RacesIndependent race preparation guide

Seoul, South Korea · 42.195 km road marathon

Seoul Marathon 2027

Sunday 21 March 2027

A flat point-to-point marathon across Seoul from Gwanghwamun Square to Jamsil, run to a strict 5 hour limit and open only to runners with a sub-5 marathon certificate.

Seoul Marathon at a glance

Start: 07:30 (2026 time) in groups S and A to H, Gwanghwamun Square; assembly 06:30 (tentative)
Finish: Jamsil Sports Complex, Songpa-gu (2025 and 2026 finish)
Course: Point to point through central Seoul and over the Han River to Jamsil, with no real hills
Elevation: Between 11 and 40 m above sea level
Time limit: 5 hours, strictly enforced; gun or net basis not stated
Cut-offs: None published; roads reopen section by section behind the field
Entry: Open to overseas runners since 1 September 2026, 150 US dollars; sub-5 certificate by 30 November
Bib pickup: Overseas: Seoul Running Expo at DDP by the day before; do not plan on race-day pickup, which is restricted
Aid stations: Water and sports drink every 5 km, snacks at km 20 and 30

Checked against the organizer's pages on 25 September 2026. Facts for the next edition can still change; the organizer's page is the final word.

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Seoul Marathon course map and elevation

Point to point through central Seoul and over the Han River to Jamsil, with no real hills. Map, elevation profile and 3D flyover.

Loading topographic map…

running direction two lines: out and back on the same road race kilometresCourse: TrailSplits reconstruction; map data © OpenStreetMap contributors

Flat (<5%)

Route drawn by TrailSplits from published race information; approximate. For illustration, not navigation.

What to expect on the course

Down Sejong-daero from Gwanghwamun to Sungnyemun (Namdaemun) at about km 1.5
Out along Cheonggyecheon-ro to Gosanja Bridge at about km 14.5, back on the other bank to Mugyo near km 20
East on Jongno and Cheonho-daero to Gunja, crossing the Jungnangcheon at about km 28
Jamsil Bridge over the Han River from about km 38 to 39.5, then Olympic-ro to the finish

The map follows the route run in 2025, which the 2026 road-closure notice shows unchanged; the 2027 course map is not yet published.

Read the full course description

The 2027 course map is still to be published; this is the route used in 2025 and 2026, a point-to-point from Gwanghwamun Square to the Jamsil Sports Complex. It runs south down Sejong-daero to Sungnyemun (Namdaemun) at about km 1.5, east along Euljiro to a short loop round Dongdaemun History and Culture Park near km 5, and back west to the City Hall area near km 9. Cheonggyecheon-ro then follows the stream east to a turn at Gosanja Bridge at about km 14.5 and returns on the other bank to Mugyo near km 20. Jongno leads east past Dongdaemun to Sinseol-dong near km 24, and Cheonho-daero continues to Gunja, crossing the Jungnangcheon at about km 28. After Children's Grand Park near km 30 the route heads west on Gwangnaru-ro to the Seongdong Bridge junction near km 33, then east on Ttukseom-ro past Seoul Forest, north of the Han River. Jamsil Bridge, about km 38 to 39.5, is the one long bridge, and Songpa-daero and Olympic-ro lead to the finish. There are no real hills: terrain data keep the course between about 11 and 40 m above sea level. Water and sports drink come every 5 km, sponges every 5 km from km 7.5 and snacks at km 20 and 30; no pacers are announced.

Source, licence and file

TrailSplits reconstruction of the published route. Course: TrailSplits reconstruction; map data © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL · original source · Download reference GPX (42.5 km in the file). Approximate terrain-model heights added by TrailSplits, sampled and smoothed at roughly 100 m intervals. Buildings, bridges and small road gradients are not surveyed road elevations.Produced using Copernicus WorldDEM-30 © DLR e.V. 2010-2014 and © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH 2014-2018 provided under COPERNICUS by the European Union and ESA; all rights reserved.

Three decisions to make before race day

Get a sub-5 certificate uploaded by 30 November

You need an official sub-5 marathon certificate from 1 January 2024 to 30 November 2026, uploaded by 30 November 2026. Its time sets your group, and starting ahead of your group means disqualification.

More detail
The full course needs an official certificate of a marathon under 4:59:59 run between 1 January 2024 and 30 November 2026, uploaded with your passport number from 1 October to 30 November 2026; without it you may not start. The time sets your group, A for 3:11:59 or faster down to H for 4:21:00 to 4:59:59, and starting ahead of your group means disqualification.
Near five hours, allow for your group's start delay

In 2026 the Cheonggyecheon section to km 20 reopened at 10:13 after a 07:30 gun. On 5 hour pace, a runner starting 20 minutes late reaches it at about 10:12, so bank time early.

More detail
The 5 hour limit is strict and its basis is not stated. In 2026 the gun went at 07:30 and Cheonggyecheon-ro to Mugyo, about km 20, reopened at 10:13. On even 5 hour pace, 7:07 per km, a runner crossing the line 20 minutes after the gun reaches km 20 at about 10:12, so later groups near the limit should bank time early.
Overseas runners: be in Seoul by the day before

Overseas runners collect bib and pack at the Seoul Running Expo at DDP by the day before; do not plan on race-day pickup, which is restricted. Assembly is 06:30 at Gwanghwamun, and the finish is about 11 km away.

