Barcelona Marathon 2026

Ah… Barcelona! 🤤 The capital of Catalonia may not be the capital of Spain 🇪🇸, but it is clearly the capital of our hearts! ♥️ The city 🌆, of exceptional beauty, needs no introduction. However, the Barcelona Marathon, or the Zurich Marató Barcelona 🤌, as it's officially known, is never highlighted enough! Yet it is one of the must-attend marathons in Europe 🇪🇺 and one of the most popular. It's next March that you'll have the opportunity to run this iconic race, where the atmosphere is completely crazy 😝 and where performers from around the world gather every year 📍. Alright, enough talking, it's time to tell you everything about the course, its peculiarities, its strengths, its symbols, and its monuments👇. 

Before we start, we suggest a little warm-up 🤸‍♀️. For this, there is only one permitted song: "El Cant del Barça" 🎶. The anthem of FC Barcelona ⚽️ will surely put you in the right frame of mind to prepare for this urban race and propitious to the best times ⏱️. So it is the perfect time to try to beat the time of Tesfaye Deriba (2h 04min 13s) 🤴 and Sharon Chelimo (2h 19min 32s) 👸! This task should be easier as you will have the support of your loved ones almost along the entire course 🛣️. If you take a look at the marathon's structure, you'll see it is centered in the heart of the city, which makes it easy for supporters 📣 to follow your race's progress 📸. Metro stations 🚇 serve both the finish 🏁 and start lines, and the streets allow friends to connect various course points quickly. So call your wife, husband, kids, and cousins, you have a route to plan! They can easily attend the race start, then meet you at km 3, at km 6, and at km 15. Similarly, for those who want to help you over the 30-wall, they’ll be able to see you at km 28, 38, and at the finish, located under the Arc de Triomf, or at km 30 and 32 🤷‍♂️.

Speaking of which, let's talk about that 30 km wall! 👉 The Barcelona Marathon 2026, entirely urban, offers the opportunity to take a fresh breath of iodized air 🌬️ thanks to the seaside road section, from km 26 to km 30. This change, while visually stunning 😍, adds a significant challenge: there is no shade, so you'll be under the sun! 🌞 Therefore, you need to remember to stay well-hydrated to continue your path. The silver lining in this remains the same: there is no elevation change, which should already make this segment less strenuous 😮‍💨. 

In addition to no elevation changes, the Zurich Barcelona Marathon has been designed for performance 🕺. You'll be like a rocket on race day with its course similar to a Formula 1 circuit 🏎️. Looking closely at the route, you'll see that the first 19 kilometers unfold over 6 straight lines, interspersed with a few 90° turns 📐. You can also continue your sprint past the midpoint of the marathon since the course remains flat 👏. Another 6 long straight lines await you before reaching the finish line. Meanwhile, you'd have gone to the East of the city, along the beach, and to the North up to Torre Glòries 🗼 (the colorful twin of London's famous gherkin skyscraper 🏙️). Overall, more than 30 km of your marathon will be composed of long straight lines! Moreover, it's worth mentioning that you won't be hindered in your overtakes since the organizers have deliberately chosen the city's main arteries 😌. This means you won’t have the chance to traverse the city's historic center.

However, this detour has the advantage of making you pass by the beautiful Marina ⚓ of the Catalan capital before bringing you to the Ciutadella Park 🌳, which you will skirt around. You'll see enough to make you want to visit this green haven after the event, just like the famous Las Ramblas street, which you will not cross but will only see from both sides 👀. But don't think you're not going to see anything! 🙅‍♀️ This urban marathon lets you explore the typical neighborhoods of the city and will allow you to dive into the Barcelonans' living places, particularly in the Sant Antoni neighborhood, appreciated by tourists or Poble-Sec, more authentic and popular 🍻. A few strides away, you'll also see the gigantic Christopher Columbus column ⛵. And what would a marathon in Barcelona be without the traditional visit to Sagrada Familia? 🤔 The basilica will be waiting for you from basket to foot firmly at km 14, for your greatest delight 🥹. 

You'll also see that Barcelonans themselves will be tremendously happy, so much is the event awaited and appreciated! A beautiful Latin atmosphere 💃 should accompany you along the route, supported by performances 🎭, bands 🥁, and frenzied crowds 🤪. Remember: every year, more than 27,000 runners flock for the occasion, and a public composed of 60,000 people! 🥳 Runners from all over the world scramble for a bib 🎽 in this race! The most fun points will be at the city's main monuments: at Sagrada Familia, at Torre Glòries, unexpected highlight of this new edition 💫, and at Arc de Triomf, where the spectator density should be extremely high. No doubt, this general exuberance should give you the necessary energy to excel… and probably provide you with one of the greatest race experiences of your life! 🫶

To relax after your race and immerse even more in the local culture, we recommend visiting places not covered by the race: Camp Nou 🏟️ for football fans, to follow in the footsteps of Messi, Ronaldinho, and others Cruyff who made this club legendary, the Cathedral of the Holy Cross ✝️, the mythical Plaça Catalunya then the splendid buildings of Antoni Gaudí 🎨 such as Casa Batlló and the beautifully Parc Güell. After exploring (almost) fully the majestic city of Barcelona, we suggest indulging in local gastronomic pleasures 😋. On the menu: Iberian ham (jamón Ibérico for the bilingual 🗣️), Escalivada, or delightful tapas accompanied by a delicious wine from the Penedès region 🍷, and you'll leave with memories full of mind and taste! 🤤

Come twirl on a 42.195 km in the Catalan capital 💃, vamos chicos, vamos!

Pssssst 🤫, if you want even more running in the City of Gaudí, you can come for the Barcelona Half Marathon in February! 😉

⚠️ Excessive alcohol consumption is dangerous for health, drink responsibly.