2026 Kuching Marathon Official course: The official The Route page offers 42KM, 21KM, 10KM, and 5KM course. Full marathon is a loop course that starts from Padang Merdeka, crosses the Sarawak River and passes through Kuching's historic and urban section.
The Kuching Marathon starts and finishes at Padang Merdeka in central Kuching, the capital of Sarawak, Malaysia, on a loop course.
The 42.195km full marathon crosses the Sarawak River soon after leaving the city centre.
The river divides the city into two administrative areas.
The route then passes the heritage of the White Rajah era, traditional Malay villages and the new business district of the Kuching Isthmus.
Course is relatively fast and flat.
Sights along the route include the Kuching Waterfront, the Fort, Astana, cat statues symbolizing the City of Cats,
Tua Pek Kong Temple and the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly Building (DUN), one of Kuching's landmark buildings.
When passing through villages known as kampungs, residents encourage runners by beating kompang drums, providing a boost during tiring sections.
Since the first event in 2014, the race has become increasingly well known in Malaysia and abroad.
More than 14,000 runners took part in 2025.
The 2026 event aims to attract 16,000 participants across four distances: 42km, 21km, 10km and 5km.
Full marathon is divided into an open category for participants aged 18 and over and a veteran category for participants aged 40 and over.
