Moscow Marathon 2026

Running in Moscow in September means running in a city that hosted an Olympic marathon before it even had its own mass-participation marathon. In 1980, Lenin Stadium hosted the Olympic marathon, won by East German Waldemar Cierpinski in 2:11:03 ahead of 74 athletes from 40 nations. The same stadium now called Luzhniki, which hosted the 2018 World Cup final, and which is the finish of your marathon. Setting foot on the same track as the Soviet Olympics is still an argument you don’t find on many race listings. 🏟️

The event as we know it today was created in 2013, and in just a few years it has become the biggest running event in Russia 🇷🇺. The records show the level: 2:11:34 by Bennar Youness in 2024 for the men, 2:28:02 by Sardana Trofimova in 2020 for the women. A fairly flat course that suits strong legs, even if September in Moscow can swing between a beautiful golden autumn day and a walking fridge at 7°C. Both have happened already. Pack both outfits, just in case 😉.

The big news is a structural format change: the race becomes point-to-point. No more starting and finishing in the same place: you start on Kosygina Street, at the square of Moscow State University. The place in question is that 36-story Stalinist building with a 57-meter golden spire that looks like a gigantic Soviet wedding cake. That’s your starting point. You won’t miss it 👀. The route runs along the embankments of the Moskva River, takes the Sadovoye Koltso, crosses Krymsky Most (the Crimean bridge) 🌁, continues on the Boulevard Ring and Tverskaya Street, goes through the Teatralny Passage and literally runs under the walls of the Kremlin before reaching Luzhniki. With the red crenellated towers rising on your right as you manage your pace at km 38 🏰. It’s the kind of scenery that makes you momentarily forget your legs are burning—but only momentarily 🦵. All in all, the course lets you see more than 30 world-famous monuments: the Kremlin, the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, the Bolshoi Theatre, the Moskva City district, and four of the Seven Sisters Stalinist skyscrapers. The Seven Sisters, skyscrapers built between 1947 and 1953, all recognizable by their golden spires and Soviet baroque style, are the most unlikely visual landmarks a marathon can offer. You can’t get lost: a Sister is always visible somewhere on the horizon. Navigation system built into the scenery, no extra charge. Pure class! 🌆

As for formats, the 42 km starts on Sunday. The start is organized in waves by level: Wave A requires a time under 2:45 in the marathon or 1:18 in the half. For the elite, it goes even higher: 2:23 in the marathon or 1:07 in the half for men, 2:45 or 1:17 for women. The prize money matches the seriousness of the event: 900,000 rubles (a little over €10,000) for the overall winner, with additional bonuses for the course record (250,000 rubles) and one million rubles in case of a national record. Even non-elites have a prize 🏆: 15,000 rubles for the first 12 under 2:28 for men and 3:00 for women. There’s something for everyone—provided you’ve got the legs to go with it 💰. The 10 km is run on Saturday, a great way to enjoy the weekend atmosphere without the commitment of 42 km. The company and student relays 🎓 let you take on the marathon distance as a team on Sunday, and the Zabeg Detskiy (the kids’ race) on Saturday afternoon invites 4–13-year-olds to run 400 or 800 m on a section of the official course. First strides under the red stars of the Kremlin. Not bad for a childhood memory 👶.

To get to the start at the university, the metro stations Vorobyovy Gory or Universitet on the red line are by far the best option. The Moscow metro is punctual, dense, and built with marble ceilings and crystal chandeliers that make it feel like you’re running through an underground museum. We’ve seen worse warm-ups 🚇. Since 2026, the marathon has been part of the BRICS Marathon League, a project that brings together Russia’s major races (Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Kazan) and, ultimately, the marathons of Brazil, India, China, and South Africa. Running multiple League races earns special trophies and an extra medal for the most well-rounded 🏅. The marathon as a travel passport is a philosophy we fully endorse 🌍.

Birches start to yellow along the banks of the Moskva, the late-season light makes everything slightly golden, and a few thousand runners set off from the foot of the biggest Stalinist wedding cake in the world toward the Olympic stadium. This is Moscow. It’s big, it’s serious, it’s impressive, and it’s exactly what we were looking for 🔥.