Course guide · April
Map, elevation profile and km-by-km guide to Spain's most iconic marathon. Castellana, Retiro, Cibeles, Gran Vía — Madrid's greatest landmarks, one after another.
Course · 42.195 km
The Madrid Marathon route is, above all, a celebration. It is not the fastest course in the world — the elevation and some bends prevent that — but it is one of the most spectacular: the Castellana, Gran Vía, Retiro, Cibeles and the Manzanares all appear on the route. Very few marathons anywhere in the world pack so many landmarks into a single course.
Whether you are running it for the first time or want to relive the course you already ran, this guide explains where it goes, what the elevation looks like and what you will find in each section.
The Paseo de la Castellana is the backbone of the Madrid Marathon. This six-kilometre avenue — glass towers to the north, world-class museums to the south — appears both at the start and in the final push to the finish. Running the Castellana with the city closed for the marathon, the Bernabéu visible nearby and Madrid's skyline stretching ahead, is an image runners carry for years.
The route passes the Fuente de Cibeles — one of the most recognised symbols in Spain — and skirts Retiro Park, Madrid's great green lung. Gran Vía, the capital's main shopping street, and Puerta del Sol, kilometre zero of all Spanish roads, also appear on the course. These are the kilometres where crowd noise is loudest and where monuments become your running companions.
The course passes beside the Puerta de Alcalá, one of Madrid's most photographed monuments, before descending to the Manzanares river and its Linear Park. This zone, completely redesigned as Madrid Río, offers clean, open kilometres alongside the river with views of the Royal Palace and La Almudena Cathedral that surprise even those who know the city well.
The final kilometres of the Madrid Marathon run along the Castellana with the KIO Towers ahead and the public filling every barrier. Crossing the finish at Plaza de Colón after 42 kilometres through the heart of the capital is one of those moments that makes months of training worthwhile.
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The full course as a PDF plus the tips that actually matter: what to do the days before, how to plan race morning (breakfast, gels, timings) and how to recover afterwards. We'll email it to you.
The Madrid Marathon route takes in the city's greatest landmarks. It starts near Cibeles and the Paseo del Prado, heads up the Castellana, descends through Alcalá towards Puerta del Sol and Gran Vía, skirts Retiro Park, passes the Puerta de Alcalá, follows the Manzanares Linear Park and finishes on the Castellana at Plaza de Colón. The course connects monumental Madrid with the city's great parks.
The Madrid Marathon is not flat: it has around 180 metres of accumulated elevation gain, with moderate ups and downs throughout. The opening and closing kilometres along the Castellana are the flattest. The Retiro area and the Viveros de la Villa add small inclines that are felt especially in the second half. It is not a PB course, but an experience-first marathon set against spectacular scenery.
Both the start and finish are on the Paseo de la Castellana, Madrid's great north-south avenue. The finish line sits at Plaza de Colón, in the heart of the city's financial and cultural centre, with the KIO Towers as backdrop and tens of thousands of spectators lining the final stretch.
The Madrid Marathon is held in April, typically on the last Sunday of the month. It is the most popular marathon in Spain by participant numbers, with over 30,000 runners and a festive atmosphere that fills the capital all weekend.
Yes. At Ubyssal the Madrid Marathon route is pre-loaded. Just enter your name and finishing time, choose your poster style, and you get a personalised print with the exact course you ran. Available as a downloadable PDF from €14.99.
Your route on the wall
The route is pre-loaded. Add your name and finishing time and create your personalised Madrid Marathon poster. From €14.99.
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