2026 JTBC Seoul Marathon D-7
- 42.195 km
- Elevation gain 96 m
- Highest point 46 m
- Official site
Segments
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0–5 km · 07:59
Gwanghwamun Square → Sungnyemun → Eulji-ro U-turn → Gwanggyo
A downtown stretch full of turns: sharp corners at Sungnyemun (1.4 km) and the Bank of Korea, then a U-turn on Eulji-ro at 3.9 km. It rises gently by about 15 m to 2 km, so hold back while the field is packed.
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5–10 km · 08:27
Gwanggyo → Cheonggyecheon-ro (south bank) → Cheonggye 5-ga → Cheonggye 8-ga
You follow the Cheonggyecheon stream east, dropping about 15 m over 5 km. The stream-side road is one-way and narrow, so don't rush to pass; settle into a rhythm.
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10–15 km · 08:55
Gosanja Bridge U-turn → Cheonggyecheon-ro (north bank) → Cheonggye 8-ga → Cheonggye 3-ga
At 10.4 km you cross Gosanja Bridge to U-turn and come back on the opposite bank. The return climbs slowly, about 15 m over 5 km or so, so keep your effort even.
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15–20 km · 09:24
Mugyo-dong → Jong-ro 1-ga to 5-ga → Heunginjimun → Sinseol-dong Station
From 15.7 km Jong-ro runs wide and straight to the east, easing down about 10 m to Sinseol-dong. At 18.4 km the road curves around Heunginjimun Gate, so don't swing wide.
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20–25 km · 09:52
Cheonho-daero → Dongdaemun-gu Office → Janghanpyeong Station → Gunja Bridge (Jungnangcheon)
Past halfway, Cheonho-daero runs south-east, wide, flat and straight. You cross the Jungnangcheon stream on Gunja Bridge at 24.5 km; use this stretch to lock in race pace.
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25–30 km · 10:21
Gunja Station → Neungdong-ro → Konkuk Univ. Station → Jayang junction → Jamsil Bridge
Turn south onto Neungdong-ro at Gunja Station (25.3 km) and climb about 10 m past Children's Grand Park, then turn east at Konkuk Univ. Station (27.4 km). After one more rise on the bridge approach at 28–29 km, you cross the Han River on the wind-exposed Jamsil Bridge from 29.7 km.
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30–35 km · 10:49
Jamsil Bridge south end → Jamsil Station → Seokchon Lake → Samjeon junction → Tancheon Bridge 1
Off the bridge, Songpa-daero drops about 10 m to Seokchon Lake (32.2 km), where you turn west. It is flat after that, so hold the same pace and save energy to Tancheon Bridge 1 at 34.7 km.
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35–40 km · 11:17
Nambusunhwan-ro → Hangnyeoul U-turn → Suseo IC → Yangjae-daero → Garak Market
U-turn at Hangnyeoul Station by SETEC (35.7 km), then follow Nambusunhwan-ro to Suseo IC (38.6 km). On Yangjae-daero a climb of about 1% runs from 39 km to just past 40 km, so shorten your stride.
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40–42.195 km · 11:30
Garak Market → Bangi Station → Olympic Park junction → Olympic Park finish
The climb tops out around 41 km and it runs slightly downhill from Bangi Station (41.6 km) to the end. At the Olympic Park junction (42 km) you enter the park, so hold your pace to the line.
Pace
Even-effort splits: slower on climbs, a little faster on descents.
| Split | Lap pace | Elapsed | Clock |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5K | 5:43 | 0:28:34 | 07:59 |
| 10K | 5:39 | 0:56:48 | 08:27 |
| 15K | 5:43 | 1:25:20 | 08:55 |
| 20K | 5:40 | 1:53:41 | 09:24 |
| Half | 5:37 | 1:59:51 | 09:30 |
| 25K | 5:42 | 2:22:07 | 09:52 |
| 30K | 5:42 | 2:50:37 | 10:21 |
| 35K | 5:40 | 3:18:57 | 10:49 |
| 40K | 5:41 | 3:47:23 | 11:17 |
| Finish | 5:45 | 4:00:00 | 11:30 |
Weather
…
Prep
Good to know
- The 2026 marathon uses a new course. Until last year it started at Sangam World Cup Park and went via Yanghwa Bridge, Yeouido, Mapo Bridge and Gwanghwamun to Olympic Park. This year it starts at Gwanghwamun Square and finishes at Olympic Park. The 10K is now separate, from Sangam World Cup Park to Yeouido Park. Some blogs still show the old Sangam start.
- Assembly is at 06:30 and the start at 07:30, the same for the marathon and the 10K. The marathon start moved from 08:00 last year to 07:30.
- The start and assembly area is Gwanghwamun Square and the finish is Olympic Park. The organiser says venues may change.
- There are eight start groups, A to H, with group A for sub-3 runners. 65 pacers run from 2:49 to 5:00 across the groups.
- No official cut-off time could be found as of 2026-10-25. Entry requires being able to finish within 5 hours, and the slowest pacer is 5:00.
- Water, sponge and medical positions have not been published, so no aid-station POIs are listed. The organiser only says the water-station system will be strengthened this year. They will be added once the race guide is out.
- Bag drop location and hours have not been published yet.
- Race packs (bib etc.) are not posted; collect them at the Korea Running Expo, SETEC Hall 1 (Hangnyeoul Station exit 1), 29–30 Oct 12:00–20:00 and 31 Oct 10:00–23:00. There is no parking, so use public transport. SETEC sits right at the 35.7 km U-turn.
- On race day, roads close section by section between 05:00 and 13:50 (marathon sections from 07:20). The organiser recommends the subway. Closure times per section are on the official traffic-control page.
- Sunrise on 1 Nov in Seoul is around 06:56 and civil dawn around 06:29 (computed with the NOAA solar algorithm), so it is light at the start.
- The course has three U-turns (Eulji-ro 3.9 km, Gosanja Bridge 10.4 km, Hangnyeoul 35.7 km) and crosses the Han River (Jamsil Bridge) and the Jungnangcheon and Tancheon streams.
- No official GPX or elevation profile exists yet, so the route and elevation on this page are approximate. Its km positions match most intersection km values on the official traffic-control page within 0.1–0.4 km.
Checklist
Course data
Approximated from the official course map. May differ by tens of meters.
No official GPX or elevation profile had been published as of 2026-10-25, so this is an approximate track drawn on OpenStreetMap roads from the official 2026 course map and the intersection-by-km table on the official traffic-control page. It was trimmed to the shortest line within 10 m of the road centre and measures 42.24 km (+0.1%). It matches most official km values within 0.1–0.4 km. With no official profile, elevation is the average of satellite terrain data (SRTM and ASTER), heavily smoothed, so expect errors of a few metres. It will be replaced once an official GPX is released.
Sources
- marathon.jtbc.com/17/?bmode=view&idx=175063425
- marathon.jtbc.com/17/?bmode=view&idx=175064126
- marathon.jtbc.com/index
- marathon.jtbc.com/65
- marathon.jtbc.com/17/?bmode=view&idx=175125736
- marathon.jtbc.com/17/?bmode=view&idx=173732917
- marathon.jtbc.com/17/?bmode=view&idx=173732896
- marathon.jtbc.com/17/?bmode=view&idx=170781622
- www.koreajoongangdaily.com/korea/popular-marathon-to-crisscross-seoul-
- myresult.co.kr/api/event/177
- www.openstreetmap.org/copyright
- www.opentopodata.org/datasets/srtm/
- www.opentopodata.org/datasets/aster/