Standard Chartered Nairobi Marathon

The half marathon was not part of that first edition; the 2003 results covered only the marathon, 10km, and wheelchair races [4], and a half marathon field first appears in World Athletics' race reports the following year, in 2004 [5]. The men's course record has stood since 2009, when Moses Kigen ran 2:10:12; the women's record fell in 2023, when Evaline Chirchir clocked 2:24:31 [6]. Both records held through the 2025 edition, where winning times of 2:11:01 and 2:27:17 fell short of each mark [6].

The race grew steadily through the 2000s: over 12,000 took part in 2008, and more than 15,000 ran in 2009 [1]. In 2005, Nairobi became the opening leg of Standard Chartered's 'Greatest Race on Earth' relay series, alongside marathons in Singapore, Mumbai, and Hong Kong, competing for a US$1.57 million prize pool [7]. By 2012, the race attracted over 19,000 runners from more than 70 countries [2]. In 2019, Standard Chartered introduced its Futuremakers programme as the marathon's new global cause, succeeding Seeing is Believing [8].

For years the race ran along Uhuru Highway, Mombasa Road, Forest Road, and finished at Nyayo Stadium [9]. The 2020 edition was cancelled due to COVID-19, and it returned in 2021 in a hybrid format: a physical race capped at 2,500 elite athletes plus a virtual event for 13,500 more, moved to the Southern Bypass and Carnivore Grounds because Uhuru Highway was by then under construction for the Nairobi Expressway [10][9]. The race has run on the Southern Bypass, now finishing at Uhuru Gardens, ever since.

The marathon received World Athletics' accreditation as a World Road Race in 2022 [11]. Its 20th edition in October 2023 drew over 22,000 participants, more than 73 elite athletes, 200 athletes with disabilities, and over 20,000 recreational runners across six categories, and Standard Chartered handed over KES 43,167,506 raised from the race to Futuremakers [11].

Its 22nd edition in 2025 drew a record 30,602 participants from 92 nationalities, according to Standard Chartered's April 2026 awards release [12]. This included over 200 elite athletes and 184 athletes with disabilities, up from 146 the year before; the 10km accounted for 12,855 participants [12]. Registration for the 2026 edition had closed by 15 July after organisers reached their target of 30,000 runners, more than three months ahead of the 25 October race [14][15]. For comparison, The Standard reported 17,450 participants from 75 countries at Nairobi City's completed 2026 event [13]. These figures describe the wider events in different years, not full-marathon finisher totals. Standard Chartered says the race and its predecessor cause have together raised roughly KSh 520 million for community programmes over more than two decades [12].

For 2026, the World Athletics calendar lists Stanchart as a Label race, a classification distinct from the Elite, Gold and Platinum tiers [16]. It is also an Abbott World Marathon Majors age-group rankings qualifying race [17]. This gives eligible runners a route into the age-group rankings; it does not make Stanchart a member of the World Marathon Majors series.