Valencia Marathon 2026
Sunday, 6 December 2026 · Valencia, Spain
On this page
The weekend at a glance
Everything here is from the 2026 regulations, which can change.
- Your number
- Expo 42K at Feria Valencia. Thursday 5 pm to 9 pm, Friday 9 am to 9 pm, Saturday 9 am to 7 pm. Nothing is handed out on Sunday
- Start
- 8:15 for the first wave, 9:35 for the ninth, at Plaça de la Marató by the City of Arts and Sciences
- Time limit
- 5 hours 30 minutes from the moment you cross the start line
- Finish
- The City of Arts and Sciences
- Climb
- The organiser gives no figure and calls the course the flattest in the world
- Drinks
- Liquids at about 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 32, 35, 37.5 and 40 km, plus liquid and solid at the finish
- Weather
- The last five race mornings ran from 6.0 °C to 14.4 °C at 8:00
- Transit
- In 2023 and 2025 registered runners got a four-trip metro and tram ticket in their bag
- Entering
- The 36,000 bibs for 6 December 2026 are sold out. They went by ballot, after a four-day loyalty period for 2025 runners, and unfilled places went to a waiting list. The organiser has not announced 2027 entries
Both the start, at Plaça de la Marató, and the finish are beside Valencia's City of Arts and Sciences, and the race is on Sunday 6 December 2026. The organiser calls the course the fastest and flattest in the world. The men's record is 2:01:48 and the race holds a World Athletics Platinum Label.
This is the 46th edition. The 2027 date isn't published yet.
The cap is 36,000 bibs. If you haven't got one, there's a waiting list for dropouts at €200, plus a €5 day licence for anyone without a Spanish or regional licence. Bibs can be passed on through the official system, for €5, until 6 November.
Planning the trip? See how In the Running helps make it easier.
Getting to Valencia
Valencia has its own airport, and the regional government's ticket for runners has covered trips to it. In 2023 it was a four-trip ticket for zones A, B and C, valid from the Friday before the race to the Monday after. The 2025 race had the same arrangement. It came in the race bag. We couldn't confirm a 2026 ticket yet, so treat it as a likely extra, not something to plan around.
On race morning the operator ran extra trams. For the 2023 race, tram line 10 ran every five minutes from 6:30 to 9:00, and the press office named Amado Granell-Montolivet as the stop for the start. The same notice named Quatre Carreres and Ciutat Arts i Ciències-Justícia as the stops for the way back. The route crosses lines 4 and 6, which were cut for part of the morning. These are 2023 arrangements, so check Metrovalencia's notice in the last week before the race.
Where to stay in Valencia
Valencia starts and finishes in the same district, so you won't need a shuttle between the two. Hotels booked through the organiser's trip site come with a breakfast from 6 am and a late check-out until 4 pm on race day. Those more than 2 km from the start have a transfer. A bed on a tram line makes the morning a single ride.
The expo is a separate trip, at Feria Valencia on the Avinguda de les Fires, so check how both fit before you book.
Collecting your number
You collect your bib, wristband and race bag at Expo 42K, at Feria Valencia, Avinguda de les Fires. Thursday is evening only, from 5 pm to 9 pm. Friday runs from 9 am to 9 pm and Saturday from 9 am to 7 pm. You cannot collect your number on Sunday in Valencia.
You must check your timing chip at the stand when you collect. The organiser takes no responsibility if it fails, so check it before leaving the expo.
If you can't get there, someone else can collect for you. You authorise them in the runner's area of the registration site, after 7 November, and they bring your details.
Race morning
There are nine waves, set by the time you gave at registration and printed on your bib. The first goes at 8:15 and the last at 9:35.
| Your accredited time | Wave starts |
|---|---|
| Under 2:50 | 8:15 |
| 2:50 to 2:59 | 8:25 |
| 3:00 to 3:11 | 8:35 |
| 3:12 to 3:19 | 8:45 |
| 3:20 to 3:31 | 8:55 |
| 3:32 to 3:42 | 9:05 |
| 3:43 to 3:55 | 9:15 |
| 3:56 to 4:09 | 9:25 |
| Over 4:10 | 9:35 |
Anyone aiming under 3:32 has to prove a recent time from the last three years. You can change your wave free until 6 November if you can show a faster result, and after that it costs €25 until 26 November.
The limit is 5:30 from your own start. Reaching 25 km after 12:57 in 2026 means handing in your bib, which is how the 5:30 limit is fitted to nine staggered starts. Fill in the back of your bib before you leave, with your emergency contact and blood group. The regulations make it compulsory.
The course
The course is a single loop through the city, starting at Plaça de la Marató and finishing at the City of Arts and Sciences. A downloadable map and a Google Maps version are on the organiser's course page, which gives no climb figure.
Drinks are available about every 5 km up to 30, then at 32, 35, 37.5 and 40 km. There is food and drink at the finish. Live tracking runs on the official app. You choose whether anyone can see you, with a pin code if you want a few people only.
Weather in Valencia in December
Valencia in early December is cool at the start and mild by lunchtime. These are the last five race days at the City of Arts and Sciences, at 8:00 and at 13:00.
| Race day | 8:00 | 13:00 | Wind at 8:00 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 December 2021 | 12.0 °C | 14.9 °C | 24 km/h |
| 4 December 2022 | 10.1 °C | 14.2 °C | 8 km/h |
| 3 December 2023 | 6.0 °C | 14.3 °C | 6 km/h |
| 1 December 2024 | 11.2 °C | 16.4 °C | 4 km/h |
| 7 December 2025 | 14.4 °C | 20.9 °C | 15 km/h |
The 24 km/h in 2021 was the windiest start of the five. In 2025 the temperature was 14.4 °C at 8:00 and 20.9 °C at 13:00, which would have been warm for anyone in the later waves.
Afterwards
A Medal Party takes place on the Sunday afternoon. On the Saturday there's a paella party for runners and their companions, a 5K breakfast run in the Turia gardens and a children's race. If you're flying out on Monday, the 2025 transit ticket was valid until then.
Other race weekends
Close by, and with guides of their own, are Zurich Seville Marathon and Valencia Half Marathon.
The next races with a guide
Sources
| Date, waves, cut-offs, expo hours, drinks stations, entry rules | Regulations 42K 2026, organiser, 2026 edition |
| Course claim, start at Plaça de la Marató, finish location | Course, organiser, 2026 edition |
| Records, past dates | Previous editions 42K, organiser |
| Hotel packs, breakfast and transfers | Organise your trip, organiser |
| Parallel events | Parallel events 42K, organiser |
| Metro and tram on race morning, free transit ticket | Metrovalencia extends Sunday hours for the marathon, Generalitat Valenciana press office, 30 November 2023 |
| Free transit ticket in 2025 | Metro and tram free for registered runners, local news report on the 2025 race |
| Sold out, ballot, loyalty period, 36,000 bibs | Info Registration 2026, organiser, 2026 edition, checked 4 October 2026 |
| Course map for the drawing | Google map on the official route page, 2026, organiser, 2026 map, shown on its route page |
| Race-day weather | Open-Meteo historical weather, at the City of Arts and Sciences, a 9 km grid |
Written from the organiser's published information and the app's own race data, checked on 14 October 2026.
If something here is wrong or out of date, tell us.