Sunday January 26th 2026 I ran the Islamabad Marathon in Pakistan. Find below my full race coverage from this marathon and superb tourist impressions from Islamabad.
Islamabad City and Landmarks
During my short visit in Islamabad, I joined a Viator-trip “Top Ten Wonders of Islamabad Guided City Tour” showcasing all the major landmarks of Islamabad, a brilliant way to see the city indeed! Whilst the Pakistan monument (constructed to symbolize the unity of the nation, covering a total area of 2.8 hectares (6.9 acres), located on a famous hill knows as Shakarparyaan) and the Faisal Mosque (located on the foothills of Margalla Hills in Islamabad is one of the biggest mosque in Pakistan – can accommodate about 300,000 worshipers) were spectacular, the crown of the tour was the very pictoresque Islamabad Jama Masjid Golra Sharif Mosque.
More importantly, my visit to Islamabed made me realize why Pakistan and India had to be two seperate countries. I guess I always thought of the Pakistanees as the “bad guys” after the Ghandi movie back in 1981, but after visiting Mubia (India) last year and now Islamabad, I deeply sense why these people / tribes / religions / cultures cannot co-exist, not putting any blame, just gaing a profound hinsight on the matter. This widsom alone justifies the visit to Islamabad/Pakistan and I am very humble and grateful for the experiences!
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Islamabad Marathon 2025
The event carried a multitude of distances: marathon, half marathon, kids fun run, 10K and 5K, thus quite a big thing. On the positive side: everybody were very friendly and helpful, very nice atmosphere before and during the race, everybody were allowed to finish (ie. no 6 hour time limit upheld) and, most importantly, the event is a unique possibility to visit Islamabad and Pakistan. I’ll warmly recommend the Islamabad Marathon, see for yourself in the race report below. Whilst the overall experience of the event was “good”, I will also gently put forward these points for improvement to professionalize the event and maximize the positive experiences in the future:
1. Put forward 8and in good time) more clear pre-race communication on logistics, route, etc.
2. Increase the toilet capacity by a factor of 10 plus add at least 4 “toilet stations” en route
3. Post the results online after the race maximum 2 days after the race; use netto times
4. Make the agreements with the authorities and police about road closures etc. such that the races start at the announced times
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See or relive the Islamabad Marathon 2025 here (and in Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, Urdu, Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil and Arabic)
