Expat Women Take On 225 km Jeddah-Taif Run

A group of expat women in the Kingdom are preparing to take on a 225-kilometre endurance run from Jeddah to Taif, one of the longest personal running challenges attempted between the two western cities. The effort is organised privately as a long-distance run rather than a standard mass-participation race.

To put the distance in perspective, 225 km is roughly equal to five to six full marathons back to back, with each marathon measuring about 42.195 km. Because of this scale, the challenge is planned as a multi-day ultra-endurance effort supported by vehicles and a crew, rather than a single-day sprint to the finish.

Unlike Saudi Arabia's official running events, this challenge does not use any government e-services platform such as أبشر, مقيم, قوى, ناجز, نفاذ or توكلنا for registration, permits or payment. There is also no published entry fee, ticketing page, or list of categories and cut-off times for the run. Any costs fall on participants themselves and are limited to personal logistics such as transport, accommodation, food and support crew.

For comparison, official races in the Kingdom in 2026 typically charge around 149 ريال سعودي for a full marathon, 119 ريال سعودي for a half marathon, and 85 ريال سعودي for a 10 km race. Trail ultras of 50 km often cost about 459 ريال سعودي. Private transport between جدة and the Taif area usually ranges from 350 to 700 ريال سعودي one way, while everyday meals can run from around 20 ريال سعودي for a budget dish up to 200–500 ريال سعودي for fine dining.

The challenge highlights a growing appetite for endurance sports and outdoor pursuits among residents, and adds to the Kingdom's expanding running and fitness culture across جدة and the surrounding highlands.

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