(This post contains affiliate links, for more information read this privacy policy)
Maybe it’s just me, but at some point, everyone around me randomly started running. From work colleagues to most of my friends, it seemed like every single person was training for some sort of running race. And I’m not going to lie, it did sort of influence me as well, and I started running a bit here and there at the beginning of the year. And 9 months later, I found myself running my first ever half-marathon.
But as someone who makes their whole personality about my love for travelling, I didn’t feel like running my first half-marathon just anywhere. So, I found myself combining my first half-marathon experience while travelling to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Almaty, to be exact (and easily one of my new favourite cities).
Thinking of doing the same? Then here is everything you need to know about running the Almaty half-marathon. And this will also apply to the marathon, as it was all the same process, and the marathon just ran the same route twice and started 10 minutes earlier.
Picking up the starter kit and starting number
The starting number could not be picked up on the day of the event, but instead could be picked up on one of the two days before the race near Atakent-Expo convention centre between 10:00AM and 8:00PM.
At this location they were not only handing out the starting numbers but also a race starter kit. That included a bunch of products from sponsors, such as toothpaste, some vitamins, or an electrolyte drink. If you pre-ordered a T-shirt, you could also pick that up here.
And then additionally at the pickup location, you could purchase anything that was sort of running related, from gels to sport sunglasses to Garmin watches. And also some Marathon merch!
🏨 Where to Stay in Almaty for the Half Marathon
The Almaty Half Marathon starts at Republic Square, so ideally you want to be somewhere near there. However, Almaty is a big city, and it’s cheap and easy to travel around by Yandex Taxi. So wherever you are staying, you can easily take a taxi to the starting point of the race. There are not too many hotels in Almaty, apartment rentals are more common.
- I’ve stayed at this apartment while visiting Almaty.
- 👉 Compare hotels in Almaty here
Schedule of the event
One thing to be said, the Almaty Half Marathon started super early! And that was for all the events, as they all started around a similar time. The reason for that was, probably, that since the race was on the highway, they had closed off the highway for multiple hours. That had probably quite some impact on a city with a lot of traffic such as Almaty.
The full Marathon started at 6:30AM in the morning, followed by the Half marathon at 6:40AM. Even though the line-up for both races started at the same time at around 6:15AM, and the half-marathon groups were just the ones more lined up in the back.
The 10KM run, which seemed to be the busiest group, then started around 7:10AM. And then there was also a 10KM Nordic Walking walk, which started right after the 10KM, but that event didn’t seem as busy.
Either way, I’d recommend getting to Republic Square a bit in advance, so you’ll have time to do your warm-up, leave your belongings, and just don’t need to stress so much in general. For my 6:40AM start, I arrived around 5:45AM, and it was already quite busy. I think the whole event location opened at around 5AM.
Does the Almaty Half Marathon have a time limit?
Yes, the time limit for the Almaty half-marathon is 3 hours in total, which would be a speed of 8:30 minutes per kilometre.
There are pacers at 8:30 minutes per kilometre, and also some pacers at faster speeds. I did still see some runners arrive at the finish line a couple of minutes after the time limit, and they also still received their medals.
However, I only stayed about 5 minutes past the time limit, so I don’t know if they eventually cut it off or how many runners were still left.
The running route of the Almaty Half Marathon
The Almaty half-marathon takes place on a highway, and you are basically running a big circle, starting and ending at Republic Square. The best thing about this run would probably be the mountains in the background that you can see pretty much throughout the whole run. So pretty!
Keep in mind that there is a bit of elevation, and also that Almaty is located at around 800 metres above sea level. And then from there you can expect to go up for maybe another 200 metres.
The biggest climb happened right at the beginning, so at least you got it out of the way first. It also was not as bad as I expected it to be (I live in the Netherlands, so I couldn’t really train much for the elevation). Just towards the last 3 kilometres it did go a bit up hill again where I saw quite some people walking a bit (including myself).
🗺️ Stay Connected During the Race Weekend
If you want to easily have access to data without purchasing a local Sim card, I’d recommend this Airalo eSIM! I set it up on my phone before landing and had data right away when I landed in Kazakhstan.
It only takes two minutes to install.
How expensive was it to run the Almaty Half Marathon?
In 2025, it was 16 000 KZT to run the Almaty Half Marathon, which is around €26.14. That includes the race kit, the starting number, and the medal.
Overall experience of the Almaty half-marathon
This was my first half-marathon, so I don’t have much to compare it to. But overall, it was really well-organised, and everything went smoothly. The race started exactly on time, there were so many volunteers helping out with this event, and there were plenty of water stops along the way.
All the information I needed, I could find on the website of the event (also in English).
To run the Almaty Half Marathon was an amazing experience. It is the biggest running event in Central Asia, so it was just really great to be part of that. There were participants from around 60+ different countries.
The run itself was also nice, maybe not the most interesting one, as it was just on the highway, but the mountain views in the background definitely made up for that.
So, if you are visiting Kazakhstan and would like to run a half-marathon (or marathon), then I would highly recommend the Almaty Half Marathon.
Navigating the Almaty Half Marathon if you don’t speak Russian
If you don’t speak Russian (I don’t either), and are worried about navigating the Almaty Half Marathon, don’t worry! The website had an English version as well, and the whole sign up process could be done in English. Also, all the information about where to pick up your race kit, how to get your starting number, etc., could all be found on the English version of the website.
Only the emails that were being sent out leading up to the Half Marathon were in Russian, but I checked the content, and it wasn’t anything relevant. Either promotional emails, or information that was also on the website.
At the event, announcements were made in English as well, as there were about 60K people running on that day, from lots of different countries. Which means there must have been plenty of people who do not speak Russian either.
All the volunteers during the event at the starting number pick up location, or at the race, could speak a decent level of English. So you definitely don’t need to speak any Russian to be able to run this Half Marathon!
Other Almaty Essentials
Don’t just come to Almaty for the Half Marathon but make sure to also discover the city and it’s surroundings. It is such a beautiful city and there is so much to see in and around Almaty.
I am not exaggerating when I tell you that it might now be one of my new favourite cities.
And there are some amazing day trips that you can go on from Almaty, such as visiting the impressive Charyn Canyon or the absolute breathtaking Kolsay lake.
✨ I’d recommend these tours:
- Day trip from Almaty to Charyn Canyon, the Black Canyon, Kolsay Lake, and Kaindy Lake. It’s a very long day, but this was one of the best day trips ever!
- If you have more time, then you can split out this day trip over two days and stay in a Yurt!
- Day trip to Lake Issyk with Turgen waterfall
- Check out walking tours in Almaty
And I hope this answers most of your questions about the Almaty half-marathon. If there is anything that is not covered here, then please let me know!
Have a nice day!
