RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — The fifth edition of the Riyadh Marathon Festival officially commenced on Wednesday, January 28, at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University (PNU), serving as the three-day precursor to the Kingdom’s World Athletics Elite Road Race on Saturday.
Organized by the Saudi Sports for All Federation (SFA) with the support of the Ministry of Sport, the festival is open to the public from January 28 to 30. The event features interactive fitness zones, food stalls, and live entertainment designed to promote community physical activity. According to the SFA, all race categories for the main event—ranging from the 5km fun run to the 42.2km full marathon—are now sold out, following record-breaking registration numbers.
The main competitive races are scheduled to begin at 6:00 AM on Saturday, January 31. This year’s route will start and finish at Mayadeen in Diriyah, with the full marathon (42.2km) and half-marathon (21.1km) navigating a technical course through the capital’s historic and modern landmarks. The 10km race and 5km fun run will also take place on Saturday morning to accommodate amateur runners and families.
Per official regulations, the full marathon is restricted to participants aged 20 and above, while the half-marathon and 10km distances require participants to be at least 18 and 17 years old, respectively. The SFA confirmed that professional elite runners will lead the mass start at 6:20 AM.
The marathon continues to be a central pillar of the “Quality of Life” program under Vision 2030, aiming to increase the percentage of people in Saudi Arabia exercising at least once a week to 40% by 2030. Results from the elite categories are expected to be ratified by World Athletics immediately following the conclusion of the event on Saturday afternoon.