Registration is now open for a new format of participation in the Rimi Riga Marathon – the Signet Bank relay race for the marathon and half marathon distances, which Tīna Graudiņa and Anastasija Samoilova will also attempt to complete in May

In order to make the long distances of the Rimi Riga Marathon more attractive to an even wider audience of runners, the organizers of the Rimi Riga Marathon, together with Signet Bank, have introduced a new participation format for the new season – the Signet Bank relay in the marathon and half marathon distances. Registration for the new participation format – the relay race – opens today, giving participants the opportunity to complete the popular half marathon and marathon routes in pairs or fours in May 2026.

World champions in beach volleyball Tīna Graudiņa and Anastasija Samoilova have already confirmed their participation in the May 17 half marathon relay race. To win a half marathon medal, each of them will have to run a 10.2 or 10.9 km section of the 21 km Rimi Riga Marathon route.

We successfully implemented the relay format at the 2023 World Athletics Road Running Championship – at that time, not only half marathon runners or 21 km finishers could win World Championship medals, but also teams that were ready to cover this distance in pairs. This year, thanks to Signet Bank, the relay race is making its debut at the Rimi Riga Marathon, giving teams of friends, families, and work colleagues the opportunity to complete the half marathon or marathon distance in pairs or fours,

comments Aigars Nords, head of the Rimi Riga Marathon organizing team.

The organizers are confident that the new Signet Bank relay format will encourage an even wider audience of runners to try long distances, including the excellent Riga track and atmosphere, thus attracting even more participants to long distances in the future. The new format could be particularly relevant for runners who are already familiar with the 10 km route and no longer find the 10 km distance challenging, while the half marathon distance and route still seem unattainable and insurmountable.

How the Signet Bank 42 km and 21 km relays will work?

On May 17, 2026, participants in the Rimi Riga Marathon will have the opportunity to run both the Signet Bank 21 km relay, which will consist of two 10.2 km and 10.9 km stages, and the Signet Bank 42 km relay, which will consist of four 10.5 km, 6.5 km, 12.5 km, and 12.7 km long stages.

The Latvia’s most titled beach volleyball players, Tīna Graudiņa and Anastasija Samoilova, who won the World Championship title this year, will also take part in the Signet Bank 21 km relay race, inspiring and motivating everyone who has so far found the Rimi Riga Marathon 21 km or 42 km routes and distances unattainable.

The runners in the first stage of the half marathon relay will run alongside all 21 km runners. The 21 km relay changeover point will be located at the Dailes Theatre (at the intersection of Brīvības and Bruņinieku streets), where the first stage participant, who will have completed the 10.2 km section of the route, will symbolically hand over the “baton” to the second stage participant, who will carry the baton for 10.9 km to the finish line of the Rimi Riga Marathon on 11 Novembra Krastmala.  Both Signet Bank 21 km relay participants will receive Rimi Riga Marathon 21 km distance medals.

Three changeover points will be organized for the Signet Bank 42 km relay race. The first baton change will take place in Dzegužkalns (Buļļu Street), the second at the Dailes Theater, and the third in Mežaparks on Kokneses Prospect (at the 29 km mark). The final runner in the 42 km relay will reach the finish line with the baton on 11 Novembra Krastmala. All participants in the Signet Bank 42 km relay will receive Rimi Riga Marathon 42 km distance medals.

Thanks to the new partnership with Signet Bank, the Rimi Riga Marathon will become the largest public sporting event in the Baltics in 2026, offering the opportunity to complete the half marathon and marathon distances in teams.

Registration for the Signet Bank relay race is open on the Rimi Riga Marathon website.