The MBNA Chester Marathon holds its 16th edition on Sunday, October 11, 2026, starting inside Chester Racecourse, known as The Roodee.
Leaving the racecourse, runners head west and then turn toward the city centre, passing the Town Hall, the Cathedral,
the medieval Rows galleries, the Eastgate Clock and the Roman Amphitheatre, before leaving the city via Bridge Street and the Old Dee Bridge.
The route then passes Eccleston and Pulford into the Cheshire countryside, and crosses the border to run through the Welsh villages of Lavister and Rossett.
After a small loop on country lanes it enters the village of Holt,
crosses the old Roman bridge at Farndon back into England, and passes Churton, Aldford and Huntington.
The last 8 miles are run together with the metric marathon runners who join at Churton,
passing The Groves beside the River Dee to reach the finish on Castle Drive.
It is the only marathon in the UK that passes through both England and Wales.
The course is mostly flat and fast, and more than 70% of runners are said to set personal bests.
It is the fifth-largest marathon in the UK, and all 1,000 places sold out from the first race in 2010.
The current course has been used almost unchanged since 2011;
after the racecourse flooded in 2018, the finish was moved to Castle Drive, where the race has finished ever since.
The course records are 2:16:59 for men (2024) and 2:40:26 for women (2013).
