Marathons in Pune: The December Races, Cut-offs and a Training Plan

Pune marathon calendar: what has happened in 2026 and what’s next

Pune’s race year has a monsoon race in August and a cluster of big city races in December, when the city’s weather is coolest and driest. As of 27 October 2026, the August race has been run, and the December races are six to seven weeks away. The table shows where each stands. Dates marked as aggregator listings come from race calendars, not the organiser, so confirm them on the official site before you pay.

Pune International Marathon 2026: 6 December, with a 3 AM start

The Pune International Marathon is the race most people mean when they search for the Pune marathon. Its official history says it started in 1983 as the first international marathon held in India, and the official site describes it as the first Indian marathon certified by AIMS, the international road race association. It hosted the Asian Marathon Championship in 2010. The 40th edition is on Sunday 6 December 2026, based at Baburao Sanas Ground near Saras Baug.

Two things make this race different from almost every other big Indian marathon: very early starts and generous cut-offs. The official race information page lists these tentative start times and time limits:

A 4-hour half marathon limit works out to about 11 and a half minutes per kilometre, so a run-walk finisher is comfortably inside it. The catch is the clock: a 3:30 AM start means getting to Saras Baug in the middle of the night, sorting breakfast around 1:30 AM and running most of the race in the dark. Registration is online, through the links on the official registration page at marathonpune.com, and the race info page has GPX files and route maps for the full and half courses, so you can preview the route before race day.

Bajaj Pune Marathon: the former Bajaj Allianz Pune Half Marathon

If you searched for the Bajaj half marathon in Pune, the race is now called the Bajaj Pune Marathon. FatMarathoner’s race guide (updated August 2026) says it began as the Bajaj Allianz Pune Half Marathon and added the full marathon in its sixth edition in 2025, which makes 2026 the seventh. The official site names Sakal as the organiser and IndiaRunning as the event partner, takes registration through IndiaRunning, and describes race day in “the crisp winter air”.

The date is the part to check. FatMarathoner’s race guide lists Sunday 13 December 2026 at National Games Park in Mahalunge, the area that is also home to the Balewadi sports complex, but the same site’s Maharashtra calendar lists the two December races with their dates reversed, and the official site didn’t show a date when we checked. The official category pages are clear on the rules, though:

• Marathon: 5 hours 30 minutes cut-off; minimum age 18.
• Half marathon: 3 hours cut-off, about 8 minutes 32 seconds per kilometre; minimum age 18.
• 10K: 90 minutes cut-off; minimum age 16.
• 5K: a shorter fun category; check the age rule on the official page.

That 3-hour half marathon limit is an hour tighter than the Pune International Marathon’s, so if you are a first-timer who expects to walk sections, the 6 December race is the kinder choice. If you already run a half in under 2 hours 45 minutes, either works.

Pune’s monsoon marathon: the August race at AFMC

Pune also has an August marathon, which suits runners who like to race before the winter crowds. The Pune Full Marathon, organised by NEB Sports, starts and finishes at the Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC). Two race calendars, werun.world and FatMarathoner, list its 2026 edition on 2 August 2026, and the official site shows registration closed. Its official cut-offs are 6 hours for the full marathon (with the first loop inside 3 hours), 3 hours 30 minutes for the half, 1 hour 30 minutes for the 10K and 1 hour for the 5K. Refunds and changes are allowed only up to 60 days before the race, with a ₹250 cancellation charge.

August is Pune’s third-wettest month: about 156 mm of rain over 11 rainy days, with an average high of 27.8 °C and evening humidity around 79%. That means cool but sticky racing, with wet roads likely. Train in the rain when it is safe, test your shoes on wet tarmac, and use anti-chafe balm on every long run in July.

Half marathons and 10Ks in Pune through the year

Beyond the three big races, Pune has a busy calendar of smaller events. The FatMarathoner Maharashtra calendar (updated 24 October 2026) lists, among others:

December race-day conditions in Pune: cold, dry and smoggy

Pune in December is close to ideal for a marathon on paper. Normals for 1991–2020 give an average low of 11.8 °C, a high of 29.5 °C and just 6.8 mm of rain for the month. With 3 AM and 3:30 AM starts, the Pune International Marathon is run in the coldest part of the night, so bring a throwaway layer for the start and expect the last hour to warm up quickly after sunrise.

The weak point is air quality. On the AQI.in dashboard, which compiles monitoring-station data on the US AQI scale, Pune had 11 “unhealthy” and 20 “severe” days in December 2025, the worst month of the year. You can’t control race-day air, but you can control training: do your hardest November sessions on the tekdis rather than beside main roads, check the CPCB Sameer app before intervals, and move a session indoors when the reading is poor. Our guide to running tracks in Pune has more on where and when to run.

How to train for a Pune race: hills now, speed later

Pune’s December courses are road races, but the city gives you something most Indian cities don’t: proper hills inside town. Vetal Tekdi, the highest point in Pune at about 800 m, and Taljai are the best strength-endurance training you can get for free. Use them in the early weeks, then shift to flatter, faster running on the university campus or the Balewadi stadium track in the last month. Our half marathon training plan for beginners gives the full 12-week build.

The sample week below is for someone eight to ten weeks out from a half marathon who already runs about 20 km a week. For the 6 December race, that means the block starts in early October, as the rain stops.

Keep the two strength days at least a day apart from the hill session. Our guide to strength training for runners covers the exercises in detail. If you are starting from zero today, six weeks isn’t enough for a first half marathon on 6 December: enter the 10K or 5K, and aim at a half in January to March instead.

Taper and race-week food the Pune way

Cut your running by about a third in the second-last week and by half in race week, keep two or three short, quick efforts so your legs stay sharp, and make the last strength session light and familiar. The half marathon training plan for beginners sets out the taper week by week.

Maharashtrian home food makes carbohydrate loading easy. In the last two days, lean on varan bhaat (dal and rice), poha, upma, chapati with a light bhaji and bananas. Keep misal pav and other spicy dishes for after the race, and go easy on high-fibre thalipeeth and bhakri the night before. For a 3:30 AM start, eat something small and familiar at about 1:30 AM, such as poha or a banana with a little peanut butter, and test it before a long run first. Our Maharashtrian diet plan and the TDEE calculator help you set your food for the training block.

Coming back from a running injury? Once your physio has cleared you, Rehab & Recovery in Pune rebuilds strength step by step. Training with your running group? Group classes in Pune put everyone on one live call. After race season, the Sahyadris are next: see treks near Pune. For everything else, see online personal training in Pune.