Races in Turin

Long the first capital of Italy, Turin has kept something of its royal past👑. The Mole Antonelliana points its spire above the rooftops, a former building turned into a symbol of the city and home to the cinema museum. The Savoy residences recall the age of kings, from the Royal Palace right in the center to Venaria just next door. And underfoot, eighteen kilometers of arcades link the squares without ever getting you wet, a rare luxury when rain shows up. Add the Egyptian Museum, the second largest in the world after Cairo's, and the famous Shroud kept in the cathedral, and you understand that the city plays in another league when it comes to heritage.

For running, Turin lays out a plan that’s almost too well-behaved: ruler-straight avenues, as flat as the plain around it. The Valentino Park, set along the river, offers shaded paths and its castle for easy runs in the city 🌳. On the other side of the Po, the Turin hill climbs toward the Basilica of Superga, the only real climb around, rewarded by a view that stretches all the way to the Alps. Because to the west, the Alpine wall closes off the horizon and reminds you the peaks are never far away 🏔️. Between the flat city center and the Superga bump, everyone finds their terrain.

The continental climate doesn’t go easy on extremes. Winter settles in with a dry cold and a stubborn fog that hangs over the plain, while summer gets seriously hot between the buildings 🌫️. So the big races land in late autumn and in spring, when the air becomes ideal for moving fast 🍂. November benefits from low light on the arcades; April and May wake up the city and the banks of the Po. The rest of the year, the porticos make even rainy runs almost pleasant.

The race calendar in Turin is built around three well-chosen road rendezvous. The Turin Marathon sets off in late November through the royal center and the grand squares, a qualifier for Boston, with a half and a 5K to accompany the queen distance 🥇. The Turin Half Marathon returns in mid-April, an urban and fast route along the avenues. And the TuttaDRITTA lives up to its name in early May: ten kilometers almost in a straight line along Via Nizza, no pressure, just for the pleasure of flying straight ➡️. Three formats, the same city made for flat-out running. Want to gain some elevation? Susa opens the valley toward the passes, and Piedmont rolls out the rest, from the Barolo hills to the Alpine valleys.

A race in Turin continues over an aperitif the city fiercely claims as its own: vermouth* was born here at the end of the 18th century, the base of the evening ritual on the arcaded squares (Alcohol abuse is dangerous for your health; consume in moderation). On the sweet side, the chocolate-and-hazelnut gianduiotto melts in your mouth, and bicerin mixes coffee, chocolate, and cream in a small warm glass. Local sport, for its part, carries a heavy memory: atop the hill, the Basilica of Superga recalls the Grande Torino, that invincible team cut down in a plane crash in 1949, a tragedy that shook all of Italy ⚽. Today the city is split between Juventus and Torino, and keeps the memory of the 2006 Winter Games. On the culture front, Turin saw the birth of Italian cinema and keeps its great museum in the Mole, while Subsonica have been energizing the local rock scene since the 1990s 🎬. So, a marathon in the city of kings or ten kilometers straight ahead? Compare the local marathons and half marathons, Turin has flat courses and elegance in store for you 👟.