On Sunday, August 23, Bali hosts the Maybank Marathon: 14,100 runners from 46 countries will take to the start line. The start and finish are at the Bali United Training Center stadium in Sukawati, on the road from Sanur to Ubud.
The race was created in 2012, and the first editions were held under the name Bali Marathon; this year's is the fifteenth. It is Indonesia's only marathon with Elite Label World Athletics status: the top category of the international federation, which is why professionals come here and why the course is measured by official measurers. The route is AIMS-certified, so results count on a par with European races.
The 42.195 km marathon starts at 04:30, the half marathon at 05:30, and the ten-kilometre race at 06:00. Wheelchair athletes and children have their own races. The starts are held before dawn so that most of the distance is covered before the heat sets in.
Registration for this year closed long ago: slots were allocated by lottery in February, and before that some places were offered to the bank's clients. The entry fee for foreigners is 1.6 million rupiah for the marathon, 1 million for the half marathon, and 800 thousand for the ten-kilometre race; for Indonesian citizens it is 950, 800, and 650 thousand. Participants collect their race packs at the same stadium on August 21 and 22.
The prize fund exceeds 3 billion rupiah, with separate bonuses promised for records. Twelve invited elite-level runners — six men and six women — will compete for the main awards.
A year ago the open category was won by Evans Nyakamba Mayaka of Kenya (2:17:01) and Medanit Feyera Gurmesa of Ethiopia (2:40:03). In the Indonesian standings, Robi Syianturi ran the marathon in 2:29:18 and set a national record, while Odekta Naibaho won the women's race in 2:47:28. Back then 13,600 people from 52 countries took to the course.
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The course runs along the Ida Bagus Mantra bypass (Ida Bagus Mantra) and the coastal roads. Sections of the route will be closed from Saturday evening until midday Sunday, and getting around that area will be difficult. The road closure map will be published a day or two before the start.
Working along the course will be 850 police officers, 500 pecalang, 50 military personnel, and 900 marshals. On the medical side there are 455 doctors and paramedics and 68 ambulances: 22 vehicles, 42 motorcycles, and four posts equivalent to an emergency department. There are 30% more medical staff than a year earlier and 15% more ambulances.
The organisers expect the race to bring the island around 300 billion rupiah — last year the figure came to 225.5 billion. The average participant spends 12.5 million rupiah on the trip, compared with 9.8 million in 2024.
