running outside the lane marked by cones, ropes and barriers [9]. Police asked runners to plan their journey early or use the organiser's shuttle bus [5].
How Fast the Field Is
The marathon was won by Hamdan Syafril Sayuti in 2:53:14, from Hadi Firmansyah in 2:57:41 and Kevin Timotius in 3:13:22. Inarotul Carifah won the women's race in 3:35:10, from Sarfina Sela Rosada in 3:39:20 and Lanny Silvia in 3:40:50 [10].
The half marathon was close at the front and empty behind: 1:12:22 and 1:12:30 for the first two men, then 1:27:28 for third. The women's podium was 1:29:53, 1:31:06 and 1:42:30 [10]. The 10 km was won in 35:29 and 40:26, and the 5 km in 18:08 and 22:36 [10].
The marathon was only 4% of a field of nearly 9,000 [2], so a few hundred runners. Any man under 3:13:22 or woman under 3:40:50 would have made the national podium. Prize money goes to the top three in the national category and the top two in each age group, and only Indonesian citizens can win it [4][9].
Race Weekend Logistics
Surabaya fills up. A city official said hotels in central Surabaya were at 100% occupancy in race week [2]. For 2026 race packs are collected on 2 and 3 October at Mal Ciputra World, not at the race venue [9].
The 2026 rules ask runners to be at the start 30 minutes before their flag-off, and anyone more than 10 minutes late after their gun is counted as a non-starter [9]. Entries cannot be refunded or transferred [9].
In 2025 marathon entry cost Rp595,000 at the flash-sale price and Rp850,000 at the regular price; the half was Rp403,000 to Rp575,000 and the 10 km Rp280,000 to Rp400,000 [4]. Every finisher got a medal, and marathon finishers also got a finisher jacket [4].
Should You Enter the 2026 Race?
Yes for the half marathon or 10 km, if you want a large, well-staffed city race with the city government behind it. Yes for the marathon if you have raced in tropical heat before and want a small field in which a man under about 3:13 or a woman under about 3:40 would have reached the 2025 podium.
Think twice about the marathon if you are chasing a time or have not run in heat: anyone slower than three hours finishes after 7am, when it was already 30°C [7]. Foreign runners cannot enter: the 2026 rules open the race only to Indonesian citizens with an Indonesian identity card, driving licence or passport [9].
The 2026 race is on Sunday 4 October, with the marathon at 4am, the half at 4.30am, the 10 km at 5am and the 5 km at 5.20am, and a 10 km cut-off of two and a half hours [9]. Around 11,000 runners are expected [11].
Nobody from this site ran the race. This review draws on the organiser's rules and route map, the published results, airport weather records, and local reporting in Indonesian.