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The Pyongyang Marathon, also known as Mangyongdae Prize International Marathon, is an annual marathon race. In 2018 the Marathon will be contested on April 8 in Pyongyang. The International Association of Athletics Federation designates the Mangyongdae Prize International Marathon as a bronze-label event and it registers the records of professional marathon runners who attend the marathon.
The registration for the Pyongyang International Marathon 2018 is CLOSED!
Local and foreign, amateur and professional runners take part in the marathon. There will be local football matches taking place in Kim Il Sung stadium after the start of the race, and so anyone who wants to watch the marathon instead of taking part in it - is more than welcome to do so.
The 2018 Pyongyang International Marathon is now CLOSED for registration!
Our Pyongyang Marathon group tours:
Korea Konsult is now taking Early Bird bookings for April 2018 - hurry up to get this year prices for the next year Marathon! If you have questions - send us a message: postmaster@koreakonsult.com
See you at the stadium!
We are proud to help international runners to sign-up for the Marathon. Please note that It’s not possible to register for the race on your own or to enter the Pyongyang Marathon without being part of a group tour. You should book a tour with Korea Konsult - either join one of our group Marathon tours or an individual tour.
To sign up for the Pyongyang Marathon you should choose which distance you want to run (see the table above for the details) and let us know your choice while booking one of our tours. Please feel free to ask us any question: postmaster@koreakonsult.com
Option | Conditions | Registration Fee* |
---|---|---|
FULL MARATHON | 42km: you should either FINISH or STOP within 5.5 hours (stadium closes at 4.5 hours) | $150 USD (TBC) |
HALF MARATHON | 21km:you should either FINISH or STOP within 2.5 hours | $100 USD (TBC) |
10K MARATHON | 10km:you should either FINISH or STOP within 2 hours | $70 USD (TBC) |
5K MARATHON | 5km:you should either FINISH or STOP within 2 hours | $70 USD (TBC) |
WATCH THE MARATHON | Watch sporting events in the Kim Il Sung Stadium: local soccer/football match and runners returning to the stadium in their last lap | $28 USD (TBC) |
There are no restrictions on participants, anyone can run in the amateur marathon together with professional runners. To qualify for the professional marathon, men must provide an official record time from the past 3 years of less than 2h 27m and women a record of less than 2h 38m.
There are no official qualifying times for the amateur marathon. However, you should either finish or stop within 4.5 hours. If you do not finish within the allocated time, a bus will pick you up and escort you back to the stadium. The streets will be re-open to traffic at about 2pm.
Year | Professional Men | Professional Women | Amateur Men | Amateur Women |
---|---|---|---|---|
2014 |
Pak Chol (DPRK) | Kim HyeGyong (DPRK) | ||
2015 |
Pak Chol (DPRK) | |||
2016 |
Pak Chol (DPRK) | Kim Ji Hyang (DPRK) | David Dover (Australia) | Jekaterina Stepanova (Estonia) |
2017 |
Debeljak Ales (Slovakia) | Honour Kathrine (Norway) |
The race takes place in Pyongyang - the capital of North Korea, it starts and finishes at the Kim Il Sung Stadium (in 2016 the marathon took place in May Day Stadium because Kim Il Sung Stadium was under reconstruction). Professionals and amateurs will start at the same location and time. The route is basically a 10km-long loop around Pyongyang:
Pyongyang in Korean means "flat area", what is important for the runners - the marathon is a street course with no significant elevation. There will be distance markers throughout the course, so it will be possible to know how long to go before the finish line. There will also be cars with digital timers to let runners know how much time left.
There will be also 2 water stations per every 10km and restroom stops along the way. However, there will be no any energy drinks (such as Gatorade) provided. If you want to bring an energy drink, we recommend carrying it with you during the race. You’re welcome to bring your own snacks for after the race. Lunch will be after the awards ceremony.
Officially, you are not allowed to bring any of these devices to the race. However, based on our experience you can freely take pictures along the route. Please note that even though it is likely that there will be no problems with Phones, iPads and other devices that may have GPS capabilities (some GPS devices/watches were let through customs in previous years, while others were not), stand-alone GPS devices are not allowed.
All runners will be required to report to the stadium at approximately 7.40am. Once you report to the stadium, runners will be brought into the stadium according to your marathon length where most of the spectators will already be seated so expect a very warm welcome!
There will be a pre-race ceremony starting at 8am. The race is from 9.30am to 2pm, but it is likely that amateur runners will be given a 30-minute head start in order to ensure they make it back to the stadium within 4.5 hours. The roads will reopen to traffic at 2pm so all runners must report back to the stadium before then. Runners who still have some distance to go at the cut-off time will be escorted back to the stadium by bus.
All runners are invited to participate in the race’s opening ceremony, which involves a lap of Kim Il Sung Stadium in front of a clapping crowd. After the race has finished, there will be a post-race award ceremony starting at 2pm, where the top three in each category take their place on the stadium’s podium for the award ceremony and receiving medals and prizes. Each runner will get a certificate with a record of their time signifying completion of the course.
Professional | Amateur | |
---|---|---|
Men | full and half marathon | 10km, full and half marathon |
Women | full and half marathon | 10km, full and half marathon |
In 2016 Marathon 28% of participants did the full marathon, 40% did the half marathon, and 27% run the 10k race, while 5% watched and cheered the runners.
Foreign runners are prohibited from carrying American or Japanese flags or wearing clothing with writing deemed inappropriate or politically motivated. The safest option is to wear solid colors, no pictures or slogans.
In most cases your regular running sneakers and shorts will qualify you for the run. Runners are permitted to carry phones and music devices during the race. You are permitted to wear a watch, although GPS enabled watches may not be let through customs.
"When your hand and shoulder ache from high-fiving rows of children, grannies and people in uniform lining the marathon route through Pyongyang, or when you can get thousands of North Korean spectators to cheer all the louder just by raising your arms, it’s a connection, they’re people just like us". Gaggles of children will hold their arms out, shout hello, and jostle towards you if you stop for banter, but for a photo they might scatter just as they might strike a pose.
One participant recalls "my overriding memory of the run itself is the people on the streets. On the first lap the local people, especially the kids, were quite shy – they would wave and then hide behind their parents giggling," he said. "By the fourth lap there were kids screaming 'hello!' from every angle, four generations of families shouting 'good luck' and 'well done' in Korean and infinite friendly, welcoming smiles and waves. I’ve never high-fived so many people in my life. I’ve never high-fived so many people in my life."
"I'm over the moon," said another runner, "and the support from the Korean public has been overwhelming. Nowhere else in the world could I possibly get up on a winning podium."
In April 2018 we will have the following group tours, so decide on which tour below you wish to join and book your adventure: