Sports are life in Bali right now! Doesn’t it feel like that to you?
Here at The Bali Sun, we are loving seeing the world of sports, wellness, community, and tourism come together to build new connections, improve health, and really just celebrate life.
Here at The Bali Sun, we’ve just been talking about how it feels like we’re reporting on more sports events these days than we are traffic jams, and let us tell you, that is a welcome change!
Maybe the solution to Bali’s traffic woes is just running?! Could we pedestrianise all of Bali, like Penglipuran Village…slow down to the pace of life this island thrived within for so long? Food for thought.
The Maybank Marathon has long been one of the biggest sporting events in all of Indonesia. Aka the Bali Marathon, the Maybank Marathon will take place on 23rd August this year. As the sports tourism sector is growing in Bali, more and more top attractions are hosting and facilitating sports events, from running and cliff diving to yoga and Pilates.
Bali’s GWK Cultural Park in Ungasan, close to Uluwatu, has just hosted a pre-marathon community training event, and it looks like this will be the first of many of these kinds of events hosted at the attraction.
GWK Cultural Park’s Operations Director, Ch. Rossie Andriani told reporters that since the park is a well-managed area, GWK is a safe and comfortable place to exercise and run these kinds of events.
GWK Cultural Park famously hosts some of the biggest events on the island, including its annual mega New Year’s festival.
Andriani told reporters, “We welcome the collaboration in the Road to Maybank Marathon. We hope that activities like this can provide positive experiences and make exercise a part of everyday life, thereby improving the quality of life.”
Adding “We are opening up space for various community activities that support the creation of a sports ecosystem and a healthy lifestyle in public spaces.”
In order to help support participants and grow the Bali running community, the Maybank Marathon team will be hosting weekly long run training events ahead of the big race.
Previous preparation runs in Bali have been hosted at ITDC, The Nusa Dua, Level 21 Mall, and at KCI Udayana.
The Maybank Marathon is more than the marathon itself. The event will be hosted from 21st to 23rd August 2026 at Bali United Training Center, Gianyar, close to Ubud, and the program features the marathon (42.195 km), half-marathon (21.1 km), and 10K categories for all age groups and elite athlete categories too.
While signing up for a marathon may feel a little intense for holidaymakers heading to Bali, there are plenty of ways to get involved with the running community here in Bali.
Penglipuran Village just hosted its Pengli-Run 5km community fun run event, and with such a great turnout, here at The Bali Sun, we have an inkling that more of these kinds of events will be hosted again soon.
Confirmed upcoming runs include the Jatilwuih Fun Run, which will take place on 20th June 2026, and the Bali Culture Run, which will be hosted in Nusa Dua on 26th July 2026.
There are heaps of run clubs to tap into, too. FLOWERBOY in Seseh has quickly become one of Bali’s most iconic running communities.
RUNAMUK in Canggu is Bali’s hottest new fitness community that hosts run clubs on Mondays, Thursdays, and Sundays with beginner-friendly distances and runs open for the more experienced runners, ranging from 3km through to steady 10 km and even a weekly 21km.
It’s not just running that is booming in Bali right now, but racket sports too.
Only this week have Liga.Tennis successfully opened another venue in Uluwatu, bringing tennis and padel to even more local and visiting players alike.
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