More detail
Overseas entrants get no posted pack: bib and pack are collected at the Seoul Running Expo at DDP no later than the day before, race-day pickup is restricted and 2027 hours are not yet out; in 2026 the expo ran 13 to 15 March. Assembly at Gwanghwamun is 06:30, tentatively, with no parking, and the finish at Jamsil is about 11 km away.

Your race-day sheet

Even elapsed splits for 42.195 km. All clocks are local to Seoul.

Target finish time, including stops

HoursMinutes

Total stopped minutes Your start time (local)

07:30 is the 2026 start announced by the Seoul city government; the 2027 rules give only a tentative 06:30 assembly at Gwanghwamun Square, and a city guideline adopted in January 2026 keeps marathon starts at 07:30 or earlier. Replace it when the 2027 start is published. Asia/Seoul.

Time limit: 5 hours, strictly enforced; gun or net basis not stated

How this sheet applies the limit

The rules give 5 hours for the full course, strictly enforced because the race crosses central Seoul, and traffic control ends once it has passed. They do not say whether the limit runs from the gun or your own start, although results are net time. No intermediate cut-offs are published. In 2026, after a 07:30 start, the city reopened roads section by section, for example Cheonggyecheon-ro to Mugyo at 10:13 and Jamsil Bridge at 12:40.

A timing comparison, not a fitness assessment. Intermediate cutoffs, queues, weather and terrain are not modelled. Stops are spread evenly in the illustration; actual checkpoint times will differ.

ESTIMATED FINISH

11:30:00

MOVING PACE BUDGET

5:34/ km

ELAPSED PACE

5:41/ km

60 min below the modelled finish limit

Distance markers, not aid stations or guaranteed arrival times.
Distance	Elapsed	Local clock
5 km	00:28:26	07:58:26
10 km	00:56:53	08:26:53
15 km	01:25:19	08:55:19
20 km	01:53:45	09:23:45
Halfway	02:00:00	09:30:00
25 km	02:22:12	09:52:12
30 km	02:50:38	10:20:38
35 km	03:19:05	10:49:05
40 km	03:47:31	11:17:31
Finish	04:00:00	11:30:00

Training plan for Seoul Marathon 2027

A free week-by-week plan dated to this race. It starts from a stated default (weekly distance, longest recent run, days a week) that you can change; nothing is read from your watch or training history. It does not use the finish-time target above.

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Entry, bib pickup and rules

Entry:: Open to overseas runners since 1 September 2026, 150 US dollars; sub-5 certificate by 30 November
Bib pickup:: Overseas: Seoul Running Expo at DDP by the day before; do not plan on race-day pickup, which is restricted

Read the full entry and pickup rules

Korean residents entered through the Dongma Club platform in May and June 2026. Overseas residents use the English Dongma Club site, open since 1 September 2026 at 10:00 KST with no membership needed; the full course is listed at 150 US dollars. Marathon entrants must be 18 or over and upload, with name and passport number, an official certificate of a marathon run in under 5 hours between 1 January 2024 and 30 November 2026, from 1 October to 30 November 2026; the time sets your start group. Entries cannot be transferred or resold, and overseas refunds close on 18 December 2026 at 17:00 KST.

Sources

Checked 25 September 2026; next review due 2026-11-04. Event facts come from the organizer; the pacing sheet, decisions and plan are TrailSplits' own. Independently prepared by TrailSplits, not endorsed by the organizer.

What each source confirms

2027 race overview (Korean): 2027 Seoul Marathon and 97th Dong-A Marathon on Sunday 21 March 2027, full course and 10 km, full-course assembly at Gwanghwamun Square and 10 km at Jamsil Sports Complex, both marked tentative.
2027 participant rules (Korean): Age 18 and the sub-5 certificate rule, the 06:30 tentative assembly, groups S and A to H in order, net timing, disqualification for starting in a forward group, the strict 5 hour limit and road reopening, aid every 5 km with sponges from 7.5 km and snacks at 20 and 30 km, no transfers.
2027 participant rules (English): The certificate window of 1 January 2024 to 30 November 2026, overseas pickup at the Seoul Running Expo at DDP by the day before with race-day pickup restricted, the 18 December 2026 overseas refund deadline, non-transferable entries and no parking at the start.
2027 overseas registration schedule: Overseas registration from 1 September 2026 at 10:00 KST and record submission from 1 October to 30 November 2026.
How to register (overseas): Registration on the English Dongma Club site, the sub-5 certificate with name and passport number, and the group time bands A to H.
Dongma Club full-course entry (English): The 150 US dollar overseas full-course price and pickup at the expo on the day before, as listed on 25 September 2026.
2026 domestic entry schedule and course page (Korean): Domestic record submission, priority and main entry in April to June 2026; the course page https://www.seoul-marathon.com/91 says the 2027 map will be published later.
Seoul city 2026 race release: The 2026 07:30 start from Gwanghwamun Square to Jamsil Sports Complex, the January 2026 city guideline on start times, and the 13 to 15 March 2026 Seoul Running Expo at DDP. 2026 facts, not 2027 confirmations.
Seoul city 2026 road-closure notice: The 2026 route by section, from Sejong-daero and Sungnyemun through Cheonggyecheon, Jongno, Gunja, Seoul Forest and Jamsil Bridge to the Sports Complex, with the 2026 reopening times such as 10:13 for Cheonggyecheon-ro to Mugyo and 12:40 for Jamsil Bridge.