Plus500 City Half Marathon Dubai 2026 is a 21.1 km race on Sunday 8 November, starting at 06:15 at Al Boursa Street, Dubai. The course is almost flat.
One flat 5 km lap of DIFC: through Gate Village, down Al Mustaqbal Street towards Burj Khalifa, round the Al Omlaat Street hairpin and back up Al Sukook Street to the Gate. Run it once, twice, three or four times.
Sunday 8 November 2026, Al Boursa Street by the Gate, DIFC. 21 km 06:15; 15 km and 10 km 06:45; 5 km 07:00. Arrive 30 minutes early: take a taxi to Emirates Towers Metro Station (the Metro isn't running that early), or park at Gate District 4 by 06:15
The course is almost flat.
Monviso water at the start, after the finish and at three stations on every lap: Gate Village, the Al Omlaat Street hairpin (with first aid and toilets) and the corner by Emirates Towers. Positions from the official 2026 route map
km 0.7 · 3.2 · 4.8
Gate Avenue, Zone C, The Innovation Hub (Level 1), DIFC: 4 to 6 November 13:00 to 20:00, 7 November 10:00 to 18:00. No collection on race day
21 km: 2 hours 45 minutes. Anyone who hasn't started their final lap by 08:30 is sent to the finish
One 5 km lap of DIFC. 5 km: one lap. 10 km: two. 15 km: three. 21 km: an extra 1.1 km loop at the start, then four laps
06:15 · km 0
Every distance starts on Al Boursa Street beside the Gate, the arch at the heart of the Dubai International Financial Centre, and finishes in front of it. The 21 km goes first at 06:15, the 15 km and 10 km at 06:45, and the 5 km at 07:00.
21 km only · before lap one
The 21 km adds a short loop before its first lap: east along Al Boursa Street, down Al Mustaqbal Street, and back up the road through Gate Village to Al Boursa Street. That is about 1.1 km, so the extra loop and four laps make the full 21.1 km.
km 0.3 · Al Mustaqbal Street
DIFC's streets are named after finance. Al Boursa is the stock exchange and Al Mustaqbal the future. Later in the lap come Al Omlaat, currencies, and Al Sukook, the Islamic bonds known as sukuk.
km 0.6 to 1.5 · Gate Village
Right into the road through DIFC, with Gate Village on your right: art galleries, restaurants and banks. DIFC opened in 2004 as a financial free zone with its own courts, which follow English common law. Water station 1 is on the way in, and you turn back just short of Al Boursa Street.
km 1.2 to 1.5 · DIFC
A short jog west at the foot of the road brings you below ICD Brookfield Place: 279 m and 54 floors of offices, finished in 2020. Then it's back out to Al Mustaqbal Street.
km 1.5 to 2.4 · Al Mustaqbal Street
South down Al Mustaqbal Street. On your right is The Index, designed by Foster + Partners: offices below, apartments above, 80 floors and 326 m, finished in 2010.
km 2.0 · straight ahead
Straight ahead, just over a kilometre away, is Burj Khalifa: at 828 m the tallest building in the world since it opened in 2010. It stays in front of you all the way down to the hairpin.
km 2.4 to 3.4 · halfway
Halfway round the lap, Al Omlaat Street takes you three times past Swissôtel Al Murooj: west, a U-turn, back east, another U-turn, then west again. Water station 2 is here, with first aid and toilets.
km 3.4 to 4.8 · Al Sukook Street
North up Al Sukook Street, the long straight of the lap. On your left are Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai's main highway, and the raised Red Line of the Dubai Metro; on your right, the towers of DIFC.
km 4.4 to 4.8 · Emirates Towers
Ahead are Emirates Towers, finished in 2000: the 355 m office tower and the 309 m hotel. Beyond them is the Museum of the Future, opened in 2022, its steel skin cut with Arabic calligraphy of quotes by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Water station 3 is at the corner.
km 5 · the Gate
The end of the lap. More laps to run? Carry straight on past the start. Last lap? Turn right, down to the finish in front of the Gate. The 21 km cut-off is 2 hours 45 minutes, and anyone not on their final lap by 08:30 is sent to the finish.
Route: the official 2026 route map, traced on OpenStreetMap through a 2024 race-day GPS track. Water stations: the official 2026 route map