Race weekend guide

Zurich Marató Barcelona 2027

Sunday, 14 March 2027 · Barcelona, Spain

On this page

The weekend at a glance

Your number
Expo Sports on Thursday 11 March from 15:00 to 20:00, and on Friday 12 and Saturday 13 March from 9:00 to 20:00. Nothing is handed out on race day
Start
8:30 on Passeig de Gràcia. Wheelchair athletes go at 8:25
Corrals
Colour-coded, picked at registration and open to change until 1 February 2027
Finish
Passeig de Lluís Companys in 2026. The 2027 finish isn't published yet
Time limit
6 hours from the moment the last runner starts
Drinks
Refreshments every 2.5 km from 5 km to 40 km, and at the finish
Climb
The organiser gives no figure and calls the course flat
Weather
The last five race mornings ran from 4.0 °C to 11.2 °C at 8:30
Entering
Entries for 2027 are open on the organiser's registration page. The organiser doesn't say how places are given, and names no charity or club places

The Zurich Marató Barcelona starts on Passeig de Gràcia, between Gran Via and Plaça de Catalunya, and stays on city streets throughout. The organiser calls the course urban, flat and fast. Barcelona City Council said 32,000 runners would start the 2026 race.

The 2027 race is on Sunday 14 March, and the gun goes at 8:30. The organiser already lists the start time and the expo hours for 2027. The place for collecting your number isn't named yet.

Getting to Barcelona

The airport is at El Prat, south-west of the city. The Aerobus takes about 35 minutes to Plaça de Catalunya, which is also the top end of the start street. The metro line L9 Sud runs from both terminals every 7 minutes. You change to line L1 at Torrassa for the centre, about 50 minutes door to door.

With a field of 32,000 in 2026, road closures affect much of the city centre on race morning. Allow extra time for any bus, and plan to be in position well before 8:30.

Where to stay in Barcelona

Passeig de Gràcia is on metro lines L2, L3 and L4 at its own station, and it is a short walk from Plaça de Catalunya. A room around there puts you at the start on foot. Check the metro's first Sunday train against your corral time before you book anywhere further out.

The expo is a separate trip. The organiser lists the expo venue as "coming soon", so you can't yet check how far it is from a room. Look again once the venue is posted.

Collecting your number

No numbers are given out on race day. Collection is at Expo Sports, which is free to enter, on Thursday 11 March from 15:00 to 20:00, and Friday 12 and Saturday 13 March from 9:00 to 20:00. The organiser's regulations print different hours (Thursday 15:00 to 20:00, Friday 14:00 to 20:00 and Saturday 10:00 to 20:00). Use the expo page's hours and check them again nearer the date.

Take your national ID card or passport and the email that shows your bib number. You get the bib, a timing chip, a runner's bag and a t-shirt.

Someone else can collect for you if they bring the receipt and your ID. If you want medal engraving and haven't booked it, you can arrange it at the expo.

Race morning

Your corral is colour-coded, and only runners wearing a bib in that colour are let in. You pick it at registration and can change it until 1 February 2027 in your registration account. Pace groups run at 2:45, 3:00, 3:15, 3:30, 3:45, 4:00 and 4:30.

Wear the bib clearly on your chest. The timing chip goes in your shoe. The regulation calls it disposable, but you still have to give it back. Return it at the end, at the return areas on race day, or post it to the timing company, RPM Racing, in Barcelona. Not returning it costs €5. You must be 18 on race day.

The 2027 pages don't describe a bag drop. If you need one, look for it in the participant guide when it's published.

The course

The start is on Passeig de Gràcia and the course is entirely in the city. Wikipedia describes a route past Camp Nou and the Sagrada Família, near the beach in the north-east and round the old city. It says a 2019 redesign cut the total elevation change by more than 10%.

The refreshment stations are at 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, 15, 17.5, 20, 22.5, 25, 27.5, 30, 32.5, 35, 37.5 and 40 km, and again at the finish. The organiser publishes a route map as a PDF on its course page, with the drink stations marked on it. It offers no course file of its own to download.

Where to watch 2026 details

Passeig de Gràcia, by Casa BatllóThe runners cross it on c/ d'Aragó between 3 and 4 km and come back along Gran Via at about 19 km, so you see them twice. Passeig de Gràcia station is on lines L2, L3 and L4
Sagrada Família, on c/ de MallorcaThe runners pass the basilica between 13 and 14 km, once. Sagrada Família station is on lines L2 and L5
Arc de Triomf, near the finishThe organiser's route map puts 41 km on Ronda de Sant Pere and 42 km close to the Arc, so you see the last kilometre and the finish. Arc de Triomf station is on line L1

Weather in Barcelona in March

Mid March is cool at the gun and mild by lunchtime. These are the last five race days on Passeig de Gràcia, at 8:30 (the average of the 8:00 and 9:00 readings) and at 13:00.

Race day8:3013:00Wind at 8:30
6 March 20229.1 °C10.6 °C7 km/h
12 March 202311.2 °C15.6 °C5 km/h
10 March 20245.9 °C14.2 °C8 km/h
16 March 20254.0 °C11.8 °C6 km/h
15 March 20267.2 °C13.6 °C10 km/h

The 2025 start was the coldest at 4.0 °C and the 2023 start the warmest at 11.2 °C. The rise in temperature between 8:30 and 13:00 was largest in 2024, at 8.3 °C.

Afterwards

In 2026 the finish was on Passeig de Lluís Companys. There are refreshments after the line, but the organiser hasn't published the 2027 finish-area arrangements yet.

Other race weekends

Close by, and with guides of their own, are Madrid Marathon and Valencia Marathon.

The next races with a guide

All race weekend guides

Sources

2027 date, bib collection rules, expo hours, start on Passeig de GràciaZurich Marató Barcelona 2027, home and Expo Sports pages, organiser, 2027 edition
8:30 start, 6-hour limit, corrals, refreshment stations, chip, minimum age, collection by a representativeRegulation, organiser, 2027 edition
Start on Paseo de Gracia, pace groups, course mapsCourse, organiser, 2027 edition
Bib collection hours, what to bringBib number pick up, organiser, 2027 edition
32,000 runners in 2026, all places soldAll bibs for the Zurich Marató Barcelona have now sold out, with 32,000 registered participants for the 2026 edition, Barcelona City Council, sport
Start between Gran Via and Plaça de Catalunya, finish on Passeig de Lluís Companys in 2026Marató de Barcelona 2026: carrers tallats i afectacions al transport públic, Nació Digital, 2026 edition
Airport metro and AerobusAccessing Barcelona from the airport by metro, Barcelona's metro operator
Past results, course changes and recordsBarcelona Marathon, Wikipedia
Entries open for 2027Zurich Marató Barcelona 2027, home page, organiser, 2027 edition
Km marks of the route, the Pg. de Gràcia, Sagrada Família and Arc de Triomf passes, drink stationsMap of the route (PDF), organiser, 2026 map
Sagrada Família metro station on L2 and L5Station Sagrada Família, Barcelona's metro operator
Race-day weatherOpen-Meteo historical weather, at Passeig de Gràcia, a 9 km grid

Written from the organiser's published information and the app's own race data, checked on 4 October 2026.

If something here is wrong or out of date, tell us.